Released in 1997, “R U Still Down?” came as the first posthumous album from 2Pac and was his sixth overall solo effort. The one prior to this was also released after his death, but this was the first to be compiled without any sort of input from the New York-born, California-raised rapper (who was killed late in 1996). This is a double-album and one of many to bring previously-unreleased material from the artist, this time with works from between 1992 and 1994 (the pre-Death Row Records years)

Disc 1:

1. “Redemption” (Intro)

2. “Open Fire”

To get things started here you get a fairly funky one from the artist to take you right in as he gets down to things. You can tell by the rawness of the beats and his rhymes what kind of time it was recorded and I felt that it got the thing off to a fairly nice start as the execute producer (Afeni – his mother) chooses to bring a cold joint to get the thing hyped with and to get listeners livened up for what is to come as he goes in hard.

**Four Stars**

3. “R U Still Down?”

This, the titular track to the release, is a big one on the release and it really stands on the thing as you find that you have him working in his classic format when he comes with his fly flows which punctuate certain sounds at unpredictable times (yet predictable when you come to know his ways). He raps from a dark place and does well to express it in a way that is able to really connect to the listeners despite the cold setting.

**Five Stars**

4. “Hellrazor”

As QDIII gets on the beats for this one, you find that you get a track that has the rapper coming in with more dark rhymes as you hear him rap about how his mother raised what he describes in the title and talks of how you see this in what he does and how exactly he thinks (on a completely different level to all others – as if he was directly out of the oppressive late sixties and is still trying to fight).

**Four STars**

5. “Thug Style”

With this one the artist does things the only way he knows – “Thug Style” and raps about how he has had to compete with things all the way through he career as he has had to contend with the fact that his time spent in New York, Baltimore, Oakland and LA as led to him being shunned by people all over the country, and people shouldn’t label him as ‘West Coast or ‘East Coast’ when he does things in ‘Thug Style’ at all times.

**Four Stars**

6. “Where Do We Go From Here” (Lude)

7. “I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto”

This was one of the singles from the album and so it really seems to stand out on the album as one that you are bound to take in a lot more from (especially considering how things went on for him with his death and how much more thought-provoking it all is as a result). Here he tries to work out how exactly things ma change for him in heaven and whether it would prove how pointless the prevalence of prejudice is.

**Four Stars**

8. “Nothing To Lose”

He jumps on some lively beats that are clearly from the earlier years from him as you hear that it was actually the rapper himself behind the beats (with the Live Squad too) it is a raw track and it has him expressing just how he feels as he moves out to California as he joined the Digital Underground crew. It seesm to take you to a new place as it powers out after a emotive one and seems to lift the mood again.

**Five Stars**

9. “I’m Gettin’ Money”

In a re-working of “Str8 Ballin’”, with this amongst my favourite ‘Pac tracks and one that I really can’t get enough of as you find that here Mike Mosley lays down something funky to accompany the artist as he goes in hard with dorm raw rhymes about how he is always down to ride, as long as at the end of the day he’s getting to the money. The delivery and lines are extremely exciting and they keep you involved throughout.

**Ten Stars**

10. “Lie To Kick It”

On the beats from Snoop Dogg’s “G’z & Husltas” (a Warren G joint) you see that ‘pac keeps the standards extremely hard as you find that here he goes in with Richie Rich and performs a track that is done as a dedication to Mike Tyson (at his time of need) it is a banger of a tune and I felt that by having him ride on top of one of the biggest jams that Snoop recorded in the early years of his career, you can’t get better.

**Five Stars**

11. “F**k All Y’All”

You see that you get even more of the funky grooves accompanying the rapper, but in this case you see that there is a bit of a change to things in that the hardcore Hip Hop beats are lightened in order to make way for some much more open production that allows in a wider range of listeners, and it seemed that it was an effective turn to do this as it could keep in his normal fans and appeal to others as he comes with a laid-back one.

**Four Stars**

12. “Let Them Thangs Go”

Using samples from the likes of Parliament, Dr. Dre and even himself, you see that here he is down for something hardcore. It is a shame that he didn’t take these samples in the expected direction (the G-Funk way) but he seemed to do well with it all as he goes in with a raw, speedy and energetic one which really hits you hard as he comes in with some intense raps that are backed up well by the choices in samples from the We Got Kidz.

**Five Stars**

13. “Definition Of A Thug N***a”

Ending this disc off, you get a track that samples James Brown’s “Funky Drummer” (In a very subtle manner and it seems to really add to the thing as the light wah-wahs aid in giving it more depth as he comes in with more of the same sort of things that you tend to expect from the rapper as he gives the listeners an good idea of how exactly he would describe himself to be and how others should see him.

**Five Stars**

Disc 2:

1. “Ready 4 Whatever”

As things move on, you find that there is a massive change to the way things are done as you are made to think right back to his debut “2Pacalypse Now” when he brought “Souljah’s Story” as here you hear him on some Houston screw for a monstrous effect that seems to really effect the way you feel his rhymes as it seesm to be much darker and takes you down with the coldness of his voice and the rhymes that come form it.

**Five Stars**

2. “When I Get Free”

Whilst continuing to use the same technique through this one you find that there is a tune that gets the rapper giving an account of what it is like in prison and how exactly things are different, but how he is still just s capable of making money through hustles on the inside as he could when he was out. He comes with some threatening rhymes and the effect that has been placed over it only makes it worse as he pulls out another big one.

**Five Stars**

3. “Hold On Be Strong”

This is a fly cut from the rapper and one that seems to liven things up as he gets off the screw and gets back to some more conventional work (and out of the concept tracks) here you find that, for a change (when you loo at these early cuts) he comes with a rather catchy hook and it helps to engage the rhymes in the verses wit the listeners once they are brought in from the chorus. You see that he brings in themes from earlier but blends them into the mix so it doesn’t sound repetitive.

**Five Stars**

4. “I’m Losin’ It”

With Big Syke and Spice 1 on his side you find that here he goes in hard as he is backed by some Roger Troutman-esque vocals (on the Voice Box) as you find that the rapper just goes off with it and is taken to a place where others can’t really understand him. It is interesting that he does it all to some lively beats as they lose the coldness of the main idea behind the thing, but it still works as he works with some Bay Area rappers.

**Five Stars**

5. “Fake A*s B***hes”

This is a big tune on the thing and one that is bound to get you lively as you find that here he throws down a party joint and just gets loose with it, and it seems to work well off the kind of thing that was heard on the track prior to it, wit the only difference really being that here it is completely intentional as he directs listeners in this direction where you just want to be taken with him as he goes on a hype.

**Five Stars**

6. “Do For Love”

This one seems to stand out more than any other on the album as it is the track on the album that made the most noise and stands as one that was able to compete with the majority of the singles that he dropped during his career (or before his death) as you see that you have a perfect Rap slow jam constructed by him with a Bobby Caldwell sample and Eric Williams of BLACKstrett to top it off.

**Five Stars**

7. “Enemies With Love”

Wit this one you get a pretty freaky one as you see that here you get a rather typical track that wouldn’t really have made it on a regular album, but wit ‘Pac being part of it, it can’t really be ignored and so you find that the results of it all is a tune that needs a lot more to it, but it is held together by the quality of his rhymes and how well he is able to work from some rather lifeless production.

**Four Stars**

8. “Nothin’ But Love”

When you here the opening rhymes coming through from this one you know that it is the early years from him as he gets down to some exciting, summery music and comes in strong as he creates a lively scene where everyone is just able to have fun with it as he does his thing in a laid-back manner as a way to escape the intense tracks that have been found at other times on the record. It is a big one and keeps it all rolling.

**Five Stars**

9. “16 On Death Row”

Here you get 2Pac on the beats again and you see that here he creates his own G-Funk-styled material and does well with it in order to back up his rhymes in a manner that seems relevant as you here that the Funk guitaring is of the bluesy, Soul end of the Funk style and it matches the subject matter of the piece where he describes the feelings of a youngster on death row (before he was on the label of the same name).

**Five Stars**

10. “I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto” (Remix)

This is a Death Row remix to a track that was found earlier on in the album and one that has him working off some adapted beats, it is a nice inclusion and seems to add to the record for having it added to the mix.

**Five Stars**

11. “When I Get Free II”

This is another remix to an other track on this release and here you find that you get the same sort of thing as before with the same rhymes and some beats that just add to what was found on the original joint.

**Five Stars**

12. “Black Starry Night” (Lude)

13. “Only Fear Of Death”

The release ends with the rapper on some Live Squad beats for a joint that sees him coming up with another track that will really effect his fans as he raps about themes that became much more impactful to listeners after his death. It is a raw cut and one that seems to end the thing pretty effectively as it rounds it off and is one of the most thought-provoking ones that the thing has to offer.

**Five Stars**

This is a very good album from the artist and one that uses a strong collection of tracks and one that would start the trend of multi-platinum-selling posthumous releases from the artist. There is some repetition in his rhymes, but as many of these weren’t intended to be released, this can be forgiven. On the whole t is worth a listen and not a single tune let’s it down.