Tupac Amaru Shakur,also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli,was an American rapper. Considered one of the most influential and successful rappers of all time,he is among the best-selling music artists,having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. His lyrical content has been noted for addressing social injustice,violence,and the marginalization of African-Americans.
Death Row Records is an American independent record label that was founded in 1991 by The D.O.C.,Dr. Dre,Suge Knight,and Dick Griffey. The label became a sensation by releasing multi-platinum hip-hop albums by West Coast-based artists such as Dr. Dre,Snoop Dogg,Tha Dogg Pound,and 2Pac,during the 1990s. At its peak,Death Row was making over US $150 million a year.
The Don Killuminati:The 7 Day Theory is the fifth studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur,his first posthumous album and the last released with his creative input. Recorded in July and August 1996,it was released on November 5,1996,almost two months after his death,under the stage name of Makaveli,through Death Row Records,Makaveli Records and Interscope Records.
"California Love" is a song by American rapper 2Pac featuring fellow American rapper-producer Dr. Dre and American singer Roger Troutman of the funk group Zapp. The song was released as 2Pac's comeback single after his release from prison in 1995 and was his first single as the newest artist of Death Row Records. The original version is featured on the UK version of his fourth album,All Eyez on Me (1996),and is one of 2Pac's most widely known and most successful singles. It reached number one on the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks and also topped the charts of Italy,New Zealand,and Sweden. The song was posthumously nominated for the Grammy Award for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997.
"Hit 'Em Up" is a diss track by American rapper 2Pac,featuring the Outlawz. It is the B-side to the single "How Do U Want It",released on June 4,1996. The song's lyrics contain vicious insults to several East Coast rappers,chiefly Shakur's former friend turned rival,The Notorious B.I.G.. The song was recorded at Can Am Studios in 1996. A previous version of the song was recorded in October 1995.
Nu-Mixx Klazzics is a remix album by American rapper 2Pac,released in 2003 under Death Row Records and Koch Records. The album includes several songs from All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati:The 7 Day Theory,with remixed instrumentals and new guest vocals from artists such as Crooked I,Aaron Hall,K-Ci &JoJo,and Danny Boy. Nu-Mixx Klazzics was generally disliked by critics upon its release. The remixes were criticized for being another Death Row 'cash in' featuring low quality versions of the original tracks.
Tha Doggfather is the second studio album by American rapper Snoop Dogg. It was released on November 12,1996,by Death Row and Interscope Records. After the success of his debut album Doggystyle (1993),Snoop was arrested and charged with murder and in 1995,spent time preparing for the case that went to trial. On February 20,1996,he was cleared of all charges and began working on his second album without Dr. Dre providing work as a record producer. This was Snoop's final album on Death Row until 2022,when he acquired the rights to the Death Row trademarks from MNRK Music Group,releasing BODR the same year. This would also be his last album under the moniker Snoop Doggy Dogg before it was shorted to Snoop Dogg. Recording sessions took place from February 1996 to October 1996,with Suge Knight as the executive producer on the album,alongside the additional production from several record producers such as DJ Pooh,Daz Dillinger,Soopafly and L.T. Hutton;as well as guest appearances from Charlie Wilson,Kurupt,Tray Dee and Warren G,among others.
"Snoop's Upside Ya Head" is a song by rapper Snoop Doggy Dogg,released as the first single from his 1996 second album Tha Doggfather. The song heavily samples "I Don't Believe You Want to Get Up and Dance (Oops)" by the Gap Band and features new vocals from Gap Band's lead singer Charlie Wilson. It was released as a single in the UK on September 14,1996 and was Snoop's second European hit. The single was released one day after Death Row labelmate Tupac Shakur died from injuries sustained in a drive by shooting the week prior.
Tupac:Live at the House of Blues is a live album and the final concert by American rapper 2Pac. The performance was recorded at the House of Blues,Sunset Strip,West Hollywood,California,on July 4,1996 and released on both CD and DVD on September 5,2005.
"How Do U Want It" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his fourth studio album,All Eyez on Me (1996). It was released on June 4,1996 as a double a-sided single with "California Love" from the same album and was his final single to be released during his lifetime. The song features R&B duo K-Ci &JoJo,who at the time were best known as the lead singers of the group Jodeci. The song reached number one on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100,becoming Death Row Records first and only chart topping single,and number seventeen in the UK in 1996. The song received a Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group Grammy nomination in 1997.
The East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry was a dispute between artists and fans of the East Coast hip hop and West Coast hip hop scenes in the United States,especially from the mid-1990s. Focal points of the feud were East Coast–based rapper The Notorious B.I.G. with Puff Daddy and their New York City–based label,Bad Boy Records,and West Coast–based rapper Tupac Shakur with Suge Knight and their Los Angeles–based label,Death Row Records. The feud culminated in the murders of both rappers in drive-by shootings within six months of each other;both murders remain unsolved. The rivalry ended with a "peace" summit in 1997 at the behest of Nation of Islam leader Louis Farrakhan.
"Hail Mary" is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur from his fifth studio album,The Don Killuminati:The 7 Day Theory (1996). It was released after his September 1996 murder under the Makaveli stage name as the album's third single. Hail Mary features rap verses by Kastro,Young Noble and Yaki Kadafi of the Outlawz rap group and vocals from reggae musician Prince Ital Joe. A music video was shot for the song and can be found on the DualDisc of The Don Killuminati:The 7 Day Theory.
The discography of American rapper Tupac Shakur consists of 11 studio albums. Throughout his career and posthumously,Shakur sold more than 75 million records worldwide. He has scored 5 No. 1 albums on Billboard 200 and 8 No. 1 albums on Top R&B/Hip-Hop albums. In 2001,Guinness World Records hailed him as the then Best-selling artist of rap in the US. According to Recording Industry Association of America,he has sold 37.5 million albums and an additional 4 million under his alias Makaveli with "The Don Killuminati",making him the second best-selling hip-hop artist in history.
"Pac's Life" is a single written and performed by American rappers Tupac Shakur and T.I and R&B singer Ashanti,produced by L. T. Hutton for Shakur's posthumously released album of the same name. It is a hip hop and R&B song;the second Tupac verse was recycled from a song titled "This Life I Lead". T.I. said in an interview that working on the song was an honor,as he idolized him while growing up.
"Wanted Dead or Alive" is a collaboration song by 2Pac and Snoop Doggy Dogg released as the lead single from the soundtrack Gridlock'd and features uncredited vocals from Charlie Wilson.
All Eyez on Me is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13,1996,by Death Row and Interscope Records,the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre,Snoop Doggy Dogg,Redman,Method Man,Nate Dogg,Kurupt,Daz Dillinger,E-40,K-Ci &JoJo,and the Outlawz,among others.
"New York,New York" is a song from the American West Coast hip hop duo Tha Dogg Pound featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg. The song was released as a promotional single and is the lead single from their debut album,Dogg Food.
Johnny Lee Jackson was a Mexican-American multi-platinum songwriter,music producer and rapper best known for his early career with Death Row Records,and for his work with 2Pac on Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me,as well as 2Pac's posthumously released albums. He was born in Juárez,Mexico,in 1969 and raised in South Los Angeles. Johnny "J" was co-owner and CEO of Klock Work Entertainment Corp.
David Royce Aron was an American recording engineer,live and studio mixer,record producer,and musician.
"Rapper's Ball" is a song by American rap artist E-40,featuring rapper Too $hort and Jodeci lead singer Cedric "K-Ci" Hailey. It is a single from the lead rapper's 1996 album Tha Hall of Game and is a B-side for E-40's song "Things'll Never Change",featuring The Dove Shack rapper Bo-Rock. The song peaked at #29 on the U.S. Billboard Hot 100 chart along with "Things'll Never Change",becoming E-40's most successful song as a lead artist until "U and Dat" featuring T-Pain and Kandi Girl peaked at #13 on the Hot 100 in 2006. This song is considered a classic by most west coast rap fans,especially in E-40's hometown Vallejo which is in the East Bay of the San Francisco Bay Area. This song is also notable for featuring a diss to Brooklyn rapper The Notorious B.I.G. in which E-40 says,"Don't buy an $85,000 car before you buy a house",making reference to Biggie owning expensive cars but still not having purchased his own home. In the video,Tupac Shakur,who makes a cameo appearance,winks at the camera when this line is said. This song is also one of Too Short's successful songs amongst many Platinum Albums Too Short has recorded with other Bay Area HipHop Rap Legend. Later several Top Artists around the Bay would collaborate on the album Derty Werk by T.W.D.Y. a west coast supergroup formed by Ant Banks and released in 1999. The music video also features another Rap artist from the Bay Area most known for his Raw Gangsta Rap lyrics,Ice-T arriving with Too Short &playing pool with Tupac,albeit doesn't perform.
