R U Still Down? (Remember Me)

Biography

R U Still Down? (Remember Me) is the second posthumous album by 2Pac, released in 1997, and the first to be finished without his creative input. Her son having left a large body of work behind, this was the first release from his mother's imprint Amaru Entertainment, set up to control 2Pac's posthumous releases. Shortly after 2Pac died, there were rumors that hundreds of unreleased songs remained in the vaults; a mere two months after his death, the first posthumous record, The Don Killuminati:...

R U Still Down? (Remember Me) is the second posthumous album by 2Pac, released in 1997, and the first to be finished without his creative input. Her son having left a large body of work behind, this was the first release from his mother's imprint Amaru Entertainment, set up to control 2Pac's posthumous releases. Shortly after 2Pac died, there were rumors that hundreds of unreleased songs remained in the vaults; a mere two months after his death, the first posthumous record, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, appeared. Death Row released the record, and shortly afterward, 2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur, gained the rights to all of his unreleased recordings from both the Interscope and Death Row labels. She founded the Amaru label and released the double-disc R U Still Down? (Remember Me) in late 1997. This album contains previously unreleased material from the time period of his albums Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., Thug Life: Volume 1 and Me Against the World. The first release on Amaru Records, R U Still Down? (Remember Me) was overseen by 2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur. This album airs his views on life from a time before he became involved in the controversial east coast/west coast rivalry. His lyrics foreshadow his death in songs like "Open Fire" and "Thug Style." Tupac mentions his life in the streets of Oakland, California in songs such as "Nothin' But Love" and how he started his career "Thug Life" mentality in those streets. As more of the original songs are leaked, it has become evident that many of the album's tracks were true to the originals, simply mastering and perfecting the original instrumentals and vocals. Songs like: "Hold On Be Strong", "Nothin' But Love", "Nothing To Lose", "Only Fear Of Death", "When I Get Free II", "Open Fire" are true to the originals. Those with fundamentally similar compositions include "Lie 2 Kick It", "I'm Gettin' Money" and "Thug Style". Tracks with completely new instrumentation include "Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto", "Hellrazor" and "Enemies With Me". "Definition of a Thug Nigga" also appears on the soundtrack of the 1993 film, Poetic Justice. The artwork includes a note from 2Pac: "Keep the faith in me. I will not let u down! love 2Pac". The album cover was previously used on Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. "As always, there's ample self-destructive bullshit," noted Spin, "but as a whole the album's eerie and undeniable." Rap idol 2Pac might find yet another life after death with his second posthumous release, an improvement on his first. That’s not to say this collection of unreleased material from 1991 to 1994 shows him at his best: Many of the 26 tracks are barely demo-worthy gangsta pap, and none rival Dear Mama for tragic grandeur. Still, 2Pac’s raw talent burns through when his voice goes hoarse with rage on Hellrazor. And on I’m Losin’ It, his blend of charismatic confidence and Travis Bickle paranoia is a bittersweet reminder of a gifted yet contradictory artist lost in the rap wars. It spawned two hits, "Do for Love" and "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto", of which "Do for Love" was certified Gold by the RIAA. R U Still Down? sold 549,000 copies in its first week. The album reached multi-platinum status (4 million sold) under a month on December 15, 1997, a trend followed by some of his subsequent posthumous albums. It topped the R&B charts in the United States for 3 weeks. Read more on Last.fm. User-contributed text is available under the Creative Commons By-SA License; additional terms may apply.