Tupac Amaru Shakur died on Friday the 13th, 1996. On Dec. 21 Tupac’s estate released his third posthumous album of original material, Still I Rise.
Following up on the success of Makaveli The 7 Day Theory and R U Still Down, the Shakur estate is hoping for another multi-platinum hit from one of the most provocative and talented emcees ever to pick up a mic.
Still I Rise brings Shakur’s understudies, the Outlawz, to the forefront. Much like Shakur’s early work with Thug Life, Shakur drops a few verses but leaves plenty of beats for his proteges to rhyme over.
The first track, “Letter to the President,” is 2Pac and the Outlaws voicing their concerns about what they see as a lack of action by President Clinton to help the inner cities become safer and asking for the police brutality to come to an end.
Tupac spits, “Dear heavenly father let me holla at you briefly/ I want to meet the President but will he meet me?/ How hypocritical is Liberty/ that woman’s never done anything for me.”
The title track opens with 2Pac telling the sad story of how he was conceived in the worst of conditions. He uses the first verse to tell how he started out with one foot in the grave, “I was born not to make it/ but still I did/ the tribulations of a ghetto kid.
Still I Rise gives the listener a deep look into what 2Pac dealt with in his childhood and how through all the trouble and bad times he and his Outlawz continue to get up, they still rise.
The first single to be released from Still I Rise is the heart-felt “Baby Don’t Cry (Keep Your Head Up II).” 2Pac reacquaints the listener with his soft side. This track, like the original Keep Your Head Up, urges women in tough situations to continue to push on and keep moving.
“Baby don’t cry you gotta keep your head up/ even when the road is hard never let up/ hope you got your head up/ even when the road is hard never give up.”
“Black Jesus” is 2Pac and the Outlaws calling out for someone to come and save them from the hell they endure every day. They are calling for another strong black figure to lead them into prosperity and equality.
2Pac preaches, “In times of war we need someone strong to rally the troops.” The hook sounds like a church choir, “We believe in you, everything you do, just want to let you know how we feel.”
“Homeboyz” is 2Pac and the Outlawz’s answer to all those fools who talk a lot of game while they have people watching their back, but when “you out on that solo creep, never hear a peep.” This track goes from dissing those who trash talk with their homeboys around them but then moves into how 2Pac appreciates the love his dogs give him.
“I ain’t nothing without my homeboyz/ me and my brotha’s are so close it’s complicated/ one brotha smoking and drinking and we’re all faded/ my boy E.D.I. had a son and we’re all happy/ now that little ridah has a deal with eight daddy’s.”
Still I Rise is a great album for 2Pac fans who couldn’t get their hands on the Makaveli bootlegs that have been surfacing over the past three years. A number of the Makaveli bootleg tracks appear on Still I Rise. However, the tracks have been produced again and made slicker for the official release.
2Pac and the Outlawz put together a great selection of tracks back in 1995. This shows how 2Pac and his ideas transcend time. 2Pac will never die, as long as his music continues to strike a chord with hip-hop fans everywhere.
