Released November 26, 2002 Artist Tupac Shakur | Length 112:38 Release date 26 November 2002 | |
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Recorded 1994-1996 (2Pac's vocals)2001–2002 (Production, guest vocals, and mixing) Similar Tupac Shakur albums, West Coast hip hop albums | ||
2pac album intro
Better Dayz is the eighth studio album and fourth posthumous album by the late American rapper 2Pac, the third to be released without the artist's creative input and is the last to be a double-album.
Contents
It was released on November 26, 2002, debuting at number 5 on the Billboard 200. This album is the second of two albums (The first being Until The End Of Time) that consists of a collection of previously unreleased material by way of remixed songs from Tupac's "Makaveli" period while signed to Death Row Records, and was produced by Johnny "J", Jazze Pha, Frank Nitty, and E.D.I. of Outlawz. It includes "Military Minds" which features Boot Camp Clik members Buckshot and Smif-n-Wessun (credited as Cocoa Brovaz) which was supposed to be part of a collaborative album between Shakur and BCC titled One Nation but was never officially released due to Shakur's death. Better Dayz has no censored references to Death Row Records unlike the previous album Until The End Of Time. The only track on the album pre-Death Row era is "My Block (Remix)", which was recorded in 1994–1995 during Shakur's time with Interscope Records, and which the original version can be found on The Show.
It features 23 unreleased recordings from the 1994–1996 period, the majority of which are remixed. Others retain their original form or are complete finished mixes, such as "Fuck 'Em All", "Late Night", "Ghetto Star", "Better Dayz", "Who Do U Believe In?" and "They Don't Give A Fuck About Us". The album features appearances by Outlawz, Ron Isley, Nas, Mýa, Jazze Pha, Tyrese and among others. The hit single, "Thugz Mansion," comes in two versions: an acoustic version featuring Nas, on which the music video is based, and a hip hop version featuring Anthony Hamilton.
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Reception
John Bush from AllMusic wrote: "Though it was released on the eve of the busiest year in 2Pac's posthumous career, Better Dayz shouldn't be overlooked—and with the schedule including a feature documentary (with soundtrack), plus two books and another double album, it might be easy for this one to slip from the radar. A lengthy two-disc set, it benefits from a raft of still-compelling material by one of the two or three best rappers in history, as well as excellent compiling by executive producers Suge Knight and Afeni Shakur, 2Pac's mother. Organizing the set roughly into one disc of hardcore rap and one of R&B jams makes for an easier listen, and the R&B disc especially has some strong tracks, opening with a remix of 1995's "My Block" and including quintessentially 2Pac material—reflective, conflicted, occasionally anguished—like "Never Call U Bitch Again," "Better Dayz," "Fame," and "This Life I Lead." Most of the tracks are previously unreleased, the rest coming from scattered compilations like Knight's Chronic 2000: Still Smokin' or 1995's The Show soundtrack. It's 2Pac's best album since his death, and bodes well for future material by, and concerning, rap's most legendary figure. Kludge magazine included it on their list of best albums of 2002.
The track "Ghetto Star" has appeared on the soundtrack to the video game 25 To Life.
Commercial performance
Better Dayz sold 366,000 copies in its first week on the charts. It has sold 1,765,597 copies in the United States as of 2011. On January 31, 2003, it was certified Platinum in the U.S., and reached 3x Platinum in July 2014. The album was also certified 3x Platinum in Canada in May 2003.
Samples
Songs
1Intro0:55
2Still Ballin' (Nitty Remix) [Explicit]2:49
3When We Ride on Our Enemies (Briss Remix)2:54