2Pac - Better Dayz

[ImmortalOne]

Pac's latest post humous album Better Dayz was met with mixed reviews..........his previous album, Until The End Of Time, wasnt recieved well and for good reason. Many of the songs on the album were changed from their original form, mostly for the worse. With Better Dayz, the opinion seems to be more divided. Some people feel the album is just as bad if not worse than UTEOT, while others feel that despite the change of most of the og songs ONCE again, this album is an overall improvement from Until. I am one who has the latter opinion. Many of the songs were changed here, but you can tell they put more effort into this release than with Until The End Of Time. Better Dayz has less guest appearances, though the guest appearances that are here would unlikely happen if Pac was still living today. A song with Trick Daddy?? Doubtful. Tyrese?? Yea, right. Jazze Phae?? Dont make me laugh. Despite these mis-steps, the album holds together fairly well. There are a number of strong cuts, such as the vintage Pac sounding "Mamas Just A Little Girl" and the already known classic party song, "Late Night". Another complaint about Pac's post humous work were the beats. Most of the new beats here are much better than UTEOT. UTEOT had alot of commecial beats that didnt fit Pac's sound at all. Better Dayz has some beats like that, but they are much fewer in number here. "Street Fame" was completely remixed, but has a much darker beat than the original, as does Never Be Peace. This isnt a classic album by any means, but its a solid release to give the hip hop world more songs from one of its finest artists ever. Here are the song ratings/descriptions:

Disc 1

1. Intro - just a news reporter talking about the albums release and how Pac was ahead of his time.....no rating.

2. Still Ballin - This is a very fast paced song. Overall, the beat is very hard hitting, and pretty good overall. Pac's verses are good, though nothing amazing. Trick Daddy actually drops a decent verse too.....a good song to bump in the ride.......4/5

3. When We Ride On Our Enemies - This song, thankfully, wasnt changed too much. The lyrics are all still the same, only the beat is different. The original beat definatly fits the song better, as the new beat is more commercial, but still not bad........3.5/5

4. Changed Man - The beat here doesnt go with the song at all. It sounds like a beat made for a club song, and this is no club song. And Jazze Phae pretty much sucks......I havent heard the original version of this yet, but im not too crazy about this one......2.5/5

5. Fuck Em All - Damn, this song is RAW. Ive always wondered how Pac would sound over a electric guitar. Turned out pretty nice here. His first verse is unbelievable, one of his most energetic performances ever. The Outlawz are too abundant though. Kadafi's verse was fine, but the others were quite average.........4/5

6. Never Be Peace - I like this alot. This is a clear improvement over the original. Pac and EDI drop very nice verses....Kastro's verse is aight. The production is much darker than the original, and makes the song sound better overall........4.5/5

7. Mamas Just A Little Girl - Classic Pac right here. This is kinda like Brendas Got A Baby Part 2......deep lyrics, uplifting content, nice spanish guitar = classic song.......5/5

8. Street Fame - MUCH better than the original. The original sounds very dated in comparison. The lyrics here are pretty much the same, but there is an extra Pac verse, and that new piano loop with the synthesizer works beautifully.......5/5

9. What Cha Gonna Do - I have mixed feelings about this song. In some ways, it is better than the og version, but not completely. The beat is better, but I prefer Pac's old chorus opposed to the Outlawz. Speaking of the Lawz, they are on here, and bring the song down a bit......3.5/5

10. Fair Xchange - I know alot of people like this song, from what ive seen, but im not fond of it. I mentioned in my UTEOT review that I dont like Pac's fuck songs much.....call me biased, but thats just how I am. Clearly, Pac was at his best when making raw street songs or socially conscience/politically aware tracks....he could make good party tracks, but I dont think his fuck songs represent who he really was, or his cause.....even so, the og version is easily better anyway, though I dont really like any version of this song......I always skip it......1/5

11. Late Night - Great party track here, and they didnt fuck it up [though they took Quiks verse out]....the beat is the same though, and this is definatly an AEOM type song.....good one to cruise to....4/5

12. Ghetto Star - There is some speculation that this is the og version, and that the one with Bad Azz is the remake. I like the one with Bad Azz better....the beat was much HARDER, and Bad Azz ripped that song up. This version is still good though.....4/5

13. Thugz Mansion w/Nas - Ive always liked Pac over acoustic type beats, and its no different here. Nas's verse is excellent, and Pac's last verse is one of his best ever. This song has caught alot of hate, I guess because alot of people thought Pac still hated Nas, but this is a great song nevertheless......4.5/5

Disc 2

1. My Block rmx - The original was incredible, and so is this version. More acoustic guitar here. Still a classic song........5/5

2. Thugz Mansion - This is a little easier to bump than the Nas version, because it isnt an acoustic. Pac drops 3 amazing, ahead-of-his-time verses, and the chorus fits the song well.......a good first single.......5/5

3. Never Call U Bitch Again - Pac would probably have never done a song with Tyrese, and I think he slows the song down too much here.....the production fits nicely, and the content is great though.....for that reason, this is still a solid song......3.5/5

4. Better Dayz - Classic. Perfect production for the song, with some inspirational lyrics. R. Isley, unlike Tyrese, makes the song better.....5/5

5. U Can Call - Another good song ruined by poor production, and a boring chorus. Lyrics are on point, but the beat doesnt go with the song at all. Its actually a very bland, colorless track. Had the production been good, this would have been a great song.....as it is, its only average.....3/5

6. Military Minds - Whoa, they fucked this song up. The beat is HORRIBLE, absolutly horrible. A No Limit beat sounds better than this. The Coco brothers are horrid rappers too......Pac and Buckshot have decent verses, but the og version is about 100 times better, though even that version isnt anything special.....1/5

7. Fame - I like this one.....nice piano loop, excellent verse from Pac, and even the Outlawz come nice.....that chorus is CLASSSSSSIC.....4.5/5

8. Fair Xchange rmx - Yall know how I feel about this song.....and this one is even worse......1/5

9. Catchin Feelin's - Ive only heard the og one time, so I cant compare them. This version isnt too good. The chorus gets annoying real quickly, and there's too many Outlawz. The beat is pretty simplistic, and doesnt go with the song......2/5

10. There U Go - Another poorly done song.....chorus is HORRIBLE, production is plain, and again, too many guest appearances. Only Pac drops a good verse......2/5

11. This Life I Lead - They fucked this song up. OG version is way better. Better beat, and Kurupt and Daz were better guests than the Outlawz.....2/5

12. Who Do U Believe In - Everyone already knows this song. Quite simply, one of the greatest songs written in music history, and Pac's two verses are MINDBLOWING. This song was a prime example of him reaching a new level that few other MC's have ever reached. You can definatly tell this was recorded during the DK7 sessions......5/5, nuff said

13. They Dont Give A Fuck About Us - This is a great song, and a great way to end the album. My only gripe is that they took the violin out of the beat, but its rumored that Daz has that version. Outlawz come nice, but as usual, Pac is the star here. Classic chorus too........4.5/5

This is a much better album than Until The End Of Time. However, it still could have been even better, if only Afeni knew how Pac fans felt. At least we are still getting songs though. This is a strong comeback after the disappointment of the last album.....better beats, less guests, and more Pac

rating: 3.75/5

[T.J.]

still ballin-4
when we ride on our enemies-5
changed man-4
fuck em all-4.5
never be peace-2.5
mamas just a little girl-4
street fame-4.5
whatcha gonna do-2
fair xchange-3.5
late night-5
ghetto star-4

my block remix-5
thugz mansion-4
never call u bitch again-3.5
u can call-5
military minds-1.5
fame-5
fair xchange remix-3.5
catchin feelins-4
there u go-2.5
this life i lead-3
who do u believe in-5
they dont give a fuck about us-4.5

overall-4