''Better Dayz'' is the eighth

studio album An album is a collection of audio recordings (e.g., music) issued on a medium such as compact disc (CD), Phonograph record, vinyl (record), audio tape (like 8-track cartridge, 8-track or Cassette tape, cassette), or digital distribution, dig ...

and fourth

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award, an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication, publishing of creative work after the author's death * Posthumous (album), ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1 ...

album by the late American rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

. It is his last double-album. It was released on November 26, 2002, debuting at number five on the US ''Billboard'' 200. The 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

remix A remix, also sometimes called reorchestration or rework, is a piece of media which has been altered or contorted from its original state by adding, removing, or changing pieces of the item. A song, piece of artwork, book, poem, or photograph ca ...

ed songs from Tupac's " Makaveli" period while signed to

Death Row Records Death Row Records is an American 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. D ...

, and was produced by Johnny "J",

Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, known professionally as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, rapper, singer and songwriter. He founded the record label Sho'nuff Records in 1995, through which he signed R&B singer Ciara in 2003. He produced h ...

, Frank Nitty, and E.D.I. Mean of

Outlawz Outlawz was an American hip-hop group founded by Tupac Shakur and Yafeu Fula in 1995. Originally known as Thoro Headz and Young Thugs, the group attracted attention with their appearance on Tupac's song "Flex", which was the B-side of his singl ...

. 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

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 Interscope Records is an American record label based in Santa Monica, California, owned by Universal Music Group through its Interscope Geffen A&M imprint. Founded in late 1990 by Jimmy Iovine and Ted Field as a $20 million joint venture ...

, and which the original version was released prior on the 1995 soundtrack album '' The Show''. The songs ‘’Late Night’’ and "Who Do You Believe In" were also released previously on Death Row's 1999 compilation '' Chronic 2000''. The song ‘’Late Night’’ is missing from all digital and streaming releases, aswell as newer CD releases. The album features appearances by

, Ron Isley,

Nas Nas (born 1973) is the stage name of American rapper Nasir Jones. Nas, NaS, or NAS may also refer to: Aviation * Nasair, a low-cost airline carrier and subsidiary based in Eritrea * National Air Services, an airline in Saudi Arabia ** Nas Air (S ...

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), known professionally as Mýa, is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, record producer, and actress. She was born in Washington D.C. and studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Her ca ...

and Tyrese, among others. The hit single, "Thugz Mansion," has two versions: an acoustic version featuring Nas and J. Phoenix, which the music video is based on, and a hip hop version featuring Anthony Hamilton.

Recording

The album features unreleased recordings from the 1994–1996 period, the majority of which are remixed tracks from '' Thug Life Volume 1'', '' All Eyez On Me'' & '' The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory''. The album's other tracks 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".

Critical reception

John Bush from

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

wrote: "Better Dayz shouldn't be overlooked ..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.' ..It's 2Pac's best album since his death." ''

Kludge A kludge or kluge () is a workaround or makeshift solution that is clumsy, inelegant, inefficient, difficult to extend, and hard to maintain. This term is used in diverse fields such as computer science, aerospace engineering, Internet slang, ...

'' 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'' debuted at number five on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 366,000 copies in its first week. This became 2Pac's eighth US top-ten album. In its second week, the album dropped to number eight on the chart, selling an additional 163,000 copies. As of September 2011, the album has sold 1,765,597 copies in the United States. On July 23, 2014, the album was certified

triple platinum Music recording certification is a system of certifying that a music recording has shipped, sold, or streamed a certain number of units. The threshold quantity varies by type (such as album, single, music video) and by nation or territory (see ...

by the

Recording Industry Association of America The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) is a trade organization that represents the music recording industry in the United States. Its members consist of record labels and distributors that the RIAA says "create, manufacture, and/o ...

(RIAA) for sales of over three million copies. In May 2003, the album was also certified triple platinum in Canada for sales of over 300,000 copies in Canada.

Track listing

Samples

* "Better Dayz" ** "Let's Fall in Love (Parts 1 & 2)" by

The Isley Brothers The Isley Brothers ( ) are an American soul group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of the brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decades, ...

* "Catchin' Feelins" ** "Peter Piper" by

Run-DMC Run-DMC (also formatted Run-D.M.C., RUN DMC, or some combination thereof) was an American hip-hop group formed in Hollis, Queens, New York City in 1983 by Joseph Simmons, Darryl McDaniels, and Jason Mizell. Run-DMC is regarded as one of the mos ...

* "Late Night" ** "Have Your Ass Home by 11:00" by

Richard Pryor Richard Franklin Lennox Thomas Pryor Sr. (December 1, 1940 – December 10, 2005) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. Known for reaching a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, he is widely regarded ...

** "Wind Parade" by

Donald Byrd Donaldson Toussaint L'Ouverture Byrd II (December 9, 1932 – February 4, 2013) was an American jazz and rhythm & blues trumpeter, composer and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few h ...

** "Last Night Changed It All (I Really Had a Ball)" by Esther Williams * "This Life I Lead" ** "Naturally Mine" by Al B. Sure! * "Who Do U Believe In" ** "Manifest Destiny" by

Jamiroquai Jamiroquai ( ) are an English acid jazz and funk band from London. Formed in 1992, they are fronted by vocalist Jay Kay, and were prominent in the London-based funk and acid jazz movement of the 1990s. They built on their acid jazz sound in th ...

Personnel

* 2Pac – vocals * Johnta Austin – featured artist * Rob "Fonksta" Bacon – guest artist, guitar * Bill Bennett – assistant engineer * Big Syke – featured artist * Ian Blanch – assistant engineer, engineer * Warren Bletcher – assistant engineer * Ian Boxill – engineer, mixing * Leslie Brathwaite – engineer, mixing * Briss – instrumentation, producer * Buckshot – featured artist * Coco Brothers – featured artist * Courtney Copeland – background vocals * Kevin Crouse – engineer * Claudio Cueni – digital editing, engineer, mixing, producer * Chris DeLaPena – assistant engineer * DJ Quik – engineer, producer * E.D.I. – featured artist, mixing, Music Supervisor, remixing * Steve Fisher – assistant engineer * Nanci Fletcher – featured artist * G Mack – guitar * Brian "Big bass" Gardner – mastering * A. Gobi – photography * Anthony Hamilton – featured artist * Darryl Harper – producer * Kimmy Hill – featured artist * Ronald Isley – guest artist * Jazze Pha – featured artist, producer * Johnny J – arranger, mixing, producer * Troy Johnson – instrumentation, producer * Kadafi – featured artist * Kastro – performer * Ronnie King – keyboards * Suge Knight – executive producer * Mr. Biggs – featured artist * Chicu Modu – photography * Molly Monjauze – project director * Mussamill – featured artist * James Musshorn – assistant engineer * Mya – featured artist * Napoleon – featured artist * Nas – featured artist * Duane Nettlesbey – * Nutso – featured artist * Outlawz – featured artist * J. Phoenix – featured artist, * Frank Nitty Pimentel – drum programming, Keyboards, producer * Will Pyon – digital editing * Chuck Reed – digital editing * R.J. – bass, guitar * 7 Aurelius – instrumentation, producer * Afeni Shakur – executive producer * Shorty B. – bass, guitar * Dexter Simmons – mixing * Alex Stiff – bass, guitar * T.I. – featured artist * Ellis Taylor – background vocals * Trick Daddy – featured artist * Tyrese – featured artist * Mark Vinten – assistant engineer * Corey Williams – assistant engineer * Dwight DeLemond Williams – featured artist * Jasmine Wilson – background vocals * Keston Wright – engineer * Young Noble – featured artist

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 2002 albums Tupac Shakur albums Albums published posthumously Albums produced by E.D.I. Albums produced by Daz Dillinger Albums produced by DJ Quik Albums produced by Johnny "J" Death Row Records albums Albums produced by Hurt-M-Badd