''Pac's Life'' is the tenth and final studio album by American rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

. It is also his seventh

posthumous Posthumous may refer to: * Posthumous award - an award, prize or medal granted after the recipient's death * Posthumous publication – material published after the author's death * ''Posthumous'' (album), by Warne Marsh, 1987 * ''Posthumous'' ...

album, released on November 21, 2006, in the United States, on

Amaru Entertainment Amaru Entertainment (formerly Amaru Records) is a record label founded in 1997 by Afeni Shakur after the death of her son Tupac Shakur, Tupac Amaru Shakur. The label was created to handle the release of Tupac's previously unreleased material, an ...

. Its 2006 release date was intended to commemorate the tenth anniversary of his murder. The album debuted at number nine on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart.

Background

A broad range of artists contributed to the album, including

Outlawz Outlawz (formerly known as Outlaw Immortalz) are an American hip hop group founded by rapper Tupac Shakur in late 1995 after Shakur's release from prison. Collectively, they were best known for their association with Shakur. Most of the group m ...

Krayzie Bone Anthony Henderson (born June 17, 1973), better known as Krayzie Bone, is an American rapper, singer, producer, and entrepreneur. He is a member of the rap group Bone Thugs-n-Harmony. Personal life Henderson comes from a fourth generation fami ...

, Snoop Dogg, Chamillionaire,

Ludacris Christopher Brian Bridges (born September 11, 1977), known professionally as Ludacris (, homophonous with 'ludicrous' in American English), is an American rapper, actor, record producer and record executive. Born in Champaign, Illinois, Ludac ...

, A-3,

Big Syke Tyruss Gerald Himes (November 22, 1968 – December 5, 2016), better known by his stage names Big Syke and Mussolini, was an American rapper best known for his work with the American hip-hop groups Thug Life and Outlawz. His stage name "Big Syk ...

Papoose Papoose (from the Algonquian ''papoose'', meaning "child") is an American English word whose present meaning is "a Native American child" (regardless of tribe) or, even more generally, any child, usually used as a term of endearment, often in t ...

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, and television personality. Born and raised in Oakland, California, Cole began her career as a backing vocalist for MC Hammer. After signing with A&M Records ...

Jay Rock Johnny Reed McKinzie Jr. (born March 31, 1983), better known by his stage name Jay Rock, is an American rapper, singer and songwriter from Los Angeles. He signed to indie label Top Dawg Entertainment (TDE), in 2005. Under TDE, Rock secured a rec ...

Young Buck David Darnell Brown (born March 15, 1981), best known by his stage name Young Buck, is an American rapper. He heads his own record label, Cashville, and was a member of the former hip hop group G-Unit. Early life Brown was born in Nashville, T ...

, Ashanti, T.I.,

Lil' Scrappy Darryl Raynard Richardson III (born January 19, 1984), better known by his stage name Lil Scrappy, is an American rapper. Richardson was discovered by producer and performer Lil Jon while performing at a bar in Atlanta. Along with labelmates T ...

Nipsey Hussle Airmiess Joseph Asghedom (August 15, 1985 – March 31, 2019), known professionally as Nipsey Hussle (often stylized as Nipsey Hu$$le), was an American rapper, entrepreneur, and activist. Emerging from the West Coast hip hop scene in the mid- ...

, three posthumous appearances by Kadafi, and

Jamal Woolard Jamal "Gravy" Woolard (born July 8, 1975) is an American actor and rapper. He is best known for portraying rapper The Notorious B.I.G. in the film '' Notorious'', and, as a supporting character, in the Tupac Shakur biopic ''All Eyez on Me''. Lif ...

, who became famous for portraying

The Notorious B.I.G. Christopher George Latore Wallace (May 21, 1972 – March 9, 1997), better known by his stage names the Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper. Rooted in East Coast hip hop and particularly gangsta ...

in the 2009 biopic '' Notorious'' and in the 2017 biopic ''

All Eyez on Me ''All Eyez on Me'' is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac and the last to be released during his lifetime. Released on February 13, 1996, by Death Row and Interscope Records, the album features guest appearances from Dr. Dre, Sno ...

''. 14 out of the 15 tracks were remixed posthumously with "Soon As I Get Home" being the only track left un-altered from the way 2Pac recorded it. The album features guest appearances from Ashanti and T.I., who appear on the title track " Pac's Life." They also participated in the release of the single version of the song, which was filmed at the

Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, based in Stone Mountain, Georgia, was a performing arts center supported through the Shakur Family Foundation. The Shakur Center's mission was to provide opportunities for young people through the arts, ...

. The World Premiere of "Pac's Life" was on at 7:30 PM on BET's ''

Access Granted ''Access Granted'' is an American television series that features an in depth look at the planning, filming and production of R&B and hip hop music videos. Each week a different artist and their new music video are featured, with the video pre ...

'' on Wednesday, November 22. The video featured on BET's behind the scenes of the filming of "Pac's Life".

, appears on the album's first single, " Untouchable".

Promotion

The album was recorded in

Van Nuys, California Van Nuys () is a neighborhood in the central San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, California. Home to Van Nuys Airport and the Valley Municipal Building, it is the most populous neighborhood in the San Fernando Valley. History In 1909, ...

. A week of events was conducted for the celebration of the release. It kicked off on Saturday November 11 at the Vaknin Gallery with "All Eyez On Me: Hip-Hop's Legendary Performers and Photographers," where photographers displayed their material. On Tuesday November 14, at the same venue, a VIP party previewing Pac's Life took place from 7:00pm – 10:00pm. The events were then shifted to the

(TASCA) where coat drives were held on Wednesday, November 15 and Friday, November 17 everyone who brought a winter coat received two admission tickets to the Pac's Life album release party. On Monday November 20, a "Pac's Life Teen Art" competition took place from 6-8 PM, where children ages 13–17 competed in an art exhibit contest.

Critical reception

Reviews from critics and fans were mixed, with the general consensus being that while 2Pac's vocals were undoubtedly strong, the modern production sounded commercialized.

AllMusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on musicians and bands. Initiated in 1991, the databa ...

wrote: "This isn't to say that there is not some great material on Pac's Life, because there is ..., but the power of 2Pac's words is often lost behind the modern production ... and new verses from artists like Ludacris, Lil Scrappy, Ashanti, and Young Buck."

Commercial performance

''Pac's Life'' debuted at number nine on the US ''Billboard'' 200 chart, selling 159,000 copies in its first week. This became 2Pac's tenth US top-ten album and his seventh posthumous album to reach the top-ten.

Track listing

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Release history

References

{{Authority control 2006 albums Albums produced by E.D.I. Albums produced by Swizz Beatz Interscope Records albums Albums published posthumously Tupac Shakur albums Albums produced by L.T. Hutton