''Better Dayz'' is the eighth studio album and fourth

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'' (E ...

album by the late 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 ...

, and is his last to be a double-album. It was released on November 26, 2002, debuting at number five on the US ''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

remix A remix (or reorchestration) 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, video, poem, or photograph can all be remixes. The o ...

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. Dre ...

, and was produced by

Johnny "J" Johnny Lee Jackson (August 28, 1969 – October 3, 2008) was a Mexican-American multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper best known for his early career with Death Row Records, and for his work with 2Pac on '' Me Against the Wor ...

Jazze Pha Phalon Anton Alexander, (born April 15, 1974), professionally known as Jazze Pha ( ), is an American record producer, singer, songwriter and rapper from Memphis, Tennessee. He is the founder and chief executive officer of Sho'nuff Records, to wh ...

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

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 ...

. It includes "Military Minds" which features

Boot Camp Clik Boot Camp Clik is an American hip hop music, hip hop Supergroup (music), supergroup from Brooklyn, New York City, which is composed of Buckshot (rapper), Buckshot (of Black Moon (band), Black Moon), Smif-N-Wessun (Tek (rapper), Tek and Steele (rap ...

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 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 with Atlantic Records of Warner Mu ...

, and which the original version can be found on '' The Show''. The song ‘’Late Night’’ featuring DJ Quik, has been removed from all digital versions of the album for an unknown reason. The album features appearances by

, Ron Isley, Nas,

Mýa Mya Marie Harrison (; born October 10, 1979), (stylized as Mýa), is an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and actress. Born into a musical family, she studied ballet, jazz, and tap dance as a child. Initially, Mýa began her career as a VJ ...

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

Recording

It features unreleased recordings from the 1994–1996 period, the majority of which are remixed mainly between

Thug Life Volume 1 ''Thug Life, Volume I'' is the only studio album by American hip hop group Thug Life, released on September 26, 1994, by Interscope Records and Out da Gutta Records and distributed by Atlantic Records. The group was started by American rapper 2Pac ...

& The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. 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".

Critical reception

John Bush from

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 dat ...

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 quick-and-dirty 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 sl ...

'' 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 ''25 to Life'' is a third-person shooter video game developed by Avalanche Software and Ritual Entertainment and published by Eidos Interactive for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 2, and Xbox and released in 2006. Set in a modern environment ...

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/ ...

(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 musical group originally from Cincinnati, Ohio, that began as a vocal trio consisting of brothers O'Kelly Isley Jr., Rudolph Isley and Ronald Isley in the 1950s. With a career spanning over seven decade ...

* "Catchin' Feelins" ** "Peter Piper" by Run-DMC * "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. He reached a broad audience with his trenchant observations and storytelling style, and is widely regarded as on ...

** "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 and vocalist. A sideman for many other jazz musicians of his generation, Byrd was one of the few hard bop m ...

** "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 funk and acid jazz 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 t ...

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