"Playa Cardz Right" is a song by American R&B recording artist

Keyshia Cole Keyshia Myeshia Cole (née Johnson; born October 15, 1981) is an American singer, songwriter, television personality and actress. Dubbed by critics as the " Princess of Hip-Hop Soul", she is known for her soulful voice and heartfelt lyrics. Bor ...

. The song features late 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 ...

and was originally included on his sixth posthumously released album '' Pac's Life'' (2006), with most of his vocals initially recorded for his fourth studio album '' All Eyez on Me'' (1996). Cole's reworked version, produced by

Ron Fair Ronald Fair is an American record producer, record executive, musical arranger, recording engineer and conductor. A traditional record producer since 1970, Fair has been credited with orchestral production work on several commercially success ...

and

Carvin & Ivan Carvin & Ivan are a production duo from Philadelphia consisting of producers and songwriters Ivan "Orthodox" Barias and Carvin "Ransum" Haggins. Initially starting out as solo hip hop artists, Haggins and Barias moved into production and songwr ...

for Karma Productions, was released as the lead single from her third album '' A Different Me'' (2008). The music video premiered on BET's Access Granted on October 30, 2008.

Original version and remixes

The song was originally produced by Johnny J and features Hurt-M-Badd,Archived a
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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 S ...

Mopreme Shakur Maurice Shakur ( né Harding; August 16, 1967), better known by his stage name Mopreme Shakur, originally known as Wycked, is an American rapper. He was a member of the hip-hop group Thug Life and is the stepbrother of rapper Tupac Shakur. He wa ...

, Yaki Kadafi & E.D.I. It can be found on numerous 2Pac mixtapes. It can also be found on

's mixtape ''Evolution Of A Thug Life N.I.G.G.A. Vol. 1.1.'', omitting Yaki Kadafi & E.D.I.'s verses. There is another version of the original version that leaked online & mixtapes, that version replaces Hurt-M-Badd with singer

Michel'le Michel'le Denise Toussant ( ; born December 5, 1967), also spelled Toussaint, is an American R&B singer known for her songs from 1989 to the early 1990s. Her highest charting song is the top ten US Hot 100 hit "No More Lies". Between 2013 and ...

. There is a remix that features 2Pac's late friend &

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 ...

member

Hussein Fatal Bruce Edward Washington Jr. (April 3, 1973July 10, 2015), better known by his stage name Hussein Fatal or sometimes as Fatal Hussein, was an American rapper, best known for his collaborative work with Tupac Shakur as a member of the rap group Ou ...

with Keyshia Cole & 2Pac. As a part of an

iTunes iTunes is a media player, media library, and mobile device management (MDM) utility developed by Apple. It is used to purchase, play, download and organize digital multimedia on personal computers running the macOS and Windows operating s ...

download for Cole's album A Different Me, a no-rap version was released as a bonus track. Omitting 2Pac's vocals, it featured a new lead verse by Cole. The Original recording of the song contains an uncleared sample of "If you play your cards right" by Alicia Myers. The title "Playa Cardz Right" is a take on the original song's title.

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

References

2008 singles Keyshia Cole songs Music videos directed by Benny Boom Tupac Shakur songs Songs released posthumously Song recordings produced by Ron Fair Songs written by Tupac Shakur Songs written by Ludacris 2007 songs Geffen Records singles {{2000s-US-single-stub