2Pac Live

Concert recordings of Tupac are rare. When Death Row Records released the first official stage album with 2Pac Live in August 2004, the record immediately divided listeners. Back then, the CD drew extensive and rather scathing criticism. The core of that criticism holds up to scrutiny: the material is valuable, the presentation is not.

Moved-Up Date and a Scrapped DVD

Following Tupac's death, Death Row held the rights to the recordings from 1995 and 1996 and, in the early 2000s, released several projects through Koch Records, including the remix collection Nu-Mixx Klazzics. 2Pac Live is based on recordings of club performances from 1996. Exactly where and when the individual tracks were recorded is only patchily documented by the release. Because a bootleg was circulating in advance, the label moved the date forward by a few days at short notice.

A package with a DVD had originally been announced; the CD ultimately appeared without any video material. The July 1996 House of Blues concert only followed separately in 2005 as Live at the House of Blues on CD and DVD.

Between Crowd Noise and Abrupt Cutoffs

The selection mainly comprises songs from All Eyez on Me, along with So Many Tears, Troublesome, and Hit 'Em Up. The Outlawz are on stage almost throughout, handling choruses as well as their own verses, such as on Tattoo Tears. Snoop Doggy Dogg joins in for 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, while How Do U Want It begins with K-Ci & JoJo.

The weaknesses described in the old review are easy to hear: sound quality fluctuates heavily, backing music disappears into crowd noise in places, and several songs cut off after a short time. Heartz of Men is only seven seconds long. Troublesome, by contrast, remains one of the few tracks that can be heard in full and with full energy.

More Hype Man than Performer of His Hits

Reviews turned out accordingly: AllMusic awarded two out of five stars, HipHopDX three and a half, RapReviews 7.5 out of 10. In the first week, around 23,000 copies were sold.

For fans, the album remains a document of how Tupac came across live in 1996: breathless, aggressive, often more hype man than performer of his own hits. Anyone wanting to hear a concert in better quality will sooner reach for Live at the House of Blues.