Hail Mary

Tolling bells, a dragging beat, Tupac's voice as if from beyond the grave: Hail Mary is among the best-known tracks he left behind. As the third single from The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, the track was released in early 1997, five months after his death.

Declaration of War and Prayer in Under an Hour

The track is both a declaration of war and a prayer. Tupac portrays himself as an outcast threatening his enemies while simultaneously having to answer to God.

According to Wikipedia, the song was created in less than an hour. Hurt-M-Badd supplied the sparse, eerie beat, reggae singer Prince Ital Joe delivered the hook, and the Outlawz contributed verses of their own.

As a Ghost in the Video, as a Hologram at Coachella

The video was released in March 1997 and shows an invisible Tupac returning as a ghost to take revenge on his killers. Later, Hail Mary appeared in films such as Baby Boy (2001), Creed (2015), and All Eyez on Me (2017).

At the 2012 Coachella festival, a Tupac hologram performed the song. According to Wikipedia, sales rose by around 1,500 percent the following week.

The 1997 British Maxi-Single

This edition is the British maxi-single (CD IND 95575, also on 12").

Life of an Outlaw also comes from the Makaveli album. The release does indeed fall in 1997.