More Than 150 Unreleased Tupac Songs

Original: “More Tupac Material Discovered” · MTV News · no byline · January 28, 1997

In January 1997, a single number was enough to capture the scale of Tupac’s estate: the rapper reportedly left behind more than 150 finished songs before his death. The brief MTV report picked up a story from the Los Angeles Times and quoted Johnny “J” Jackson, one of Tupac’s most important producers. Most of the tracks dated from 1995, recorded during the sessions for All Eyez on Me.

Lawsuit Against Death Row and Two Soundtracks

Jackson had recently sued Death Row, alleging the label owed him royalties for his work on All Eyez on Me. Several of the songs were scheduled to appear soon on the soundtracks to Gridlock’d and Gang Related, the two films Tupac had finished shooting. What would become of the vast remainder remained unclear.

From 150 Songs to Years of Albums

The figure of “over 150” laid the foundation for one of the longest chapters in Tupac’s history: the posthumous releases. By spring 1997, Afeni Shakur and Death Row were already battling over 152 unreleased recordings (see Afeni Shakur sues Death Row).

Years full of albums followed: R U Still Down? (1997) featuring material from before his Death Row era, the Greatest Hits album (1998), Still I Rise (1999), Until the End of Time (2001), and more. Critics did not always view this kindly: in 1997, the Los Angeles Times dismissed much of R U Still Down? as filler, highlighting I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto as the standout track. Among fans, debates continue over posthumously altered beats and guest features; it remains disputed how much of it Tupac would have released in that form himself.

Johnny “J” Jackson, the producer behind songs like How Do U Want It and All About U, died on October 3, 2008.