"Greatest Hits" Released, with Four Unreleased Songs

On Tuesday, November 24, 1998, Greatest Hits was released, a double CD featuring 25 songs from Tupac’s entire career, issued by Death Row, Interscope, and Amaru. The only omission was the double album R U Still Down? from the previous year. According to SoundScan, it sold more than 268,000 copies in its first week; on the Billboard chart of December 12, it entered at No. 5. At the same time, two videos were released: a montage for Changes and a previously unreleased clip for All About U.

Four Stars and Four New Songs

The Los Angeles Times gave the album the highest rating of four stars. The critic explained Tupac’s impact by noting that he openly challenged authority while also speaking about his feelings as an insecure young man under constant scrutiny: about the love for his mother, about desire, about life in the ghetto. Every topic carried passion and urgency with him.

The four previously unreleased tracks would take center stage, he predicted, especially God Bless the Dead, one of Tupac’s dedications to deceased companions. The other three showed him sentimental, ruthless, and reflective. Further collections and posthumous albums are listed in the Discography.