"Soundtrack to \"Resurrection\" Debuts at No. 2 on the Billboard 200"

The soundtrack to the documentary film was released on November 11, 2003, by Amaru and Interscope and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 one week later. According to Nielsen SoundScan, 430,000 copies were sold in the first week. Ahead of Resurrection was only Jay-Z with The Black Album (463,000), followed by G-Unit with Beg for Mercy. Billboard counted the album as the eighth posthumous release featuring Tupac’s music.

Eminem, 50 Cent and Biggie

Four tracks were previously unreleased. The first single “Runnin’ (Dying to Live)” combined verses from Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G. with a chorus from Edgar Winter’s 1971 track “Dying to Live”. It was produced by Eminem. He explained that he wanted to transport listeners back to the time of the feud; in retrospect, everyone could see how senseless this feud had been, especially since both had started out as friends. Eminem also produced “Ghosts” and rapped with the Outlawz on “One Day at a Time”. On “The Realist Killaz”, 50 Cent could be heard.

In addition, there were nine older recordings, from the Digital Underground track “Same Song”, Tupac’s first appearance on record, to “Starin’ at the World Through My Rearview”. Afeni Shakur, executive producer of the film and album, called it important that Tupac and Biggie came back together, for the fans of both men and for reconciliation.

Harsh Criticism

Rolling Stone delivered a harsh verdict: of all posthumous Tupac albums, this one was the most padded, and the gunshots as a rhythmic element on two of the new tracks were a poor fit for a man who was shot to death.