Platinum for "Resurrection", "Runnin'" Reaches the Top 20 of the Hot 100

On December 16, 2003, the US recording industry association RIAA certified the soundtrack Resurrection platinum, representing one million copies shipped to retail. The album had only been released on November 11 and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 2 with 430,000 copies sold in its first week.

Tupac and Biggie on the Hot 100

The single was also successful: “Runnin’ (Dying to Live)”, featuring verses by Tupac and The Notorious B.I.G., reached No. 19 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 5 on the rap chart Hot Rap Tracks in 2003. When Billboard ranked Biggie’s 15 biggest Hot 100 hits in 2020, the song stood at No. 9.

Afeni’s Doubts About Eminem

The track was produced by Eminem. Tupac’s mother Afeni Shakur was initially opposed to letting him work on her son’s recordings. Dr. Dre assured her that Eminem would not distort anything, she told Rolling Stone. She took the leap and was glad she did: when the song was finished, she and her entire family were amazed. At 56, she was simply not a hip-hop expert and needed a while to understand what Eminem had in mind.

The collaboration continued: a year later, Eminem produced the majority of the album Loyal to the Game.