"The Rose, Vol. 2": Rappers Set Tupac’s Poetry to Music

On September 2, 2005, Billboard presented the next project from Tupac’s foundation: The Rose, Vol. 2. Rappers wrote new songs set to poems from Tupac’s volume The Rose That Grew from Concrete. The 15-track album was scheduled to be released on September 20 on Amaru Entertainment and Koch.

Who Took Part

Featured artists included Talib Kweli with “Fallen Star”, Ludacris with “In the Depths of Solitude”, Dead Prez with “If I Fail”, as well as Memphis Bleek, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Lyfe Jennings, the Outlawz, Yoyo, Boot Camp Clik, and Tupac’s former Digital Underground colleague, Shock G. Jamal Joseph and Che Davis were featured on “Black Woman”. They were joined by young participants from the foundation’s annual summer camp, including Celina Nixon, now artistic director of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation. The track “When Ur Hero Falls” was sung by the Impact Kids; a fan video for it is described in an earlier report.

Proceeds for the Arts Center

The proceeds were intended to benefit the foundation and the development of its arts center in the Atlanta area. The unveiling of a bronze statue of Tupac was announced there for September 13.

Shock G had already told Billboard in December 2004 that only after Tupac’s death had they realized that every little thing was part of a larger plan. He had considered him a new Nas or LL Cool J, not the greatest in hip-hop.