Dead Prez and the Outlawz: Can't Sell Dope Forever

A provocative title and two crews with a stance: On April 26, 2006, the site reported that Dead Prez and the Outlawz would release a joint album that summer. Can’t Sell Dope Forever was to be the title of the work. It was set to be released on the newly founded label Affluent Records, whose founder Oscar Sanchez praised both groups as some of the most explosive acts on the market. Announced guests included Layzie Bone of Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Bay Area rapper Messy Marv, and Nora, the mother of stic.man from the duo Dead Prez.

A Similar Legacy Connected Both Groups

The connection was a natural one. The Outlawz were Tupac’s own group, founded after his release from prison in late 1995. Their members can be heard on All Eyez on Me and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. Dead Prez-stic.man and M-1-had stood for political, militant rap since the late 1990s. Both groups drew on a similar legacy: social issues, distrust of the state and the music industry, self-organization.

For Dead Prez, this was not the first connection to Tupac’s work. On The Rose, Vol. 2 (2005), an album featuring musical settings of his poems, they appear with “If I Fail”.

The Mixtape Was Released in July and Reached No. 99

Can’t Sell Dope Forever was released on July 25, 2006, by Affluent Records-so indeed that summer. Formally, the release was considered a collaborative mixtape. It was produced by stic.man and M-1 of Dead Prez, by E.D.I. Mean of the Outlawz, as well as by Chuck P, Eddie Coldfingers, New Muzik, and Tai Rotan. Alongside the announced guests Layzie Bone, Messy Marv, and “Ms. Nora,” appearances include Chae, Erica Fox, Malachi, and Scott Lo, among others.

The record did not make the Billboard 200; on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart, it reached No. 99. For fans of the Outlawz, it nonetheless remained one of the group’s more notable projects after Tupac’s death.