Pac's Life Available for Pre-Order

On November 3, 2006, Pac’s Life went up for pre-order. The site reported that Tupac’s new album could be pre-ordered immediately, listed prices from various retailers, and reproduced the label’s English product description. In the US, the record was scheduled for release on November 21, 2006, and in Germany, according to the post, on November 24.

Parallel Studios and Tupac’s “Blueprints”

The product description from Amaru and Interscope centered on Tupac’s work rate: he had often recorded vocals in multiple studio rooms in parallel and then headed straight to film shoots or concerts. Except for one already familiar verse, all the material on Pac’s Life was previously unreleased. As guest features, the label announced, among others, Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Keyshia Cole, T.I., Ashanti, Young Buck, the Outlawz, and Bone Thugs-N-Harmony.

Executive producers were Afeni Shakur and Interscope head Tom Whalley. Afeni was quoted as saying that Tupac had “left us the blueprints.” At the same time, the text promoted the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and its arts center in Stone Mountain, Georgia, where according to its own accounts, more than 500 young people had learned acting, dance, singing, and writing through its programs up to that point.

No. 9 Behind Jay-Z: The Final Posthumous Studio Album

The album was released as announced on November 21, 2006. Selling around 159,000 copies, it entered the Billboard 200 at No. 9-in the same week Jay-Z debuted at No. 1 with Kingdom Come. Pac’s Life remained Tupac’s final posthumous studio album.

Vandalism, Sale, and the End of the Arts Center

The arts center in Stone Mountain was targeted by vandalism in October 2007; the foundation subsequently collected donations for a fence. In August 2015, Afeni Shakur sold the property for $1.2 million, and the center closed. On May 2, 2016, Afeni Shakur died at the age of 69.