News of October 11, 2006
Pac's Life: Rumors and Reality
In October 2006, a tracklist for "Pac's Life" featuring stars like Kanye West and 50 Cent circulated. Most of them were missing from the finished album.
Two songs had already surfaced online in the fall of 2006: “Pac’s Life” and “Untouchable”. On October 11, 2006, the site rounded up what was circulating about Tupac’s next album at the time. According to the latest rumor, it was to be called Pac’s Life and released on November 24, 2006.
16 Tracks from mrmakaveli.net: Stars on the Wish List
The post named Ashanti, T.I., R. Kelly, Akon, Snoop Dogg, the Outlawz, E-40, Kanye West, 50 Cent, and Young Buck as guests. It also included a “probable tracklist” with 16 tracks taken from the fan site mrmakaveli.net: such as “Fade Me” with R. Kelly, “Soon As I Get Home” with Chamillionaire and Akon, “21 Gun Salute” with 50 Cent and Young Buck, and remixes of “Play Ya Cardz Right” with E-40 and with Kanye West.
No. 9 on the Billboard 200, but Many Stars Were Missing
The title was right, the date nearly so: Pac’s Life was released in the US on November 21, 2006, and entered the Billboard 200 at No. 9. The guest list, on the other hand, held up only in part. T.I., Ashanti, Snoop Dogg, Young Buck, and the Outlawz were indeed on it. R. Kelly, Akon, E-40, Kanye West, and 50 Cent were missing.
Yaki Kadafi Instead of Akon: What Really Ended Up on the Album
The tracklist looked different as well. “Soon As I Get Home” was released with Yaki Kadafi instead of Chamillionaire and Akon; Chamillionaire rapped on “Sleep” instead. “Playa Cardz Right” came in two versions-one with Keyshia Cole and one with Ludacris and Keon Bryce-rather than the announced remixes.
“Dumpin’” was released with Hussein Fatal, Papoose, and Carl Thomas, “What’z Next” with A3 and Jay Rock. Tracks like “Fade Me” and “21 Gun Salute” were not on the album. It opened with the Swizz Beatz remix of “Untouchable” featuring Krayzie Bone.
The preliminary list from the fall of 2006 was thus more a collection of rumors than a preview. The fact that the album still offered new material at all after ten years and many posthumous releases was the real news for many fans. More on this: Pre-order Pac’s Life.