Tupac:
The Way He Wanted It

Release Date: 30 January 2006

Reviewed By: Rachel Burley

1. Intro: The Way He Wanted It

2. Get Money

3. Under Pressure On My Block

4. What’s Up Wit Tha Luv

5. Ghetto Gospel

6. Black Cotton

7. My Enemy’z

8. Life’s So Hard On A G

9. Never Be Peace

10. Death B4 Dishonor

11. We Do This

12. Love Letterz

13. Niggaz Done Changed

14. The Life Of Danga

15. I’d Rather Be Ya Luva!

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‘The Way He Wanted It’ has a strong intro followed by 14 laid back tracks. Not bad for a new release 10 years after one of the biggest talents of US hip hop passed away.

2Pac was a legend; one of the greatest artists, producers and influential characters of our time, and with so much unreleased material, it feels right that his music is put out there to be appreciated, because talent as extensive as his might never be seen or heard again.

The thing that makes this Tupac album stand out from the rest others released over the past 10 years is that it was put together by all of Tupac’s original producers: Assassin, Shock G, Mike Mosely, Versatyle, Brooklyn Bound, Randy ‘Stretch’ Walker, Crash, Ant Banks and Rick Rock. This album is a crisp compilation of unreleased tracks, brand new productions and there’s no messing with the lyrics, especially on ‘Under Pressure On My Block’. This track clearly defines ghetto life with clever lyricism, not by using fancy words but by keeping it real. The sinister and menacing beats fit with the mood of the track.

One of the standout tracks is the original ‘Ghetto Gospel’. Without Eminem and Elton John, in its authentic form this is a classic in its own right. Its straight-to-the-point shadowy lyrics have more feeling in this format. It may not have hit number one in this pure form, but its authenticity will give true Tupac fans a lot of listening pleasure.

‘Life’s So Hard On A G’ is one of the few tracks on the album that is solely Tupac and like most of this album, it focuses on themes of death and murder. However, the intro to the track is pretty disturbing: ‘Kill, kill, kill, murder, murder, murder’…

Overall, ‘The Way He Wanted It’ is a decent album, but the mood of it is bleak and it’s not one to listen to if you want to cheer yourself up. There’s only a couple of lighter songs on the album including ‘I’d Rather Be Yo’ Luva!’ featuring Madonna, but to be honest, this is the worst on the album. There’s no depth to it and Madonna features heavily and repetitively. It is a relief when Tupac drops in a few lines to break it up.

The album’s definitely worth buying to add to your collection if you are a serious Tupac fan and you appreciate the albums ‘Me Against The World and ‘Strictly 4 My N*ggaz’, as it has a similar feel. If you’re not so die hard, you’d probably prefer his more heartfelt album, ‘All Eyes On Me’.

Rating: 3 Out of 5

Top 3 tracks:
5) Ghetto Gospel
7) My Enemy’z
3) Under Pressure On My Block

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