It’s hard to imagine how much music we lost when Tupac Shakur died 20 years ago, on Sept. 13, 2016. But at least he left unreleased music behind — enough for five albums and several posthumous collaborations. Here are 10 songs to remember him by.
“To Live And Die In L.A.” — Originally meant for a March 1997 release to unveil Tupac’s alternate stage name, Makaveli,” the album “Don Killuminati” was released two months after Tupac’s death and is considered to be one of the greatest rap albums ever. At its core is “To Live And Die In L.A.,” a tribute to Los Angeles that gives Compton and Baldwin Hills the same love Randy Newman gave Santa Monica and the Imperial Highway in “I Love L.A.”
“Hail Mary” — Another single from the Makaveli album, “Hail Mary” got a big spike on the charts in 2012 when it was used for the Tupac Hologram performance with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre at that year’s Coachella.
“Changes” — Tupac received a posthumous Grammy for this song off his 1998 Greatest Hits album, which touches on social forces that perpetuate the cycle of poverty.
“I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto” — Several lines from “Changes” came from this single, the first posthumous Tupac single. It references the Rodney King riots: “So we loot, please don’t shot when ya see/I’m takin from them, cause for years they would take from me/Now the tables are turned around/You didn’t listen until the n**** burned it down.”
“Thugz Mansion” — Tupac teams up with Nas and J. Phoenix to again imagine heaven. Released in 2002, it’s one of Tupac’s more self-reflective pieces and name- drops several major figures in African-American history.
“Ghetto Gospel” — Another reflective piece, released in 2004, has Tupac thinking about younger generations that got “a world that’s cursed” and the older generations “living out of a bag.”
“Until The End Of Time” — This was the title track off of Tupac’s quadruple-platinum 2001 album, with the moving last lines: “If an angel comes down and takes me away/Memories of me and my songs will always stay/Until the end of time”
“Letter 2 My Unborn” — Though it didn’t chart as well as “Until The End Of Time,” Tupac’s letter to the kid he never had is worth a listen, as the rapper jumps between expressing his wishes for the future and reflecting on his rocky relationship with his mother.
“Still Ballin’” — A 2003 single from the album “Better Dayz” that serves as part two to “Str8 Ballin’,” a song from Tupac’s “Thug Life” side project.
“Runnin’ (Dying To Live)” — If listening to a new Tupac single after his death wasn’t strange enough, the 2003 album “Tupac: Resurrection” featured this remake of his 1995 song “Runnin’ From The Police.” That track featured Notorious B.I.G., a rare collaborative effort between the two rivals.
