If you were to count the actual number of CDs that have come out since Tupac Shakur's murder in September 1996, Better Dayz would actually be the 7th & 8th (Makaveli - 1; R U Still Down - 2 & 3; Still I Rise - 4; Until the End of Time - 5 & 6). One might expect the quality of recordings to go down with each passing release; however, they have remained remarkably consistent.

Like previous efforts, this album definitely contains some gold nuggets. Disc One includes "Still Ballin", "When We Ride on Our Enemies", "Street Fame", and "Ghetto Star", which are excellent songs that capture the very essence of Makaveli. Disc Two boasts the superb numbers "My Block", "Thugz Mansion", "U Can Call", and "Fame".

Two songs stand out, easily rising into the category of among 2Pac's best work ever. "Mama's Just a Little Girl" is not only heartbreaking and hopeful, but is incredibly innovative in the delivery of its lyrics and beats. And "Better Dayz" is one of those songs we've been waiting for - it almost seems like they should have saved it for his final CD.

As good as these tracks are, however, they can not disguise the fact that Shakur's estate is repeatedly falling into the same trap every year.

The problem is that for every brilliant song that is released, there are at least two "filler" songs that suffer from poor sound quality or overproduction by artists that really have no business being involved with 2Pac's legacy. Understandably, Afeni Shakur and Suge Knight have sought to update (sometimes completely change) many of the unreleased tracks in an effort to keep the sound current while expanding his fan base beyond the standard cult following. It just seems like sometimes they pick the worst possible people to accomplish this task.

Bringing in Nas to work on the project shocked me at first, but to be truthful I was pleasantly surprised to hear him apologize to Afeni Shakur as well as bow to 2Pac, calling him "The Ghetto King of the War". It was hard for me to stay mad at him when he fully admitted that 2Pac is superior and in effect asked "How can I be down?" I guess time will tell if he is sincere or not.

This album is not as thorough as "Until the End of Time", due to a smaller number of new tracks and a larger number of guest performers. It does reflect a growing sense of inevitability that we're approaching the day when his unreleased music runs out. But with so many releases slated for next year (the big 7th anniversary) and the promise of a few more projects after that (think "Thug Life Volume 2"), there is still much to look forward to.

If you are any kind of 2Pac fan, this album is definitely worth your time and money. Just don't get your hopes up that the production problems of the past few years have been corrected.

Rest in Peace, 2Pac. You are the greatest rapper to ever touch the game.

2Pac is a rare phenomenon in music. Being shot down in 1996, he has released more albums dead than alive. He has an amazingly loyal fanbase who stick by him; almost to cult like behavior. Such an amazing and controversial character, his lyrics make you care; his music is undeniable and his charm and personality is likable. A troubled man people struggled to understand; sometimes very angry and at other times sincere, busting nines and riding on enemies while paying respects to his moms and educating the youth. This guy was real. Just like any person , he contradicts himself...changes moods and feelings on certain subjects. Able to speak through his lyrics and touch every single fan without changing his style.

This 2Pac recording is, on a whole, better than Until The End Of Time; even though all off the songs aren't unreleased. For example, "Late Night" and WHo Do YOu Believe In come straight off the Chronic 2000 album. "My Block" was featured on the The Show Soundtrack, and "Thugz Mansion" and Fair Xchange appear twice on the album. So Out of 26 tracks, 23 are new and two of those are remixes. Leaving 21 for the listener to digest. BUT if you know the underground, you have undoubtedly already heard When We Ride On Our Enemie and Life I Lead. NOt to mention 'Military Minds" appeared on the ONe Nation album. So that actually leaves 18 new tracks, minus the intro, which would make it 17 tracks. This tells me that the well is running low. This also tells me it should be the last 2Pac album.

I won't go through each song because 2Pac is/was a visionary and I could spend forever talking about the songs. There's a couple things you should know. The beats are good beats but some of them don't particularly compliment 2Pac's style, particularly the Jazze Pha beats; his beats are too smooth for Pac, he needs rugged street beats. Second, obviously, the material is dated which may be a turnoff for some. Third there are many guest appearances whether it's the Outlawz or Ronald Isley. MOre modern names make it to the album such as T.I., Trick Daddy, Mya, and Tyrese, and some may question if he would have worked with these artists. Most of the songs are remixes, and the loyal fans may be angered that the originals were altered. If you can get past these minor 'problems', the album is riding. I'm feeling it. If you like Pac you will like the album...it's more of that Pac style...great lyrics, tight beats, and incredible choruses.

I would definitely recommend this cd, despite its flaws. Every rapper in the game respects Pac and his music and it seems as if every major rapper out today has been influenced (Eminem, Nas, 50, Jay-Z, Ja Rule, DMX, Freeway, etc etc.). Tupac is a legend and this is just a piece of his legacy.

I am a huge Tupac fan and I respect his words, beliefs, and most importantly his legacy. His performance on this CD is wonderful, and like any material from Tupac, all you have to do is really hear him and you just can't help but to believe in him and what he says. It's like that on Better Dayz, his "new" album. My problems stem from something else.

I simply can't shell out money for this. What Better Dayz boils down to is a small group of people behind the scenes simultaneously ruining 2pac's legacy and making money off of him while he's dead. "Late Night" and "Who do U Believe In?" have already been publicly released and any 2pac already has heard "When we Ride on our Enemies" and "Ghetto Star" a hundred times by now. And that's what it really boils down to. A record company is re-releasing these tracks and throwing in numerous remixes just so that they can make more money.

Look closer at the tracklist. A song with Nas' name on it??? Are you kidding me? If 2pac was alive, there would be no way he would do a song with Nas, rather he would probably be releasing new material blasting his styles. Thankfully the rumor that Jay-Z was going to be on "Better Dayz" was not true, but why would they even rumor that? Pac blasted Jay even more than Nas, and they almost put him on Pac's new CD??? It's outrageous how much they're [messing] up his legacy. A song with Tyrese??? I don't think so...

It's stuff like this that just can't make me buy this CD. Sure "Thugz Mansion" and other songs are great, but there's all kinds of re-released songs and remixes that simply cause me to think about how people are simply commercializing his stuff so that they can make more money. God, I love the new stuff, but I refuse to enrichen those who ruin someone's legacy just to make a quick buck...

This is a hot Pac cd, seeing that all but two to my knowledge are remixes. I have the underground Makevelli albums.

DISC 1

1."INTRO"-You can skip it

2."STILL BALLIN"-This song shows how this album was redone, Trick Daddy is in it. But thats all good, I could have seen Pac working with him. This song is hot and was a single, it is banging.

3."WHEN WE RIDE ON OUR ENEMIES"-This is a pretty good song, the beat is hot, but it isn't as good as the first one.

4."CHANGED MAN"-T.I. stops by for this hit, I love this song it is one of the better ones I havn't heard yet.

5."F### EM ALL"-Ah yes, this is one of my favorite songs on the cd. The outlawz rip it up and this song goes towards B.I.G.

6."NEVER BE PEACE"-E.D.I. and Kastro stop by for this one, it is good but not one of my fav's.

7."MAM'S JUST A LITTLE GIRL"-This a very deep song, it is a song I should have heard on ME AGAIST THE WORLD.

8."STREET FAME"-This song is ok, but I don't like it as much as FAME. Plus this is not the first one.

9."WHATCHA GONNA DO"-THIS NOT THE REAL ONE, IT HAS A HARD BEAT, BUT NAW.

10."FAIR XCHANGE"-I love this song, this way better then the other one on disc two.

11."LATE NIGHT"-This song was first on CHRONIC 2000, it features DJ Quik and the Outlawz. Quik is a beat master, the beat is wonderfull.

12."GHETTO STAR"-This not the real one, the real one has Bad Azz on it.

13."THUGZ MANSION"-This is the acoustic version with Nas, at first I hated this song but now I love it.

DISC 2

2."THUGZ MANSION"-The better version I think. I love the beat to it, This is Pac during his ALL EYEZ ON ME period

3."NEVER CALL U B#TCH AGAIN"-I saw this one coming, after Tyrease got a part on BABY BOY that was meant for Pac, I knew it would happen.

4."BETTER DAYZ"-This is a very soulful track, this is another ME AGAIST THE WORLD sounding track, I love it.

5."U CAN CALL"-This is another nice track from Pac, of course it was redone.

6."MILITARY MINDS"-This track is from the ONE NATION album that was not released.

7."FAME"-I love this one, it features the outlawz. This is a hot track, u will love it.

8."FAIR XCHANGE"-I don't really like this version, but it is good.

9."CATCHIN FEELINGS"-Another Outlaw assisted track, this is an ok track, not the best.

10."THERE U GO"-This is great track to just chill to.

11."THIS LIFE I LEAD"-THE REAL VERSION IS WAY BETTER WITH THE DOGGPOUND.

12."WHO DO U BELIEVE IN"-A beatiful song, a wonderful track, ther's not to much to say.

13."THEY DON'T GIVE A F### ABOUT US"-This song is ok, but not the best, but it is a good way to end the album.

SO THERE YOU HAVE IT 2PAC BETTER DAYZ GO GET IT NOW

Songs like Street Fame, Thugz Mansion, and Catchin Feeling make this album great. Tupac brings us a great album once again. If you like Tupac, this album is a must. If you don't, it's an excellent introduction to his world.