2Pac – Nu Mixx Klassics Review

Death Row Records was once the home of some the most talented artists to ever rock a mic or lace a beat. The label succeeded in spite of the rampant mismanagement and haphazard leadership that hitched its star to three performers: Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg and Tupac. You can’t argue with success, as Death Row rode this formula to platinum hit after platinum hit.

Yet, much like the sports-entertainment company that shoves the same few “athletes” down everyone’s throat month in and month out…eventually, there’s no one credible enough to take the baton and run with it when you need to find new stars. Death Row’s solution is easy enough: Sucker your dwindling fan base into getting behind new solo acts who’ll never release an album (Crooked I and Eastwood), while continuing to bleed the corpse of your only true “talent”.

Nu-Mixx Klassics is Suge Knight latest effort in a sad and pathetic attempt to reclaim a shred of the past glory from his favorite meal ticket, the late Tupac Shakur. It’s a remix album, which means we’ll get the opportunity to see how this album stands on its own, as well as how it compares to the original versions.

2 of Amerika’s Most Wanted

Original: A bass-heavy barrel of production funk, Daz Dillinger’s beat perfectly captured the tenuous real-life legal situation that surrounded many of Death Row’s artists at the time. Probably Snoop’s strongest guest verse, ever. I love the uncredited chick cooing in the background, too.

Nu-Mixx: Wow. I didn’t think it was possible to drain all of the passion and angst from the original, but there ya go. Crooked I replaces Snoop’s lyrics and does a decent enough job, but the baby-soft beat has no edge and sounds like something Mase would’ve spit on five years ago.

How Do U Want It

Original: A playful and explicit romp that moved over 2 million units as a CD single, the Jodeci cats steam up the chorus and Pac turns down the nasal, phlegm-filled delivery for one of his most enjoyable rides.

Nu-Mixx: This leans heavily on the formula of the original. It features many of the more subtle aspects of the first version with a stripped down backdrop of sparse drums. A so-so and inoffensive attempt to improve on one of Pac’s better cuts from the Death Row years.

Hail Mary

Original: The single most haunting piece of his work, it begins with ominous bells and a rumbling undercurrent hinting at the death that claimed Pac only weeks before the original release of this album.

Nu-Mixx: The worst Nu-Mixx cut by far, as not one shred of the original’s paranoia or dread was retained. This track has magically morphed into something as threatening as a mosquito. As if you needed any more proof that making good music is no longer in Death Row’s Mission Statement…and what’s with the “clinking” synth in the background that sounds like a wind chime?

Life Goes On

Original: A soulful and solemn track, the original sampled from the O’Jays. It’s actually one of Pac’s more powerful cuts as it tells a tale of hopelessness in the hood, but still manages to paint something of a silver lining.

Nu-Mixx: This is more a credit to the lyrical content, but this one doesn’t fail as spectacularly as some of the other joints. The beat sounds like something out of B.G.O.T.I’s leftovers, but I guess Suge has gotta make use of that unreleased catalog whenever he can.

All Eyez on Me

Original: Johnny J’s production doesn’t have much substance as it’s basically a five-second loop. While it’s too soft on the bass, it’s, again, mostly the lyrics that carry this one through to the end.

Nu-Mixx: A simple and uncluttered beat that doesn’t detract from the original but lends nothing new, either. It fits the C-Level guest appearance from Big Syke, though. Y’all remember him, right? He’s the one who advertised his last solo album by pimping his “I got keys, comin’ from overseas” verse on magazine advertisements. From the guy who brought you that line…(credit, JS)

Heartz of Men

Original: The game’s most underrated producer, DJ Quik wove the beat the first time around. It’s a simple and understated cut that managed to work in effective samples from Prince, Richard Pryor and George Clinton. The odd synth-horn sound on the hook is very effective.

Nu-Mixx: A weird start and stop approach with the beat that completely contrasts with Pac’s rapid-fire flow. At times, it appears that Pac is actually outrunning the production here. Oddly enough, during the spoken word intro, it almost sounds like this one will work, until the second he starts flowin’…

Toss It Up

Original: This one’s a little overrated as Tupac cuts go. It’s basically How Do U Want It Part II. The back-story behind the “stolen” production is almost as multi-layered as the beat itself, which features a cut-and-paste Danny Boy hook.

Nu-Mixx: It’s obvious that the Death Row production team knew to leave well enough alone on this one. The beat’s a little less layered and slower paced for K-Ci and JoJo’s portions, which actually works better than the original in some parts.

Hit ‘Em Up

Original: Another jackin’ for beats special, as Tupac and his crew took a huge Junior M.A.F.I.A. hit (which was, of course, a sample of something else) and flipped it to create one of the most controversial joints ever. Pac at his hateful, raging and uncontrollable best.

Nu-Mixx: Does Death Row even remember how they made it to the top in the first place? This was the greatest and most vile diss track of all time due in no small part to the lifted-from-Bad Boy beat. This now sounds like someone just mashing random keys on one of them Casio keyboards with a generic drumline underneath.

Never Had A Friend Like Me

Original: This was one originally meant for Pac’s All Eyez On Me album, but I guess they couldn’t squeeze it into the six hours of music already on there. It’s only a decent track with production that sounds like it was crafted right out of the Dr. Dre 1997 starter kit.

Nu-Mixx: A soft, flat beat that Tupac spends four minutes shouting down. This would’ve worked much better with some vintage Snoop Dogg as it’s too laid back for Pac’s throaty claims.

Ambitionz Az A Ridah

Original: One of the unspoken facts from Tupac’s Death Row era was his rampant lifting of beats that were meant for other projects. Daz served up a serious drum and bass beat that was a perfect fit for Pac’s re-introduction to the hip hop world. This entire track was reportedly earmarked for release on the follow-up to Dogg Food.

Nu-Mixx: The throbbing bass n’ drums has been replaced by drums n’ synth. Guess which sounded better for what was once the first track on the first Death Row Tupac release? Witness the emasculation of a dead man right before your very eyes.