R U Still Down? (Remember Me) - Dark Publications

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Editorial Reviews:

Amazon.com
26 cuts of "gangsta rap" that only increase in doom when you realize the guy talking it didn't live to laugh about it. Perhaps he now knows the answer to his question, "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto," which shows up here twice. Shakur, like most hard rappers, liked to sound tough, kicking it with song titles unprintable in a family newspaper. But, underneath the braggadocio, there was fear. "Only Fear of Death," "Nothing to Lose," and "I'm Losin' It" tell a far different story than "Fake Ass Bitches." His artistry could never, however, catch up to the sad fate of his life. --Rob O'Connor

Customer Reviews: Read 98 more reviews...

4 out of 5 stars

Tupac: Younger, more direct. May 1, 1999
9 out of 11 found this review helpful

"R U Still Down? (Remember Me)", a double album 26 tracks deep, is far from impressive. The previously unreleased tracks, recorded between the years '91-'94, represent Pac at his lowest state lyrically. To be honest, the lyrical performance is weak. The beats are nothing more than average and the production left plenty of room for improvement. After several recordings with Death Row, this album leaves much to be desired. Gone is the fury, the agression, the hatred, the overall emotion that he so vividly displayed in his more recent recordings. "I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto", the albums first single, originally recorded in '93, is far from single worthy. "Do For Love", the albums second single, is better than the first, but still (despite a decent lyrical performance) is not of single status either. This is not to say that the entire album was a flop though. 2Pac raps with fury and rage on "Hellraizer", displaying his burning passion and emotion listeners were once fond of. "Thug Style" has a more modern sound than the majority of the album, the beat is above average, the lyrics are strong, and the track is rather satisfying. On the whole, the album becomes more enjoyable the more you listen to it. Don't expect to be impressed the first time around, it takes a while to adapt yourself to a younger Pac, different than that of his character at the time of his passing.

5 out of 5 stars

2pac is the best!! September 19, 1999
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

While this is not nearly as good as "All Eyez on Me", it is still very good. Disc 1 is kind of disappointing with the only good songs "Open Fire" and the title track. Disc 2 starts with the excellent "Ready 4 Whatever" and has several other good songs such as "Nothing But Love", "16 on Death Row", "I Wonder...", "When I get Free II", and "Only Fear of Death." 2pac forever! Puffy , go to hell!

5 out of 5 stars

2 PAC dominates in every album. June 16, 1999
8 out of 10 found this review helpful

2 PAC is the best rapper you'll ever hear. He dominates in every Album. All you haters out there are just jealous. Everyone wants to be like 2 PAC. All the other rappers are all haters too. They want to be just like him. you all know 2 PAc is still alive too.So Master P ain't the "Last Don" cuz "p" is just a puss. 2 pac is the **** though. There is not one album of 2 pac's that suck. To all you 2 pac fans, keep it real and stay tru to da game.

5 out of 5 stars

Hip Hop July 8, 2006
8 out of 9 found this review helpful

I'm surprised how this album has been accepted. Lets not get carried away with "his legacy" and his tragic death and all the controversy surrounding 2Pac. Everybody already knows about all that.

R U Still Down is my favorite album by 2Pac. Makaveli and All Eyez are both 5 stars to me, but R U Still Down is more raw. Especially as far as the production is concerned. A lot of people are apparently disappointed by the production on this album. I find it to have a sense of being more genuine, and more fitting than the other posthumous releases. This is probably since Pac actually had some input on creating these tracks. Overall, the sound of the album (and individual tracks) is more whole. Listening to R U Still Down helps to show how much of a project Makaveli and All Eyez On Me were. Those two albums were obviously much more orchestrated and calculated, and designed to provoke in every way. They were much more surgical and precise.

R U Still Down, however, is just straight hip-hop. There's scratching on here! There's no name dropping, or disses aimed at specific people. Just general expression of different emotions. Instead of a song about Tipper Gore or Bad Boy (for example) specificly, you get the more general (and undated) song about the struggles in general with government oppression or social commentary or anger or whatever. This is technically easier for a listener to relate to, since hardly any of us actually know Tipper Gore or Puffy, etc.....but somehow the audience doesn't want that. wtf?

"Thug Style" is probably the single song by Pac to most adhere to the street chronicling and nostalgic waxing scenarios in hip-hop. And at the same time, he's replying directly to everybody giving this album bad reviews: 'you don't know my style.'
Just because All Eyez sounded one way, or Makaveli sounded one way, or Strictly 4 My sounded one way....don't get it twisted. Its art. You gotta be open. Don't expect artists to be how you want them to be. You cannot expect anything from art, all that does is turn it into a product instead of art.

The lyrics on this album are of things more accesible to the common listener. The production is reminiscent of earlier 2Pac and more of a east-coast style of the early 90's (pre-Death Row). There's more lyrical acrobatics than usual (Let Them Thangs Go), and more of the same techincal (Lie to Kick It) and simple formats (F*** All Y'All) we're used to from 2Pac.

If you ignore all the hype and controversy surrounding the artist, and drop your expectations of him...just listen to the music on R U Still Down for the music, then maybe you can re-discover the best MC with this album.

5 out of 5 stars

If You Like Pac, You Will Dig This November 1, 1999
7 out of 7 found this review helpful

I am a diehard Tupac fan, and I love anything he does, but this album is my second favorite of his behind Me Agaisnt the World. It's got a lot of different Pac on here, different moods, some early stuff from him and new stuff. But I'mma keep it real, if you don't like Pac then you probly won't like this, but if you don't like Pac then shouldn't even be reading this. But if you liked All Eyez On Me, you gon like this album 10 times better. Peace

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