CRITIC'S CHOICE/Pop CD's/New York Times
Shakur's Reflective Finale
By NEIL STRAUSS November 11, 1996
Musicians may have clause after clause in their contracts guaranteeing them artistic control over their recordings. But once they are dead, there's no telling what a record company can do to their legacies. After Marvin Gaye was shot dead by his father in 1984, his record label, Columbia, put out two substandard albums of unreleased material that Mr. Gaye might never have allowed to reach his fans' ears. After Kurt Cobain of Nirvana committed suicide in 1994, his record label, Geffen, waited eight months and then released ''MTV Unplugged in New York,'' a moving acoustic performance that served as a beautiful epitaph for the singer and guitarist.
Tupac Shakur's ''Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory'' (Death Row/Interscope), released last week, less than two months after Mr. Shakur died of gunshot wounds, straddles the border between a rush job and a fitting final artistic testament. Recorded under the pseudonym Makaveli, ''The Don Killuminati'' is reminiscent of Mr. Shakur's 1994 side project, a band and an album named Thug Life. On that album, Mr. Shakur narrowed his scope (as well as his more sophisticated production and arrangements) in favor of unrepentant lyrics about coping with the wild, mean streets by being even wilder and meaner.
''The Don Killuminati'' opens with a fake newscast (like other skits on the album, so poorly done that it sounds as if either Mr. Shakur left it incomplete or it was added as an afterthought). It announces that because of the release of Mr. Shakur's new album, other artists are trying to change the street dates of their albums so as not to be overshadowed by the competition. And this may be partly true: the release of Snoop Doggy Dogg's second album, ''Tha Doggfather,'' also on Death Row, was postponed until tomorrow.
A series of gunshots (a recurring theme on the album) follows the newscast as Mr. Shakur introduces his alter ego, Makaveli, a ''nightmare'' that's ''sicker than'' a ''Nazi,'' endowed with ''lyrics like the holy Koran'' and bent on fulfilling a mission to kill rivals like the Notorious B.I.G. (here referred to as the Notorious P.I.G.) who are involved with the New York label Bad Boy Entertainment. It's a creepy beginning, since, among the many theories surrounding Mr. Shakur's unsolved murder is one linking it to the feud between Death Row and Bad Boy. From there, the album moves up and down, stringing together hardcore raps and silky rhythm-and-blues songs of varying quality.
Like ''Tha Doggfather,'' ''The Don Killuminati'' suffers from Dr. Dre's exodus from Death Row. Dr. Dre was responsible for the masterly production on both Mr. Shakur's previous album and Snoop Doggy Dogg's debut. At times, songs seem almost sparse and unfinished; elsewhere, the sounds of screeching cars, chanting Buddhist monks, gunfire and backup singers get to be too much, too brittle and too poorly arranged. But for every lackluster song like ''Toss It Up'' (a forced slow jam with an ill-advised insult about Dr. Dre's sexuality), there is a standout like ''Hail Mary,'' a slow, ominous, stuttering rap slightly indebted to Bone, Thugs-n-Harmony.
On past albums, Mr. Shakur's best material was never really hardcore gangsta rap but wistful, reflective post-gangsta raps like ''Dear Mama,'' which apologized, and ''I Ain't Mad at Cha,'' which forgave. On this album, the equivalent is ''Krazy,'' a slow, deep, minor-key rap in which Mr. Shakur kicks back and reflects on the lessons learned from the past year, promising to stop drinking, and musing, ''I came a long way, but still, I got so far to go.''
It would be easy to look for lyrics on this album predicting and foreshadowing Mr. Shakur's murder. But this could be accomplished just as effortlessly on any Shakur album. His lyrics were always endowed with the knowledge that the next day could be his last just as easily as it could be his best. Overall, however, as Mr. Shakur's last stand, ''The Don Killuminati'' fares a lot more poorly than his previous album, ''All Eyez on Me,'' does. This one was clearly meant as filler, a way to burn off creative energy, put down his rivals at Bad Boy Entertainment and tide fans over until the next album.
Assignments:
1. Paraphrase the following quotes in your own words:
"His lyrics were always endowed with the knowledge that the next day could be his last just as easily as it could be his best."
"On past albums, Mr. Shakur's best material was never really hardcore gangsta rap but wistful, reflective post-gangsta raps like ''Dear Mama,'' which apologized, and ''I Ain't Mad at Cha,'' which forgave."
2. What information was shared in this CD review? What is the writer's argument (his opinion) about the album? What supporting details does he use to prove his point? (A minimum of two-typed paragraphs in a Word document)
3. Write a music review (Word document) of your favorite album. Your review should be five paragraphs (4-6 sentences in each paragraph), include supporting details, and be written with correct punctuation and grammar. You will write two versions: a rough draft and a final draft. After you've written your rough draft, please email a copy to me. You will ask another student to help you proofread and edit your music review; then, you will correct any mistakes, complete your final draft, and email it to me.
Guidelines for Music Review:
1. Double-spaced pages
2. Complete sentences
3. Correct grammar and punctuation
4. Five paragraphs (4-6 sentences in each paragraph)
5. Introduction paragraph (introduce your topic and what you will review), body paragraphs, and concluding paragraph
6. Third-person point of view
7. Supporting details
8. Identifty and discuss your album's theme(s)
9. Quote lyrics, if you include any in your review
10. Ensure you use correct MLA style
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