HOLD YA HEAD

E.D.I.: That shit remind me of some Me Against The World shit. That's another one of those melodies where I sat watched this ***** sing to them like "Play this." That shit just came together. Hurt M Badd did the drums, you got the piano shit. It's some real shit that 'Pac was famous for.

Hurt M Badd: 'Pac did the verse and the hook already. He came in my room and asked me if I knew how to sing. He said he wanted me to sing on the hook. I said, "I'll be right in there," When he shut the door, I started jumping up and down in a room by myself. When I went in there, I got real nervous. He gave me the notes to sing and everything. And fortunatly, it turned out cool. Anytime you had to like rap or sing with him, That's how he was. But as far as producers, I've seen him get at a couple of producers. Fortunatly-Thank God Me and him didn't have to go through that.

AGAINST ALL ODDS

E.D.I.: That just closes the album out. A lot of people don't know it's a replay of a Cameo song, "The Skin I'm in." 'Pac probably listend to it on the way to the studio, came in and played that shit for Hurt M Badd, like, "I want that bass line right there." Hurt M Badd played that shit [on the keyboards]. I don't want to take nothing from none of the producers that record himself. Almost every note that ***** was humming to them niggas, every drum kick, every beat, snare, hi-hat-That ***** was telling niggas what to play.

Hurt M Badd: On that song he was going at Nas and his other adversaries. He was getting his weapons for war, his arsenal ready. The day we made that song Tupac said "I need a war song. I wanna go to war." He gave me an hour then came back and heard the beat, and he wanted me to add that cameo song baseline. Once it was in 'Pac started snapping, "This is it!" He called the Outlawz in and started reciting the hook: "This be the realist shit I ever wrote." While 'Pac was doing his vocals he wasn't just recording his vocals, he was also kicking over the music stand, hitting the microphone. There was a vibe in the room. We all knew what was goin on. As ['Pac] started reciting his lyrics we was just looking at each other like "Uh-oh, Here we go again."

BLASPHEMY

Young Noble: I rember after he did that song, riding back to the crib listening to it he even bugged himself out on that one. He got real deep on there, and he didn't even know where it came from. It was like he didn't Really... That dude, he was just a gift from God. But I remember that shit. He was like, "Damn, you hear what I'm Talking about?" He surprised himself with that like. "I don't know where the hell I be coming up with this shit." It ain't like he sit around all day and think about it, the shit just be coming out like that. God put that in certin people, and he was one of them dudes. God definitely put shit in that man's heart. He used to always talk about that kind of stuff. He just knew he felt like he was going to be a big star and just disappear. And that's exactly how it happend. He made his mark like crazy. Dude was definitely sent from up above. I can't explane everything. there's certain shit I don't know. He used to talk to us about that shit all the time. Like, we don't want to hear that shit. You ain't going nowhere. You better not go nowhere. But he knew it, I guess.

E.D.I.: If you listen to "Blasphemy," There is a girl saying a prayer at the end of the song. That's Kastro's sister, Jamala Lasane, who's also 'Pac's Cousin. It was a little family Thing. She was just up in the studio, and she was like "I could just say this at the end of that shit." 'Pac heard what she was saying and was like "Go Ahead." And she ended up on the album. "Blasphemy" is deep song featuring Ital Joe. He passed away a few years ago[In a car accident]. It reminds me of "Hail Mary." It's one of those Deep, spiritural things. A lot of Times in pac's music, he was talking to us, 'cause we was so wild and out of control--just so caught up in the rap lifestyle. I think a lot of times he wanted to snap us back to reality. Like, "It's real out here. It's not all fun and games." He used to say that a lot. So "Blasphemy" is one of those songs where I feel like he was talking to us on some personal shit.

LIFE OF AN OUTLAW

Napoleon: My Grandmother died [during] Makaveli, so I had to leave early. When I came back, 'Pac had many of the songs done except for "Life Of An Outlaw," The [only] song that I'm on. It was just me, E.D.I., Kastro, Noble and 'Pac in the studio. I remember the beat came on and 'Pac got one of the guys from six feet Deep, Sizz-Nine to do the hook. He said, "I'm going to do this song to let people know: Beware that the Outlawz is coming." It was like an introduction to the outlawz album we was going to do with 'Pac. 'Pac took it on another level. In the middle of the song before my verse started, [He Asked] "Hey Napoleon, would you die for me? Whould you kill for me?" And then I came in with my joint to end the song off. So it was deep song for me also. 'Pac was a one-hitte-quitter. He's a one-take G. HE could go in hyped up and be into it to the fullest. HE come out the booth sweating. He probably go in there with his blunt and his hennessy, do his thing. We all was in that state of mind. I call it the ignorant state. Just being drunk and not knowing what's going on. We didn't miss one day without drinking. We was caught up, living the life. We always got in the studio and did the verse. We didn't even know what beat. 'Pac would tell someone to play a beat. Next thing you know he would be like, "Alright, we're going to talk about this." And if you verse ain't done before 'Pac's, you don't get on the song. That's how 'Pac was. He'd be like, "I already got one verse done. Y'all don't got no verse, you ain't getting on the song". We just had to write, man try to keep up with this dude, He'd put the beat on, we'd be like, "Damn, let's get a head start." Some of the songs he would take to the neck, man. "Life Of An Outlaw" he was going to do one verse. He was like "I've finished one verse Y'all ain't ready " Then he'd start writing another verse. And do that verse. He would have kept it going. He would have took over the song and did it himself. 'Pac was one of those dudes in the studio where if you mess up, he get angry. Like, he want you to go in there and do it, as is. But sometimes, 'Pac will go in there and not even care if he'd mess up. You know how he'd be doing a dub, and you hear one of his voices come on before the other? He'd keep it like that. He'd go in there, do it and get out. That work we done--it was professional in 'Pac's way. He'd do his thing and if he messed up on the dub, he'd keep it. He'd say "We'll fix it when we mix it"

E.D.I.: 'Pac actully played that melody on that song. He's not credited for it, but he played it. it's a little keyboard sound that you hear in the background. He's playing that. Any session player that was involed with Makaveli will tell you that. If they don't, they lying.

Darryl Harper: We started working kind of exclusive. Like, it was me, 'Pac and Tyrone[Hurt M Badd]. We was always together when it came to the studio. He would lock the door and the other people got jealous of it at Death Row. They got a little bit peeved that he was spending days in the room with us. Certain people started claiming it was favortisim going on, 'Pac using our beats. But the ironic thing was, before 'Pac actrully gave us a shot, we had been presenting tracks to everybody on the label. Nobody would take them but the new people that was just signed to the label, people that would probably never get an album out. Nobody would even take beats from us. Matter of fack they used to call us "Wack Room" until 'Pac started taking our beats. Then people started complaing to suge that we were only giving 'Pac beats.

JUST LIKE DADDY

E.D.I.: "Just Like Daddy" is a song that was done for the Outlawz album. 'Pac was trying to teach us how to do some shit for the bitches, 'cause all our shit was hard shit, kill'em up shit, hard times, struggle shit. Why my life like shit? Type shit. 'Pac was like "That shit is cool and people going to love y'all for that. But y'all gotta give 'em something else. You got to get the girls. Y'all got to do some other shit, some lighter shit, some shit people can have fun to." So this ***** went up there, and we start doing "Just Like Daddy." The beat is the "Impeach The President" drums, Hurt M Badd just had them shits looping. 'Pac just start singing melodies like, "Play this melody here, play that right here." Then Val Young come in. "Val Young, I want you to sing this shit right here. This is the hook." Then We got love song and shit. Boom. "Just Like Daddy." for the honeys.

Lance Pierre: 'Pac always used Val Young because he liked her voice. It was a little raspy, gospel-souning voice.

Later, QD.