Let me start this off by saying that I have hardly any doubts of Eminem’s intentions, I really do.

Men, you should read the liner notes – Em absolutely reveres ‘Pac. Mom Dukes must have sensed it from his involvement in the Tupac: Resurrection soundtrack because next thing you know, Afeni Shakur is sending him old tapes of unreleased material. He then proceeded to strip them of the songs’ original production, replace them with his, add some guest vocals mainly from his G-Unit/Shady/Aftermath imprint, and throw in a few of his sung hooks. The resulting thirteen songs from this enterprise (as well as four non-Eminem produced remixes tacked on at the end) were then released as the latest of ‘Pac’s posthumous albums – Loyal to the Game - in December of 2004.

Bearing that in mind, let me just say this about Loyal to the Game as a whole – it is a sacrilegious mess.

First off, Eminem is not the right producer for this project. I understand his position in the liner notes, and I am sure he was sensing what the reaction would be to the fact that he was going to produce the bulk of this project. However, his style of stiff and punchy beatmaking is ill-fitting for 2Pac’s raw lyrics. ‘Pac has always sounded better over aggressive or smooth funk beats. That is why producers like Johnny “J” and QDIII have been the most successful in these posthumous ventures, not necessarily because they worked with him when he was alive, but they knew almost exactly what he needed to make his lyrics more effective. His version of the title track, “Loyal to the Game” simply cannot compete with the slowed funky DJ Quik remix. “Hennessey” is actually a better example – ‘Pac rapping over a polka beat? Eww. Save that for yourself, Em, and give me the relaxing funk of Red Spyda’s remix any day – the latter is more of ‘Pac’s style. In fact, comparing Eminem’s work with the four remixes at the end, especially the originals (“Hennessey”, “A Crooked N***a Too” and “Loyal to the Game”) hints at what could have been. Em just produced the tracks like as if he is producing for himself, much to the detriment of ‘Pac’s lyrics.

Secondly, Eminem is not the best producer for this project. It is not that he is a terrible beatmaker; in fact, he is sometimes capable of creating some really catchy and melodic stuff. But don’t expect anyone to ever enshrine him in the Hip-Hop Producers Hall of Fame. At best and at worst, he is repetitive. Check out the back-to-back sequence of “Soldier Like Me” and “The Uppercut” – one could swear that they are virtually alike. “Ghetto Gospel”, which features Elton John, has the same bloodline as other Eminem-produced songs like Tupac and Biggie’s “Runnin’ (Dying to Live),” Nas’ “The Cross” and Jay-Z’s “Moment of Clarity” – those familiar double-kick-and-a-snare drumbeats punctuated by intermittent scratching and melodramatic strings and piano. “N.I.G.G.A. (Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished)” is so slow and monotonous it is sleep-inducing. And Em’s attempt to create magic again with a Dido sample, in “Don’t You Trust Me”, fails – the plodding and dark feel of the beat drowns the effectiveness of ‘Pac’s lyrics. Even the better beats, like “Out on Bail” (which features Nate Dogg) and “Who Do You Love”, fail to break the monotony of Eminem’s trademark style of beatmaking. There is not one beat out of the thirteen Em produces here that can be classified as above-average. Once again, the remixing work from four other producers hints at what could have been; in addition to being stylistically better, their beats are also artistically better than Em’s.

But not even the work of Scott Storch (“Po' N***a Blues [Scott Storch Remix]”), Red Spyda (“Hennessey [Red Spyda Remix]”), Raphael Saadiq (“A Crooked N***a Too [Raphael Saadiq Remix]”) and DJ Quik (“Loyal to the Game [DJ Quik Remix]”) could have saved the lyrics, which brings me to my third point – there is hardly anything new from ‘Pac. Yeah, there are a few revealing lines here and there (e.g. “God hasn’t finished with me yet!” he wails in “Ghetto Gospel”), but it’s the same old stuff you expect from him – trash talking (e.g. “The Uppercut”); revolution (e.g. “Soldier Like Me”), introspection (e.g. “Ghetto Gospel” and “Black Cotton”), sensitivity to women (e.g. “Don’t You Trust Me”), and so on. There is just nothing lyrically substantial here that the average fan cannot get from his/her ‘Pac collection.

It’s bad enough most of the beats are substandard and the lyrics are generally redundant – Em has the audacity to tamper with and manipulate 2Pac’s lyrics. I don’t know how he did it, but someone should either give him an award or spank him thoroughly for getting him to say, “Drop that s**t, Em!” in “Out on Bail”. He does the same thing with the atrocious “Hennessey” – this time ‘Pac calls out Obie Trice’s name (Speaking of Trice, what is up with him acting like he rolled with duke when he was alive? That’s just plain weird). Moreover, he either speeds up ‘Pac’s vocals (e.g. “A Crooked N***a Too”) or slows them down (e.g. “Ghetto Gospel”). Hey, at least Yong Buck gives one of the most inspired verses of his career in the G-Unit featured title track. Otherwise, it’s a shame Em had to alter the lyrical context of the songs to make it seem he was down with his crew. Who knows, bearing in mind that Em and G-Unit are affiliated with Dr. Dre, who later became a victim of his vicious barbs; and that he made the diss song “Hit ‘Em Up” (if you are in any way associated with his enemy, you are his enemy, too), collaborating with Shady and Co. would have been the last thing on his mind. In fact, he probably would have loved to whoop all of their a*ses.

And let me not even get started with Eminem’s horrible sung hooks in “Soldier Like Me” and “Black Cotton”. Believe me, don’t.

The bottom line is that Loyal to the Game is the least authentic – and the worst – of ‘Pac’s posthumous releases. The album title is a misnomer of the highest degree – the meaning of it is quite a mystery, and it is clear that even with Eminem’s seemingly good intentions, he was not “loyal” to the true context of ‘Pac’s work. It’s bad enough that, over the course of eight years since Tupac’s violent end, the public has had to put up with material they’ve heard a thousand times before, older songs released again and again, leftover bars and underdeveloped lyrics pieced together to create new songs, annoying R&B hooks, guest musicians who he either would not have touched with a mile-long pole when alive or contribute unspectacular vocals, and updated but lackluster production that blunts the power of his lyrics. Now we have to deal with…this?

Loyal to the Game is in a class of its own. There is absolutely nothing of any significant redeeming value in this album. It sucks, because more than a million people fell for it. The poor bastards. Really, unless Amaru Entertainment believes it is capable of putting out a remarkable album of unreleased ‘Pac material, instead of throwing out just about anything that has his voice, I really believe they should quit. Maybe I should have named this review Please, Someone Put an End to This!, Part II: Eminem’s Unintentional Sacrilege, but the present title is befitting enough.

Loyal to ‘Pac, my a*s.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Soldier Like Me
2. The Uppercut
3. Out on Bail
4. Ghetto Gospel
5. Black Cotton
6. Loyal to the Game
7. Thugs Get Lonely Too
8. N.I.G.G.A. (Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished)
9. Who Do You Love
10. A Crooked N***a Too
11. Don’t You Trust Me
12. Hennessey
13. Thug for Life
14. Po N***a Blues (Scott Storch Remix)
15. Hennessey (Red Spyda Remix)
16. A Crooked N***a Too (Raphael Saadiq Remix)
17. Loyal to the Game (DJ Quik Remix)

OTHER REVIEWS IN MY 2PAC SERIES:

2Pacalypse Now (1991)
Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993)
Thug Life, Vol. 1 (1994)
Me Against the World (1995)
All Eyez On Me (1996)
The Don Killuminati: The 7-Day Theory (1996)
R U Still Down? (Remember Me) (1997)
Greatest Hits (1998)
Still I Rise (1999)
Until the End of Time (2001)
Better Dayz (2002)
Tupac: Resurrection Soundtrack (2003)
Loyal to the Game (2004)
'Pac's Life (2006)


Recommended: No

Great Music to Play While: Sleeping