Rap Radar

2Pac back—well at least his unreleased vocals. Produced by DJ Mustard, Jada and the spirit of the late ‘Pac checks in with Tyga on the latest cut off Hotel California. Album in stores April 9.

Mama knows best. And with Tupac’s estate Jampol Artist Management, Afeni Shakur tells Billboard that she vows to release her son’s ”entire body of work”. A few years back, there was plans for an album to be released on Christmas. You are appreciated?

“I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that Tupac’s entire body of work is made available for his fans. My son left many incomplete pieces and even more unfinished ideas. Using the blueprints he gave us, I am committed to fulfilling this duty.”

They don’t make movies like they used to. This May, Menace II Society will turn 20 years old—that’s just crazy. The film was directed by twins The Hughes Brothers and featured rappers like Saafir, MC Eiht, and Too $hort. Allen Hughes appeared on Sway In The Morning and discussed the movie, encounter with 2Pac, and iconic scene below.

UPDATE: Full interview.

For the theme music of Quentin Tarantino’s Django Unchained, the posthumous recording features a blend of The Godfather Of Soul’s “The Payback” and ‘Pac’s ”Untouchable”. The film arrives Christmas.

rollingstone

Pretty solid line-up, no? Rolling Stone caps off 2012 with Em, B.I.G., Pac, and Hov on the cover of their latest issue. 50 songs are tough, but who will clock in at number one? Pick up the issue on newsstands next week.

thanks: jana

UPDATE: Peep Ahmir’s intro and list here.

In recognition of Tupac Shakur’s 16th anniversary of his passing, Mister Cee dedicated his Throwback At Noon with an hour of ‘Pac’s most memorable tunes. Download here.

miss info

Next Thursday (June 7th), VH1 Rock Doc will air their Yo: The Story of Yo! MTV Raps, documenting the pioneering MTV Hip-Hop show. Before it airs in full, here’s ‘Pac’s appearance reflecting on giving the Hughes Brothers the beatdown. No further questions, your honor. 

2Pac’s back. And thanks to Nick Smith of AV Concepts, he brought him back last night at Coachella. MTV interviewed Smith on how he resurrected Afeni’s baby boy.

“We worked with Dr. Dre on this and it was Dre’s vision to bring this back to life,” said Nick Smith, president of AV Concepts, the San Diego company that created the hologram. It was his idea from the very beginning and we worked with him and his camp to utilize the technology to make it come to life. You can take their likenesses and voice and … take people that haven’t done concerts before or perform music they haven’t sung and digitally recreate it.

The Tupac hologram was several months in the planning and took nearly four months to create in a studio and though Smith was not able to reveal the exact price tag for the illusion, he said a comparable one could cost anywhere from $100,000 to more than $400,000 to pull off. “I can’t say how much that event cost, but I can say it’s affordable in the sense that if we had to bring entertainers around the world and create concerts across the country, we could put [artists] in every venue in the country,”

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg closed out the Coachella Music And Arts Festival last night with a bang. During their set, Snoop performed alongside a hologram of the late 2Pac. Surreal right? Wouldn’t be surprised if this sparked a trend at other live shows.

On another note, YN was down there and captured his experience with the HTC One. Check out some of his pics after the jump.

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After making its rounds on the black market, the 1991 footage of ‘Pac receiving head at a house party has found its way into the hands of a private collector for an undisclosed amount according to TMZ.

Don’t hold your breath on it surfacing to the public though. As previously reported, Tupac’s estate promises to carry out a lawsuit if the tape is ever released.