R U still down? (Remember Me)
(Amaru/Jive) (star) (star)
The second and most assuredly not the last posthumous release designed to cash in on Tupac Shakur’s spectacular death last year, this double-CD cobbles together leftover tracks for yet another rehash of the melodrama and mayhem that defined the rapper’s final years. Though the beats are phoned in by a variety of producers, Shakur remains a mesmerizing presence; not the most skilled or inventive emcee, he’s certainly among the most passionate. When he digs beyond the gangsta cliches, his work resonates with pain, poignance and introspection, as on “I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto” and “Only Fear of Death.” But the worthiest tracks could have easily been contained on a single CD, which leaves at least 50 minutes of filler.
