2Pac Live - 2Pac

The 2Pac Live album released in 2004 by the once-mighty, thereafter-farcical Death Row label may not be imaginatively titled, but it's packaged slickly and is indeed comprised of live recordings. The 40-minute album splices together a number of audience recordings from various club performances by 2Pac. The dates and locations of these recordings aren't documented, though it's safe to say they're from the All Eyez on Me era, circa 1996. The spliced-together nature of the album might be a thorn in the side of some listeners, as might the poorly mixed audience recordings and sloppy performances at hand, but there are some curious moments here that 2Pac fanatics might value. In particular, there's a performance of "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" featuring Snoop Dogg, and 2Pac rants about his East Coast archrivals Nas and Mobb Deep in the run-up to a rough reading of "Hit Em Up." 2Pac Live doesn't have too much else of value going for it, but it does fill a gap in the rapper's mostly gapless catalog and thus serves, for better or worse, as the primary showpiece to date of Pac's performance ability. ~ Jason Birchmeier, All Music Guide