2Pac, Makaveli, 25 Years
The Don Killuminati… gives us glimpses of 2Pac, rather “Makaveli”, at his best in the wake of his tragic murder.
Recorded and completed one month before he was killed, The Don Killuminati… is 2Pac’s darkest album and an obvious divergence in theme and sound from his previous releases. There’s no way to know if the tone of the album would have felt as ominous had 2Pac still been alive, but it is still eerie to listen to The Don Killuminati… because of the tragedy surrounding 2Pac’s murder and the references on this album he makes to being murdered. Nothing new for 2Pac. He’s been rapping about his own demise at the hands of his enemies for years, so perhaps art really does imitate life.
1996 had shaped up to be a monumental year for 2Pac. All Eyez On Me was released in February, and it’s hard-hitting beats and uncompromising lyrics helped make it his most commercially successful album to date (by April ’96, it had gone 5X platinum). That album celebrated surviving the game and the success that came with it. The bad boy thug, the street activist and poet, had finally made it to the top. Seven months after All Eyez On Me was released, when 2Pac was at the height of his fame, the rapper was murdered in Las Vegas, shot while riding as a passenger in Suge Knight’s car, near the corner of Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, dying in the hospital six days later.
When The Don Killuminati… dropped two months later, fans were still processing his death. Many were in denial, even when his autopsy photo leaked, that the body in that picture was actually 2Pac’s. The cover art for The Don Killuminati…, depicting 2Pac’s crucifixion, and the stage name change to “Makaveli,” lent themselves to conspiracy theories about 2Pac still being alive. Those rumors hung around for years, but in November 1996, they all seemed legit because 2Pac’s death felt impossible. It couldn’t have actually happened that way. 2Pac had just survived an attempt on his life a couple of years earlier, he’d gone to prison and come out, he made All Eyez On Me … he was on top of the world. How could he be gone? But life is strange like that.
Twenty-five years later, the tragedy has gone down as one of the more infamous unsolved murders and 2Pac never returned to this world. The Don Killuminati… serves as the dark, final testimony of an artist who was bold and pensive; who could make a hit record party anthem and make a hit record rap ballad; who was wise beyond his years and seemed to know that death was coming for him. The Don Killuminati… features every one of these versions of 2Pac, including what I think is the angriest version of himself against all of his industry rivals and perceived enemies. This album provides fans with a few incredible songs, but ultimately feels like a somber ode rather than a powerhouse finale.
Standout Tracks
I respect 2Pac for always putting The Outlawz on his albums because he took care of his dudes, but it was to his work’s detriment. I might be in the minority on this, but I never thought any of them could rap. They the bad combination of unspectacular delivery and weak rhymes. I think The Don Killuminati… would have been much better if it had featured less of The Outlawz. They just make a lot of songs sound like filler music with bland verses. There’s nothing compelling about any of them.
With that said, here are my favorite tracks on this album:
“Hail Mary”
An ice-cold, 100% gangsta track with a beat that could be in a horror movie and haunting rhymes that are threats from beyond the grave. This is one of 2Pac’s best verses.
“To Live and Die in L.A.”
A timeless nod to L.A., “California Love” part two paints a portrait of the City of Angels and the people and locations that make it what it is.
“Against All Odds”
My favorite version of 2Pac was the activist, but no one does a version of thug on record better than he did. If “To Live and Die in L.A.” is the unofficial sequel to “California Love”, then “Against All Odds” is “Hit ’Em Up” part two, with better lyrics.
*Honorable mention to “Bomb First”, “Me & My Girlfriend”, and “Krazy”.
