11/09/05

On September 20th, a number of hip-hop and R&B’s top artists will take a brand new approach to using Tupac Shakur’s poetry in song, paying tribute to the late rapper in his own words on The Rose, Vol. 2 – Music Inspired by Tupac’s Poetry. Unlike its predecessor, The Rose, Vol. 2 is not a spoken word album – instead, each musical artist has taken inspiration from one of the poems in Tupac’s The Rose that Grew from Concrete book and used portions of the poems to build their own original songs, with Tupac’s poetry serving as their muse.

Released by Amaru Entertainment, The Rose, Vol. 2 features 15 fresh tracks from an array of genres, including rap, hip-hop, soul and R&B offerings. The guest artists on The Rose, Vol. 2 include Ludacris, Lyfe Jennings, Bone Thugs -N- Harmony, The Outlawz, Memphis Bleek, and Talib Kweli, among others.

Celina Nixon, a former member of “Pac’s Kids” (the students of the annual Tupac Summer Performing Arts Camp) and now the Artistic Director for the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF), provides the song, “The Eternal Lament,” while another piece - a poem and vocal solo blend entitled “Poetry” – is written and performed by current “Pac’s Kids” Morgan McKenzie (16 years old) and Amber Granderson (15 years old). It is especially noteworthy that Celina Nixon, Morgan McKenzie and Amber Granderson are three talented young women who all honed their musical skills through attending the Tupac Summer Performing Arts Camp year after year.

Perhaps the most unexpected appearance comes from Digital Underground’s Shock G (AKA Humpty Hump), the man most responsible for launching 2Pac’s solo career, by giving him his first prominent introduction and then allowing him the chance to perform his own verse on the Underground’s smash hit single, “Same Song.”

The track listing for The Rose Vol. 2 is as follows:

1. Intro feat. Black Ice
2. Power of a Smile feat. Bone Thugs N Harmony
3. The Eternal Lament feat. Celina
4. Fallen Star feat. Talib Kwali
5. In The Depths of Solitude feat. Ludacris
6. Movin On feat. Lyfe Jennings
7. Life Through My Eyes feat. Memphis Bleek & Tupac
8. When Ure Heart Turns Cold feat. The Outlawz
9. Black Woman feta. Jamal Joseph & Che Davis
10. Only 4 The Righteous feat. Yoyo
11. Where There is a Will… feat. Boot Camp Clik
12. When Ur Hero Falls feat. Impact Kids
13. And 2morrow feat. Shock G
14. If I Fail feat. Dead Prez
15. Poetry by Amber & Morgan of Pacskids

The timing of the CD’s release corresponds with the 9th anniversary of Tupac’s untimely death (September 13th, 1996), and with the unveiling of the new bronze Tupac Memorial Statue in Atlanta on September 13. The statue will be located in the 6-acre Peace Garden at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts. The Center just recently opened Phase 1 of its 3-stage construction in Atlanta.

Proceeds from sales of The Rose, Vol. 2 will go to benefit the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, which – along with fan and corporate donations – is raising the $3 million needed for the completion of the Center, which will serve as Tupac’s ultimate legacy: providing a safe place where youths from all backgrounds are free to express themselves creatively through the arts.

Posted by: nummy