The Rose That Grew From Concrete

Another chapter in a long series of material being churned out by the "keep Tupac alive" cottage industry, this tribute album makes his private thoughts (written during his adolescence) available for mass consumption. Will Pac-friendly consumers get played as his estate gets paid, again? Not really, because thankfully these renditions are carried out by a multi-generational crew of pop-culture heroes. When the cast of The Lion King form a dreamy a cappella backdrop to Danny Glover and Afeni's reading of "A River that Flows Forever," it's like heavenly bliss. The same goes for the numbers interpreted by a holy trinity of spoken-word goddesses: Sarah Jones's "Why Must U Be Unfaithful", Sonia Sanchez's acoustic number, "When Ure Heart Turns Cold," and Nikki Giovanni's R&B-tinged interpretation of the title poem. But there are moments on the disc that are as dodgy as the investigation to find his killer. In light of Pac's socialist revolutionary swagger, how raving capitalist Russell Simmons ended up on this disc is anyone's guess. While some of Pac's thugged-out constituency will want to upchuck violently when they hear sentimental tunes like Tre of the Pharcyde's "What of a Love Unspoken," the material blessed by dead prez, Mos Def, and percussionist Babatunde Olatunji deserves a serious listen by music lovers across the board. --Dalton Higgins