by John Sutherlin
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, is 2pac’s 5th album and the first to be released after his death in 1996. The album was released under the name Makaveli. Pac decided to use this name because he wanted to make a project that didn’t include Death Row Records. See Death Row once owned the rights to the name 2PAC therefore Pac would need clearance to make an album and certain decisions would be made by the manager Suge Knight. But if he used the name Makaveli that means he can release the album under Death Row without them getting certain rights to it.
Pac picked up the moniker Makaveli while he was in prison at Rikers Island in New York. He read a book about an Italian philosopher named Niccolo Machiavelli. Pac was inspired by him and his works. Pac recorded and mixed the entire album in 7 days at Can-Am Studios that’s why the name is the 7 day theory. From now on we will call the album The Makaveli Album. On the album Pac intended to diss several rappers including: Dr Dre, Biggie, Nas, Jay-Z, Puff Daddy, Mobb Deep and Lil Kim.
However before his death he told the managers to remove all the vocals dissing Nas because they had recently smoothed over their beef and agreed to work together. But instead Suge Knight who gained the rights to the album after Pac’s death decided to instead keep all of the vocals and disregard Pac’s wishes. The album debuted on September 13th, 1996, just 2 months after 2pac’s death in Las Vegas. The album reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100 and went 4x platinum. Most people consider it a work of art and one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever created.
Now lets get into the rating we will rate every track out of 10 and the whole album out of 10. There are 12 tracks. There are no intro/interludes or skits to disqualify so we will rate all 12 tracks.
Track 1: “Bomb First (My Second Reply)” 4:57. The first track on The Makaveli Album is a straight diss to almost every big New York Rapper, including Notorious B.I.G. who he calls Notorious Pig. As well as Diddy, Jay-Z, Mobb Deep, Nas, Lil Kim and Dr Dre. In the song he talks about taking down Bad Boy Records (Diddy, Biggie and Lil Kim) and Roc-a-fella Records (Jay-Z). 10/10.
Track 2: “Hail Mary (Feat Outlawz)” 5:10. Hail Mary is the most recognizable track on this album and one of Pac’s most popular tracks in general. The track uses church bells and other types of bells for the beat. 10/10.
Track 3: “Toss It Up” 5:07. This track is a direct diss to Dr Dre. Dre and Pac were once friends and co-workers. But Dre decided to leave Death Row which angered Pac. He felt Dre betrayed the company and Suge Knight leading to him making this diss track. This is my personal favorite track 10/10.
Track 4: “To Live & Die In L.A.” 4:34. This track is dedicated to L.A. which is the city Pac grew up in. The song uses a more chiller beat compared to the songs before it. It seems the song’s name is based on the 1985 action movie To Live & Die in L.A. 10/10.
Track 5: “Blasphemy” 4:38. This song is about the lies of certain religions. It explains that some religions lie about what they preach and when you donate they might not help you. This song could also be a small diss and Biggie as Pac says multiple times to “watch your homies” which at this time was what Pac had to do with Biggie. 10/10.
Track 6: “Life Of An Outlaw” 4:56. Life Of An Outlaw was a decent track. This one features multiple artists and is about the things Pac and his crew have gone through. 8/10.
Track 7: “Just Like Daddy” 5:07. This song is about a girl Pac meets who is just like her dad. Pac seems to know the dad. This song uses a chiller beat similar to To Live & Die In L.A. 7/10.
Track 8: “Krazy” 5:16. Krazy is another chiller track. In this song Pac talks about multiple different things but mostly drugs and overall life and how fast time goes by. The song also talks about the gangs in L.A. and all over the country. 10/10.
Track 9: “White Man’z World” 5:38. This song talks about how the world is mostly controlled by white men. White politicians and others harm certain communities when they try to prosper. Like the crack epidemic in the 80s where billions of dollars of crack were sent into black and Mexican neighborhoods by the C.I.A. on top of taking down prominent leaders like JFK and Martin Luther King Jr. 10/10.
Track 10: “Me And My Girlfriend” 5:08. This song is pretty famous but not for being a Pac track. It has been sampled many times by a lot of artists. The most famous artist that sampled this song is Jay-Z who re-did it on his album The Blueprint 2. Other than that the song is about Pac’s then girlfriend Kidada Jones. The couple were engaged shortly before Pac’s death. 9/10
Track 11: “Hold Ya Head” 3:59. This song is possibly a sequel to Pac’s iconic song from his 2nd album “Keep Ya Head Up” but I don’t really know. The song also switches to a more chiller beat. 8/10
Track 12: “Against All Odds” 4:37. This the biggest diss track on this list and is the main direct diss at Nas. The song also disses Dr Dre, Mobb Deep, Biggie, Puff Daddy and Lil Kim. The song also has a segment about Haitian Jack. Haitian Jack was a New York gangster who Pac befriended while he was Filming Above The Rim in 1994. Turns out though Haitian Jack was an F.B.I. agent. Jack had Pac jailed on rape charges (wich were not true). Pac was then bailed out by Suge Knight. Suge then held Pac against his will in the recording studio until he finished the album “All Eyez On Me” in 1996. 10/10.
This is my personal favorite 2pac album. It’s so unique compared to all his other albums like All Eyez On Me and 2pacalypse Now. I enjoyed almost every track on this album except for Just Like Daddy which I thought was pretty mid. This album is also very angry. Pac seems to be mad at almost every big rapper on the planet which I think is pretty unique. The sounds of the songs are also really loud or really chill and soft. Overall I would give this album a 10/10. RIP 2pac 1971-1996.
