End of Discussion: Why 2Pac’s “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” Is Better Than “All Eyez On Me”

Rob Marriott, the man who wrote 2Pac's first cover story and conducted one of his last interviews, weighs in on two hip-hop classics, and settles a long-running dispute (just barely).

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Image via Complex Original
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Fifteen years ago yesterday, Makaveli’s debut album hit stores. Released just two months after Tupac Shakur’s murder, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, knocking The Beatles out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard albums chart. But as popular as Shakur’s fifth studio album may be, it remains one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood records in the history of hip-hop.

In those strange and confusing days after 2Pac’s death, rumors spread like a virus. Overwhelmed by grief and denial, fans scrutinized the album for hidden messages. The sleeve copy contained the words “Exit 2Pac, Enter Makaveli,” prompting theories that Pac might have faked his own death.

Many speculated that the 7 days in the album title stood for the time between his September 7 shooting and his subsequent death in a Vegas hospital. But during one of his last interviews, Pac explained that The 7 Day Theory referred to how long it took to record the album—he laid down his vocals in just three days, and the mixing took another four days.

TDK followed close behind Pac’s Death Row debut, All Eyez On Me, released exactly seven months before his death. With A-list producers and a galaxy of guest stars, the 27-track double album was over-the-top in every way.

Fresh from the drama of his time in prison, Pac enacted a Hennessy-fueled fantasy of sex, murder, and thug passion—and his fans loved it. The second 2Pac album to top the Billboard chart, All Eyez On Me ratcheted the East/West tensions within hip-hop to the breaking point.

None of the innumerable posthumous 2Pac releases has come close to the impact of AEOM or TDK. For the past 15 years the debate has raged on: which of these two is Pac’s greatest album?

Choosing between these two masterpieces is like a rap Rohrschach test. The one you prefer says as much about the you as it does about the artist or his work. But there are some undeniable facts to help in our quest to settle the matter once and for all. We already picked Pac's 100 Best Songs, now click through while we break both albums down point by point.

By Rob Marriott (@Tafari)

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Personal Context

AEOM marked the complete transformation from the more socially conscious Pac to Pac the warmonger. He came out of prison embracing this whole military persona, which came as something of a surprise. There wasn’t any indication that he would be on some complete war shit.

He was coming off of the more introspective album, Me Against The World, and while he was behind bars he gave an interview that suggested he was leaving the T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. mentality behind. But Pac was angered when he read his peers’ responses to those comments.


 

Based on our conversation, a key difference between AEOM and TDK was that Pac was starting to reveal his own personal agenda, as distinct from Death Row’s agenda. He recorded the album quickly and privately. AEOM was all about representing Death Row and the West, but TDK was a much more personal statement. Changing his name to Makaveli was part of Pac’s move towards independence. The reality was, he was ready to get off of Death Row.


 

Once Death Row CEO Suge Knight and his attorney David Kenner showed up at Dannemora prison with a hand-written contract and promises that they would take care of Pac’s financial and legal issues with one stroke of a pen, there was no turning back.

Some of Pac’s new rage was simply commercial competition. Suge put the battery in 2Pac’s back and had the means to stoke the flames of Pac’s natural animosity toward the New York contingent. Plus Suge had his own issues with Puffy and the Bad Boy camp.

Pac was like Suge’s enforcer on AEOM, the Capo of the Death Row empire. By the time he came out with “Hit Em Up”—released as the B-side to the smash AEOM single “How Do U Want It”—what had been a simmering aesthetic rivalry between the coasts starting to feel like an actual war.

By the time he recorded TDK, Pac had begun to see that his true agenda was larger than a coastal conflict. I spoke with him two weeks before his death, when he was already finished with TDK, but it hadn’t been released yet.

Based on our conversation, a key difference between AEOM and TDK was that Pac was starting to reveal his own personal agenda, as distinct from Death Row’s agenda. He recorded the album quickly and privately. AEOM was all about representing Death Row and the West, but TDK was a much more personal statement.

Changing his name to Makaveli was part of Pac’s move towards independence. The reality was, he was ready to get off of Death Row. As soon as he completed his contract he was about to form a new one-nation revolutionary army. Pac was linking up with various East Coast artists because he didn’t just want to be just a West Coast artist. He was starting to make strategic moves to become the king of the whole hip-hop nation.

Advantage: TDK

All Eyez On Me: 0 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 1

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Musical Context

The entire mission statement of AEOM was to drive home the point that the West Coast was going to run the tables in hip-hop. While Pac was in prison, Biggie had gone from ashy horrorcore rapper to Player president. Rightly or wrongly, Pac felt that Big had taken his style and his persona to become King of hip-hop at that moment. With AEOM, he sought to destroy all of that.


 

Musically, TDK is comparable to one of Lil Wayne’s early mixtapes. Raw lyrics that was intended for his most devoted fans. Outside of maybe “Toss Em Up” and “To Live and Die in LA” the record is not populated with songs created for the Billboard charts.


 

“Hit Em Up” was part of a strategy—calling out all the East Coast cats and creating much more dominant music. Getting plugged into the army of Death Row hitmakers was all he needed. This is what makes “California Love” such a big record. Dre plus Pac: Genius meets Passion. Dre built an epic anthem and Pac mustered enough restraint to make this not just about him and Big. The rest of the album benefits from the creative team that was already on and popping at Death Row.

Musically, TDK is comparable to one of Lil Wayne’s early mixtapes. Raw lyrics that was intended for his most devoted fans. Outside of maybe “Toss Em Up” and “To Live and Die in LA” the record is not populated with songs created for the Billboard charts.

It was more like, here is the next step in his longer plan to build a Thug Nation. “Blasphemy”, “White Man’s World” and “Against All Odds” were directed at the underground. This is what Tupac’s Gangsta Grillz would sound like.

Advantage: AEOM

All Eyez On Me: 1 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 1

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Beats

With production by Dr. Dre, Johnny “J,” Daz Dillinger, Devante Swing, Timbaland, and DJ Quik, AEOM had more than enough musical firepower to accomplish Pac’s takeover bid. Even if Dre didn’t produce most of the records, his influence could be heard in the lush West Coast sound that permeated the album. But there were many other types of sounds as well.

“What'z Ya Phone #” sounds like a Prince record, reminiscent of “Erotic City.” AEOMwas this big commercial monstrosity. It had “California Love,” “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” “How Do U Want It?”—these were big, big records.


 

The reason why Pac stopped using Dre and Daz was because he was stepping away from Death Row. TDK wasn’t as strong on the production side, but when you listen to “Live and Die in LA,” that was a very complete record. Pac got all these B-Listers that he just corralled into an army.


 

The sound of TDK was much more stripped down and impressionistic. Pac was testing his “7 Day Theory” to see how quickly he could complete an entire album under these circumstances. The sound was raw because it was done so quickly.

The reason why Pac stopped using Dre and Daz was because he was stepping away from Death Row. TDK wasn’t as strong on the production side, but when you listen to “Live and Die in LA,” that was a very complete record. Pac got all these B-Listers that he just corralled into an army.

E.D.I. Mean of the Outlawz once recalled how Pac recruited producers for TDK “We was looking for a whole new sound,” he said. “They had a green room up in Can-Am [Studios] which everybody around Death Row called the ‘wack room’ because they said ‘Ain't nothing but wack shit come out of there.’ But we was up in the studio one day and we trying to get music done—ain't none of us producers—we see them two niggas in the ‘Wack room’ and Pac like, ‘Go get them niggas.’”

Having reestablished himself with AEOM—a double-album that went double platinum right out of the gate—Tupac had his fans expecting more of the same. But TDK was a total departure. When you listen to “Hold Ya Head,” “Krazy,” and “Just Like Daddy,” they’re smaller records but more intimate and more intense.

Advantage: AEOM

All Eyez On Me: 2 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 1

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Flows

When Pac came out of prison, his abilities on the mic had greatly improved. Through his career we watched go from a slightly above average MC to much greater than average. AEOM was that point where he went from B to A.

On tracks like “Ambitionz Az A Ridah,” “Heartz Of Men,” “Ain’t Mad At Cha” Pac shows his versality and musicality. On “Shorty Wanna Be A Thug,” he was developing that haunting, disembodied sound that dominated TDK—Pac was starting to sound like a voice from beyond.


 

It could’ve been the Henny and the weed that helped him reach that state, but by the time he got to “Hail Mary” and “Blasphemy,” Pac was fully into the gangster mystic mode. AEOM is more earthbound and fully commercial. He made records that were engineered to be hits.


 

On TDK, Pac’s delivery is looser and more confident. Recording just weeks before the fatal Vegas shooting, he was starting to catch the holy ghost in the booth. Pac wasn’t cautious about anything. He would lose himself. It was almost like a seance approach to recording.

If you listen closely to “Hail Mary,” you’re like ‘What is this dude rapping about? Is he even fully conscious?’ That’s what made that record so special. Pac was embracing his messianic side.

It could’ve been the Henny and the weed that helped him reach that state, but by the time he got to “Hail Mary” and “Blasphemy,” Pac was fully into the gangster mystic mode. AEOM is more earthbound and fully commercial. He made records that were engineered to be hits. On “California Love,” you can tell he was like, “Okay, this is my intro. Let me keep it clean for a pop audience.”

Tupac was so versatile that he could switch up his flows for whoever he was working with or whatever type of beat he was on. When you listen to him with Method Man and Redman on “Got My Mind Made Up,” it was a much more East Coast beat. He was displaying his versatility across all these different sub-genres of hip-hop. You saw that much more on AEOM than on TDK, but it all comes down to your personal preference. We’ve got to call category this a dead heat.

Advantage: None

All Eyez On Me: 2.5 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 1.5

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Lyrics

AEOM was the first double album because Pac had written so much while he was in prison. He made so many records in such a short time, he was like the precursor to Lil Wayne. Pac isn’t the most quotable MC because of his trance-like approach to recording.

He simply became whatever song he was on. With an artist like Biggie or Jay-Z, you can feel them calculating how to approach a song. It’s very coded and intellectual. Pac was not lyrical in the same way.


 

You know how Muhammad Ali would start to go into a sort of self-hypnosis before a fight? Pac’s lyrical content had that kind of feel. He seems to be pumping himself up to get into the zone.


 

He was much more like blues artists, in that his art was more about the feeling he could express and evoke. He pioneered the sing-song style that Ja Rule and 50 Cent would build their careers on. Lyrically, his trope was ‘I’m resurrected,’ but he repeated phrases all the time from song to song.

There was a lot of “cops shot” and “death to the cowards” and all this constant repetition. You know how Muhammad Ali would start to go into a sort of self-hypnosis before a fight? Pac’s lyrical content had that kind of feel. He seems to be pumping himself up to get into the zone.

TDK was more entertaining as a record because it was so specific. “Against All Odds” is the record that makes TDK . It was his last will and testament and called out his enemies by name. He was like Jesus rushing into the temple and chasing out the money changers. Whether you agreed with him or not, you couldn’t deny Makaveli’s valor.

Advantage: TDK

All Eyez On Me: 2.5 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 2.5

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Guests

This category is no contest really—it’s obvious that AEOMgets the nod for guests. From George Clinton to Roger Troutman, Snoop Dogg to the Dogg Pound to Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg to K-Ci & JoJo—and the list goes on—Pac was rolling deep.


 

Getting Redman & Method Man on “Got My Mind Made Up” was a major statement. Everything had political implications at that moment.


 

Getting Redman & Method Man on “Got My Mind Made Up” was a major statement. Everything had political implications at that moment. Pac and Suge made a conscious decision to reach out to two East Coast artists who were on the outs in terms of the Bad Boy center of gravity. Wu-Tang was known to have a little static with Biggie. Pac paired Red and Meth with Kurupt, who had more of an East Coast aesthetic to his lyrics. Everything was very calculated.

Because it was so spontaneous and rebellious, TDK was kept in the family. Outside of Rage’s brief cameo on “Girlfriend” and the reggae-style chanting on “Blasphemy,” the whole record was done without much help from anyone outside of the Outlaw Immortalz. I always felt sorry for the Outlawz. Pac would go into the booth, go into his trance, kill the record, and then they would try to follow that. They never had a chance.

Advantage: AEOM

All Eyez On Me: 3.5 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 2.5

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Sequencing

This category has to go to TDK because it’s such a tight, seamless package. You can enjoy it in one listen from top to bottom. “Bomb First” sets the stage perfectly for “Hail Mary.” Continuing on through “Toss It Up” to “Live and Die in L.A.” it’s expert sequencing all the way down the line.

As a record it’s easier to listen to TDK straight through than AEOM, which has a lot of filler. It suffers from its versatility. Songs like “Check Out Time” and “Run Tha Streetz” really don’t need to be on there. If they had pared it down to the 12 or 14 best songs instead of including all 27, AEOM would be a much stronger album.

Advantage: TDK

All Eyez On Me: 3.5 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 3.5

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Cover Art

The AEOMcover art is like a Death Row corporate executive portrait. He’s repping the company entirely—throwing up the Westside hand symbol, showing off his Death Row medallion, and basically giving Suge what he wants. He had to show that he was ballin’. The jewelry was a part of it. He was not just alive, but he was bringing it in every possible way. This is Pac, the resurrected rap star.


 

The AEOM cover art is like a Death Row corporate executive portrait. He’s repping the company entirely—throwing up the Westside hand symbol, showing off his Death Row medallion, and basically giving Suge what he wants. The TDK cover feels more like a mixtape, which is essentially what it is.


 

The TDK cover feels more like a mixtape, which is essentially what it is. But there’s so much mystical resonance on that cover because he’s presenting himself on a crucifix. It was such a powerful image that he had to address it on the album—the song “Blasphemy” speaks to those who might be offended by the album cover.

That whole gangster mystic thing is fully realized in this image—superimposing several messianic symbols on Tupac at once. He’s hanging on a cross, dying for the sins of the whole T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E. nation. His rabbit ears have become a crown of thorns. Pac’s the sacrificial lamb for keeping it real. The eerie coincidence of his death would only add to the prophetic nature of this work.

The strangest thing about that cover is the parental advisory sticker covering his loins. It somehow made the image seem even more dangerous.

Advantage: TDK

All Eyez On Me: 3.5 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 4.5

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By The Numbers

AEOM was released on February 13, 1996, and sold 566,000 copies during its first week. Just two months later, in April 1996, it was certified five times platinum. By 1998 that number had increased to nine times platinum.

The album reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Hot 200 and the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. There were five singles released: “California Love” and “How Do U Want It” both reached No.1 on the Hot 100 and the Hot Rap Singles charts. “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” peaked at No. 48 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. “All About U” did not chart. “I Ain’t Mad at Cha” peaked at No. 58 on the Hot 200 and No. 18 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.

TDK was released Nov 5, 1996—less than two months after Shakur’s murder—and sold 664,000 copies its first week. Just over two months later, on Jan 10, 1997, it was certified double platinum. On June 15 1999, it was certified quadruple platinum.

The album reached No. 1 on both the Billboard Top 200 and the R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. There were three singles released: “Toss It Up” peaked at No. 34 on the Hot Rap Singles chart, “To Live & Die in L.A.” did not chart, and “Hail Mary” peaked at No. 18 on the Hot Rap Singles chart.

Bottom line: AEOM put up bigger numbers than TDK.

Advantage: AEOM

All Eyez On Me: 4.5 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 4.5

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Impact

The immediate impact of AEOM impact was to establish Pac’s commercial dominance and solidify his role as the pre-eminent Westside representer. TDK had a more intense impact in terms of Pac’s devotional followers, but AEOMis what pop culture called for. Jay-Z selected “Me And My Girlfriend” out of all of Tupac catalog as the record he wanted to remake.


 

TDK shaped the way Pac’s death was framed and gave rise to all sorts of street intrigue.


 

It’s hard to account for TDK’s impact. If that album had never come out, would there be all those theories that he was still alive or that Makaveli’s death was a conspiracy? That record shaped the way Pac’s death was framed and gave rise to all sorts of street intrigue.

The song “Against All Odds” in particular made people investigate and try to go deeper into how and why Pac died, what the circumstances were, and who it actually pulled the trigger. The fact that his murder remains unsolved only adds to the fascination.

Advantage: TDK

All Eyez On Me: 4.5 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 5.5

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Legacy

AEOM is a record to be enjoyed, but TDK has a deeper resonance. AEOM never goes as deep. it’s better produced. It’s a more successful, commercial pop record. But TDK is more like a blues record very much in the tradition of Robert Johnson. If Pac hadn’t died, I don’t know that TDK would have had the same enduring legacy. It was the combination of him releasing this record and dying that created this alchemical mix.

He does all sorts of amazing stuff artistically on AEOM. “Heartz Of Men” was DJ Quik at his best. When you listen to songs like “What'z Ya Phone #,” “California Love,” “I Ain’t Mad Atcha,” “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” “Ambitionz Az a Ridah,” “Shorty Wanna Be A Thug,” and “Thug Passion,” it’s a more complete picture of who Pac was overall—whereas TDK is a very specific part of him. He just goes deeper as Makaveli.

When you listen to it song for song, it’s a very close call. How do you compare 12 songs to 27? All the various records on All Eyez On Me kind of have a representative on Makaveli, but it’s really a tighter package.

Advantage: TDK

All Eyez On Me: 4.5 | The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory: 6.5

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Conclusion

Which album would you rather listen to if you could not listen to the other? As great as the individual songs on AEOM may be, you can just buy your favorites on iTunes and keep it moving. But TDK is a overwhelming, cohesive statement.

Many of Pac’s artistic achievements on AEOM are greater, while the mystical qualities of TDK are greater. On one record he digs performs on the biggest stage, but on the other he digs deep into his soul.

TDK has had a second life in a lot of ways that AEOM doesn’t. It’s the record that made Pac a God. And that is why The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory is 2Pac's Makaveli's best album.

End of discussion.

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