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DJ Mello & DJ Cinema - 2 Pac Duets (NY to Cali)

I might be sick of Biggie blends but I'm down to hear some 2 Pac right now. I always thought 2 Pac suffered from a lack of quality production. It's like he had this huge catalog of music with wack ass beats. To most people it didn't matter because it's truly the lyrics that shine with Pac, the emotion in his songs comes across better than any MC to ever bless a MIC. DJs Mello and Cinema stay in the lab cooking up major mixtape motion audio. Something tells me this isn't your average blend mixtape.

The intro to this shit is deep. The backdrop is crazy laid back and musical while 2 Pac talks about where he's come from in his life and others comment on his style and aura. There is also an impromptu "street freestyle" mixed into the intro as well. "NY NY" is how you start a project like this off. 2 Pac, Nas and Jay Z flow effortlessly over a piano laced soundtrack. If you've ever seen the movie Juice you will love the blend by the same name. Pac rhymes the role he played in the movie, Big L rhymes the role of "Q", and Big Pun rhymes the role of Steele. This shit was well put together with clips from the movie intertwined between the verses. Mello and Cinema capture the rawness of each verse perfectly. "Life" with Pac and Treach was my joint. Treach sounded brand new on this. I was wondering when the party was gonna start because you know Pac liked to party. "If I Don't" is that joint to have you steppin' out with a bitch. Joe Buddens over this beat was enlightening to say the least. "The Answer" is that cook up. Mello and Cinema working the pot something lovely. I like this shit for a few reasons; the joint is different and it's got Beanie Siegel on it. 2 Pac and Beans on a track? That shit is raw emotion personified. Like Beans said, this is that "her-o-juana". I'm not a Eminem fan, although I think he can rhyme his ass off, I dug the chorus on "Dear Mama 2". I had to roll up "That's Me" cause that shit got me high as a mutha fucka. Young Buck, Jeezy and 2 Pac is def a good look. Let me slow my roll real quick before I give you the whole CD, god damn.

Man, you probably looking at the tapes like "damn.....a classic?" Classics are hard to call people; I'm just being real with it. Like I said above, I'm not a huge 2 Pac fan but I can fuck with him on this CD. The way Mello and Cinema set up the tracks with interludes is borderline genius. You would think with mad interludes the CD wouldn't flow but it only holds your ear more. The little stories about Pac, the snippets of interviews that had well sampled classic beats playing in the backround make shit stand out. Is the CD flawless? Hell no, "Games We Play" didn't move me at all but you will be hard pressed to find a CD that you dug every track on. Beat wise the shit is on point, as well as the MCs Mello and Cinema choose to pair with 2 Pac. The guest MCs are unconventional but that's what makes them work. Big Pun, Juvenile, Joe Buddens, Jeezy and Andre 3000 to name a few. They stuck with a formula, captured 2 Pacs spirit, got creative and created some classic shit, bottom line. (2-17-06)

4 tapes