April 17, 2015

For The Max-Approved Mixtape: 2Pac - "Pain"



Artist: 2Pac featuring Stretch
Title: "Pain"
Producer: Stretch
Album: Above The Rim soundtrack (1994) (cassette version only); also found on some versions of the twelve-inch or CD maxi-single for Warren G. and Nate Dogg's "Regulate", from the same soundtrack

This entry is only really going to surprise you two if you truly believe, based on all of my previous posts, that I outright can't stand 2Pac.  Loyal readers will know that isn't the case: I wear my East Coast bias on my sleeve, but even though I find a lot of Pac's work to be repetitive and redundant, when he clicks, he does so with a passion that nearly every other working artist today would kill to have.  Also, Tupac Shakur was born Lesane Crooks in New York, so there you go.

I trash-talk Pac's need to shout-out "Thug Life" and name-drop Alize on pretty much every fucking song during his Death Row tenure, but that, of course, was built out of necessity: he was absolutely trying to get the fuck off of the label as quickly as possible, recording tons of songs per week just to meet his quota, quality control be damned.  Alas, he never got the chance to relax in the booth and get back to giving a shit about his writing, because if he had, it's likely the man could have come up with something at least half as good as "Pain", a track a lot of hip hop heads refer to as one of his finest, even though its actual release was sabotaged inadvertently by the label.

You see, "Pain" is prominently featured in the film Above The Rim, which Pac also stars in; the man was already diversifying his portfolio in 1994, leading back to my theory that, had he not been murdered on the Las Vegas Strip in 1996 (or if he weren't too busy soaking up the sun in Cuba right now), he not only would no longer really be rapping (maybe a cameo here and there), he would be acting full-time and would most likely have one or two major acting awards on his mantle.  The guy had charisma: that shit is hard to fake.  
 
Anyway, "Pain" appears on the soundtrack to Above The Rim, but only on the cassette tape version: due to time constraints, Death Row Records, the label responsible for releasing the soundtrack (and, coincidentally, the last label Pac would work for during his lifetime, but we weren't quite there yet), trimmed "Pain" from both the CD and vinyl releases.  This during a time when cassette tapes were on the way out, and also during a time when downloading mp3s wasn't yet the reality, so I'm willing to bet that a lot of the hip hop heads who fucking love this song either discovered this shit long after its original release, or, like me, you have the actual tape somewhere in a box in the closet.  (Death Row tried to make up for the botched release by attaching it as a b-side to some versions of the single for Warren G.'s breakthrough single "Regulate", but I don't even know if any of those versions ever made it to the United States.)

Anyway, "Pain" is the shit, and is easily my favorite 2Pac song ever recorded.  Once the sound bite (taken from Star Trek V: The Final Frontier, for fuck's sake) ends, producer and guest star Stretch's Earl Klugh "Living Inside Your Love"-sampling instrumental kicks in, and even with its seemingly-unmastered quality (possibly a result of this version being a remix created quickly for inclusion in the film), the raw drums and melody grab your neck and refuse to let go.  Shakur's verses bookend the piece, rationalizing his mindstate and observing the futility, while the late Stretch contributes the middle stanza, sticking with the theme while utilizing his gruff voice that, no bullshit, I mistook for Shakur's the first few times I ever heard this track.  "Pain" may be among the most existential tracks in 2Pac's storied career, but even after noting the pointlessness of it all, he's still quick to "load my clip and slip my motherfucking gloves on" because he's "ballin', loc".

There are some variations to this track online, mostly with where the drums kick in after the Star Trek sample plays through, but I'll always prefer this one, the first one I had ever heard.  I still don't understand how they decided to leave "Pain" off of the official soundtrack, and yet still found room for that B-Rezell "Blowed Away" song that got on my goddamn nerves when I was younger.  (For the record, I also have a soft spot for another bonus track on the tape, Lord G's "Mi Monie Rite", although it's been years since I've actually listened to that song.)

Do you agree or disagree with this selection?  Discuss below.

-Max 

21 comments:

  1. Classic Pac track easily one of his top 3 tunes (If I Die Tonight & Heartz of Men being the other 2) for me. The beat, delivery and raw emotion displayed make this track timeless. Great selection Max.

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  2. This song, "Death Around The Corner" & the original "Happy Home" are my favourite Pac songs still.

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  3. Max, I must inform you that So Many Tears is 2Pac's best song—and that is not to contest under any circumstance.

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    1. I would put "So Many Tears" in my top three along with "If I Die 2Nite", but for me it's "Pain" by a country goddamn mile.

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  4. Also my favorite 2Pac track since I first discovered it. The drums, the singing the chorus...

    They left a ton of tracks off that Above The Rim aroundtrack back in the day. "Loyal To The Game" by 2Pac, Treach and Riddler is another example.

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  5. I like most of 2Pac's work (especially Me Against the World and The 7 Day Theory), and his singles, especially "Pain" and the women-friendly songs, are generally some of my favorite songs, but for my money Pac's best lyrical showcases were "If I Die 2Nite" and the "Wherever U Are" duet with Big Daddy Kane off the One Nation album. Those lyrics on there are objectively great and easily the best he's recorded, and if he hadn't felt the need to GTFO Death Row ASAP, he probably could've released at least an album's worth of song of that lyrical caliber.

    Apropos of nothing, I also think that Pac should've received Muggs' beats off the Brothas Doobie album for Thug Life or Me Against the World. Not only do they go pretty well with his aesthetic -- the "Rock On" beat in particular sounds like a pretty good alternate version of "Pain" -- he'd also do much better over them than Funkdoobiest, whose lyrics on that album are pretty shit. (The albums I mentioned are suggestions for West Coast reviews, by the way).

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    1. If I Die 2Nite is Pac's best track in my opinion. IDK why it doesnt get mentioned more

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    2. although, it seems everyone here is on the If I Die 2Nite train. This makes me happy

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    3. I contest the opinion that Son Doobie didn’t bring the business on the serious tracks off Brothas Doobie, especially the Muggs beats.

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  6. Same thoughts here, one of his best tracks! Bought the single just to get this track back then.

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  7. Great song. My favorite 2pac song is actually Temptations, which makes me pretty alone in the universe, but whatever.

    I agree with you about a lot of Pac's albums containing quite a bit of filler, but his highlights are spectacular. Greatest Hits album is prime

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    1. I like "Temptations" quite a bit, too. Especially that silly-ass video they shot for it while Pac was in the clink. That was some choice Easy Mo Bee production.

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  8. Melquan ShabazzApril 20, 2015

    Not much of a 2pac fan at all, but this song absolutely knocks. I used to bump this all the time on the sony walkman. Far and away my favorite song of his. Good inclusion. I like this series. You got me to give the beastie's first album, which I had always overlooked. Glad I gave it another chance. Keep up the good work!

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  9. Safe to say Stretch's flow had influence on Kendrick Lamar?

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    1. Anything's possible, I guess. Probably better to ask him, though.

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  10. Great choice. and I agree on your overall analysis of Pac's redundant music. Funny enough, I only heard this track for the first time a few days ago. Beautiful fucking beat! Kinda reminds me of "Take It in Blood 2" which Stretch also did.

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  11. AnonymousMay 12, 2015

    Classic Song from the greatest rapper to do this ting!

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  12. You might be onto something about the mastering issues – the original instrumental mix, used on the radio version, has harder drums and a more prominent bassline not on the album cut. The uncensored version of that cut is my favorite, but I also have a soft spot for the darker remix played on the Arsenio Hall Show.

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  13. Following up on the last comment, the differences in the mixes are indeed pretty interesting - in addition to what is mentioned, there's also some extra vocals from the women's chorus sprinkled throughout, as well as a sample that pops up during the hook ("don't get too close because you might get shot, boy!"). The vocals are also *much* louder in the "unmastered" version; by comparison, they're much more buried in the mix in the other version. Truly an apples to oranges situation in many ways, but yeah, the rawness and the vocals being louder in the more familiar version seems to be a benefit.

    I like this song a lot...I can't remember if I came across it because of this post - that may very well be the case, it's just been so long that I can't remember. But this is definitely one of his best songs, even as the fact that you singled it out as such makes me crack up, because it's got many of Pac's hallmarks - the opening line seems like sentiment he expressed many times over, he rhymes "Hennessy" and "enemies" not once but twice (one time each in both of his verses), etc. It's still good, though! & a testament to the fact that there was definitely some real talent on hand in spite of his somewhat uneven discography. Still one of my gateway artists into the world of hip hop.

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  14. Best rap song in the god damn world

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