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"Don Killuminati" Reaches 20th Year

Tupac Shakur, PAC, Makavelli—names all synonymous to a music legend. This day in Hip-hop acknowledges the anniversary of his fifth album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.

The “Seven days” alludes to the time span behind the albums recording: three days for writing and recording, and four days apart for mixing—the week also signified Tupac's last moments in studios and recording sessions, as the West Coast legend tragically passed one month later. Although scheduled to drop on March of the following year, producer Suge Knight opted to release Shakur's final album four months in advance.

Always quite the enigmatic individual, Tupac's final album sleeve interestingly captioned, “Exit 2PAC, Enter Makavelli,” serving as his introduction under an alternate persona. True enough, Don Killuminati paved way to Makavelli's darker, grittier world, as opposed to Shakur's previous album All Eyez On Me, which had often received reception as his “celebration of life.”

Nevertheless, Tupac showcased tremendous passion, as seen in previous projects, only to be intensified rhyming under the Makavelli mantle. Furthermore, the album showed Pac's familiar raw and fearless nature as he leaps straight into the fray of the coastal feud ongoing at that time, sending out hooks and hard lines flying towards East coast giants, including Biggie, Puff Daddy, Jay-Z, and Nas to name a few. 

Tupac's final album became both a huge commercial success, as well as a eventually earning notoriety as a renowned, critically-acclaimed Hip-hop classic. Shakur's 7 Day Theory peaked at #1 on both the US Billbaord 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums, and ultimately attained RIAA Quadruple Platinum in the United States. The album is also mentioned in MTV's “The Greatest Hip-hop Albums Of All Time,” and numerous similar accolades.

Alongside his other albums and singles, Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, portrays yet another classic, written across the epic saga in Hip-hop embodied through the man named Tupac.

By Jods Arboleda for RAPstation.com