The packaging of
The Rose, Vol. 2 features
2Pac on the front and back cover art, but note the text sidebar on the front cover, which reads "music inspired by
Tupac's poetry." Indeed, this is a various-artists collection, featuring a roster of rap artists performing songs inspired by
2Pac, in particular his posthumous book of poetry, The Rose That Grew from Concrete. As such, it's a heartfelt project, no doubt, but all the same, it's not a very interesting one, since few of the performances are engaging and few of the featured artists are noteworthy. Exceptions include the thoughtful
Talib Kweli, the personable
Ludacris, the enigmatic
Shock-G, and the fiery
Dead Prez. Ultimately, not too many people are going to find this release worthwhile. It's more likely to draw attention because of its misleading packaging than because of its content. Another in a long line of posthumous
2Pac miscellanea, and like many of those posthumous releases, piecemeal and largely unnecessary. ~ Jason Birchmeier