Judgement Day (Original Version)

Overview

Judgement Day (Original Version) is an unreleased recording by 2Pac produced by Stretch during the early Thug Life recording sessions in late 1993. The song features guest appearances from Stretch, Mopreme and Dee Tha Mad Bitch and is regarded as one of the key recordings from this creative period.

Built around Stretch's hard-hitting production, the track combines aggressive street narratives with the chemistry that had developed between 2Pac and his closest collaborators. Although never officially released, the recording has become well known among collectors due to its later connection with Soldier Like Me.

Unlike many unreleased recordings that remained unchanged, Judgement Day formed the basis of a later posthumous release, with portions of 2Pac's vocals being reused and combined with another unreleased recording to create an entirely new song.

Recording History

Collector research places Judgement Day around November 1993 during the early Thug Life sessions. The recording is believed to have been produced by Stretch and features appearances from Mopreme, Stretch and Dee Tha Mad Bitch, who briefly collaborated with 2Pac during this period.

The song remained unreleased during 2Pac's lifetime. Following his death, the opening verse from Judgement Day was combined with material from the earlier unreleased recording Revenge of the Soulja (also known as Soldier Like Me) to create the posthumous track Soldier Like Me (Return of the Soulja), released on Loyal to the Game in 2004.

As a result, the original Stretch-produced recording has never received an official commercial release and survives only through collector circulation. It remains one of the best examples of the creative partnership between 2Pac and Stretch during the formative Thug Life era.

Release History

Samples

Samples Used

• George Clinton; Atomic Dog (Drums)
• James Brown; The Soul of J.B. (Horn)

Lyrics