2Pac

Tupac was more of a monument than an artist by 2007, and, though enjoyable, this compilation does little to add to hip-hop's Rushmore. Still, no one captures the peaks and valleys of the revolutionary gangsta better than Marin County's finest. The "gangsta party" of "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" gives way to Pac's "prison of seclusion" in "Trapped." "Hail Mary" is so angry and paranoid that it causes shivers. It also effectively contradicts the hard-earned self-determination of "Changes," providing a prescient reminder that Pac was just a man.