Tupac's producer on the making of "Dear Mama"

             _*/I'm seein nuttin but my dreams comin true!/*_

Though he's crafted beats for Scarface, CNN and DMX, Tony Pizarro's engineering
and contributions to classic Tupac albums will most likely go down as his most
important credits. On the eve of Tupac: Resurrection's release, Pizzaro
remembers the
making of "Dear Mama," Pac's artistic evolution and his interestingly
successful, yet sadder days.

Pizzaro first met Pac when the late great emcee proclaimed to 'get around."
First serving as the engineer for recording sessions, Tony increasingly began
submitting beats, which eventually lead to "Dear Mama,' a timeless classic
still revered as one
of the most heartfelt and best singles of all time.

"Pac used to make reference to 'Dear Mama' in a lot of different songs and I'd
always comment like - 'You know that's a song in itself.' And one day he was
like 'I got something for that.' And he was like 'Man, you have 'In my wildest
dreams' by the
crusaders and I was like 'Yeah.' He was like 'Yeah, I got something for that.'
So I got the track ready. Pac just came through and just dropped it and blessed
it with them vocals," Pizzaro told SOHH.com via phone. "And for me. That's
pretty much
been the story of my life too. I kind of really knew what do to as far as
putting that hook together because at that particular time, that was my story.
I hadn't really talked to my mom for a while. So my whole thing was like
putting that hook
together, making sure that it was letting mom's know that you were
appreciated."

The aforementioned session is only one of the countless times Pizzaro got to
observe Pac in the booth. To this day, the Oakland's emcee's workaholic habits
have been documented, setting a new trend for today's artists who now record
excessively for
every record.

"I can say I watched Pac evolve as an artist. At one time I can remember Pac,
he may be taking a while to write only because he wouldn't be focused. It'd be
like a lot of people in the studio so he'd be writing and entertaining. Pac was
a real
entertainer," Pizarro revealed. "It was almost like he'd be on stage and he was
a comedian and he'd have everybody laughing, he'd be telling stories. So
sometimes he might take a while making lyrics, [but because] he had to be the
entertainer or the
centerpiece of his own session."

Though Pac's mind once drifted while in the studio lacing verses, he'll forever
be remembered as the man who easily recorded an album worth of material in a
week.

"I watched Pac come to the point where he was completely focused. Pac could
write them lyrics right there on the spot, like basically behind the mike,"
Pizarro shared. "I remember Tupac specifically at one point, he'd write the
lyrics in probably
less than 5 minutes... write a verse and be like 'Tone I'm a go in the booth
now.' After he would record the first verse he would be like... 'Alright play
that back. This is what you gon do. You gon play it back one time and the
second time when you
play it back just punch me and record.' And when I would press record there
would be the lyrics to the rest of the song and those particular lyrics
wouldn't even be written.. and the song would be done, boom rap. And that could
be like 20 minutes.
Pac could record like six songs in a night, finished, lyrics, hooks,
everything."

Though Pizzaro and Pac maintained their friendship until his death, the
beatmaker didn't contribute any tracks to All Eyez On Me, Pac's infamous Death
Row debut.

"Pac had called me to come in to work on that particular album. But just
through rumors and stuff.. I just felt like I wasn't gonna get paid cause you
always heard brothers weren't getting paid so I was like 'I'm cool nigga',"
Pizarro revealed.

Pizzaro then went on to produce cuts for a few of Pac's posthumous LP's,
including R U Still Down? (Remember Me) and Still I Rise. Furthermore, he has
been approached to submit tracks for what is set to be Shakur's last effort.

In the meantime, heads will soon be able to watch their idol narrate his own
life story on the screen. In one of Resurrection's most eye-opening moments,
Pac reveals that though he was successful while on Death Row, he wasn't happy,
a fact that
Pizzaro echoes.

"Being around Pac, it was very obvious and very evident. Here was a man who
finally reached his goal and what he had set out to do and now that he actually
made it... it's like this ain't sh!t," Pizzaro said in regards to Pac's
bittersweet success.
"Basically it was just real obvious that Pac wasn't happy."

  Peace! Hold on, be strong!

     [-=#Jackie Chan#=-] [-=#RAP#=-] [-=#Formula-1#=-] [-=#Euthanasia#=-]
  np: 2pac "Better Dayz - Disk 2",2002 - Fame