Tupac’s Euthanasia Record Label And Plans For 3rd Album On Death Row
It is well known that plans for Tupac’s Euthanasia record label was real, but not many knew about his plans for a 3rd album with Death Row records as told by Wendy Day on BHIGHTV.
Euthanasia (eu·tha·na·sia)
- the painless killing of a patient suffering from an incurable and painful disease or in an irreversible coma. The practice is illegal in most countries.
Interviewed by BHIGHTV, Wendy Day revealed Tupac’s plans for a third album on Death Row records. Part of Tupac’s obligation to Death Row records who bailed him out of prison, was to record three albums for the label. Tupac’s All Eyez On Me which was a double album which counted as two of three albums. Many had assumed the Makaveli album was planned as the the third, but in fact Tupac wanted to release the album as a free mixtape. According to Wendy Day Tupac had plans for a different album to close out the Death Row three album deal.
“He did a three album deal with Death Row. He had delivered two albums at that point, the second one had not come out yet,” Wendy Day explains. “He knew what the third one was going to be. It was going to be called “One Nation”. He was dividing everybody, East coast vs West coast, but the third album was going to bring everybody together. He already had started recording it.” Indeed he did. Many of those songs leaked and features the likes of the Boot Camp Click and the Outlawz.
Life after Death Row records
But what exactly was next for Tupac after Death Row records? According to Wendy Day, Tupac had plans for his own record label called Euthanasia. “I was in the process of putting together the business plan and actively shopping him a deal at that point when he died,” Wendy said. “The plan was for him to start his own company. But, it also had community centers attached. It had Day Care centers attached in major metropolitan areas. It was so much bigger than what anyone had ever done.”
Back in 2019, Tupac’s close friend Kendrick Well who was interviewed by Cam Capone News, also touched on Tupac’s Euthanasia record label plans. “‘Pac really wanted to do some stuff. His reputation changed. He’s a boss millionaire, he’s doing everything flamboyant. He really wanted to start a label called Euthanasia to help kids and mothers. All he told me was it was gonna be community based. He was gonna give back. He was to start a record label to bring up and sign positive artist, to pretty much do what his originally intentions were. Like I told you before, his original intentions were panther power,” Wells said.
“That was gonna be positive. It was gonna be connected to community things. He really saw himself going on the edge as an artist this way. So, he wanted to give back this way.”
Tupac Euthanasia record label money problems
Money would be an issue in making Tupac’s vision a reality. It is well known at the time of Tupac’s passing he did not have much money. He had owed a lot of money to Death Row records which included studio time, cars, homes, and other expenses. Whatever the reason, and however the money was being managed or rather mismanaged, Tupac had a hard time funding his label.
Kendrick Wells still till this day doesn’t know exactly why, but he did find it weird that Tupac wasn’t able to fund his label. “He really wanted to do some positive stuff. And, to fund this label he really had to get some of his advancements, or some of his money from Suge. And, It was weird when we’d go get the money, the money wasn’t coming. Like here’s some money in your pocket, that money came fast. But when I went to go get money for this label, this new label, it was hard going. We had to kinda get that going from scratch.”
Who helped in getting Euthanasia started?
Kendrick Wells contributed in helping get things moving with his own money. “A lot of my money, out of my pocket, to move people, and do things. And, this apartment we turn into an office for him,” says Kendrick. “He really wanted to start this label called Euthanasia records.”
Yaki Kadafi’s mother, Yaasymn Fula, also contributed to the label. “We got her out here. She moved into that office,” says Kendrick. “We didn’t get any Death Row funding. She moved in and started working. I hired another girl to help her, and they started moving and stuff. They started to get things off the ground but it never came to fruition.”
How did Suge Knight feel about Tupac’s label
Kendrick Wells recalls the times he would go over to the Death Row office to collect money for the Euthanasia label, and would end up getting the run around. “When it was just money for Tupac to spent or whatever, I’d go to the office and ‘Here you go Kendrick’, envelope, soon as I walk in the door. But, When we was trying to get the Euthanasia stuff together, I go to the office and it be like ‘I didn’t know you was coming’.”
There had been many speculations in the past that Suge Knight wasn’t happy Tupac was starting a label. Those around at the time denied ever hearing or seeing any concrete evidence of Suge being upset. One can image from a business perspective someone like a Suge, a label owner himself, wouldn’t be too happy with the idea of his top artist leaving. “From a business stance I could understand. Some things Suge did was genius, as a older man I look at that sh-t. Some of it was kinda foolish.”