The fall of 1996 was a dark time in hip-hop.
Today In Hip-Hop History: Tupac Shakur's First Posthumous Album ‘The Don Killuminati: The 7 day theory’ was released.
Twenty-four years ago today (Nov. 5), Makaveli’s debut album hit stores. Released just two months after Tupac Shakur’s murder, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory sold over 600,000 copies in its first week, knocking The Beatles out of the No. 1 spot on the Billboard albums chart. But as popular as Shakur’s fifth studio album may be, it remains one of the most enigmatic and misunderstood records in the history of hip-hop.
In those strange and confusing days after 2Pac’s death, rumors spread like a virus. Overwhelmed by grief and denial, fans scrutinized the album for hidden messages. The sleeve copy contained the words “Exit 2Pac, Enter Makaveli,” prompting theories that Pac might have faked his own death.
Many speculated that the 7 days in the album title stood for the time between his September 7 shooting and his subsequent death in a Vegas hospital. But during one of his last interviews, Pac explained that The 7 Day Theory referred to how long it took to record the album—he laid down his vocals in just three days, and the mixing took another four days.
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