Still I Rise, the third posthumous release of "new" material by Tupac Shakur, is not surprisingly a mixed bag. Recorded in 1996 with the Outlawz, the disc at its best does showcase the power of 'Pac. More politically acute (and complexly anti-Clinton) than most gangsta rap even attempts to be, "Letter to the President" and "The Good Die Young" find the star turning in some of his most focused lyrics and performances. Elsewhere, he often cedes the mic to other voices; the collaborations that result--"Secretz of War", "Tattoo Tears", the title cut--are the equivalent of campfire songs for the latter-day black cowboy. Dominated by phat beats and familiar imagery, they entertain but hardly illuminate. --Rickey Wright