"Unconditional Love" is a song by

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

featuring Nanci Fletcher. The song was released posthumously as

promotional single A promotional recording, or promo, or plug copy, is an audio or video recording distributed free, usually in order to promote a recording that is or soon will be commercially available. Promos are normally sent directly to broadcasters, such as ...

for his 1998 ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be crea ...

'' album. To date, the explicit version of the song has only been released on the promotional single. The song peaked at number 73 on the airplay chart.

Overview

The song was written by 2Pac for fellow

Death Row Death row, also known as condemned row, is a place in a prison that houses inmates awaiting Capital punishment, execution after being convicted of a capital crime and sentenced to death. The term is also used figuratively to describe the state of ...

rapper M.C. Hammer. 2Pac recorded a

demo Demo, usually short for demonstration, may refer to: Music and film *Demo (music), a song typically recorded for reference rather than release * ''Demo'' (Behind Crimson Eyes), a 2004 recording by the band Behind Crimson Eyes * ''Demo'' (Deafhea ...

of it himself before giving the song to Hammer, this demo is what was used for songs release. Hammer's version was first released on ''

Family Affair ''Family Affair'' is an American sitcom starring Brian Keith and Sebastian Cabot that aired on CBS from September 12, 1966, to March 4, 1971. The series explored the trials of well-to-do engineer and bachelor Bill Davis (Keith) as he attempte ...

'' in 1998. Hammer would later dance and read the lyrics to this song on the first ''

VH1 Hip Hop Honors The Hip Hop Honors is an annual event that airs on VH1. The television special honors old school and golden age hip hop rappers and contributors for their long-term influence and importance in the history of hip hop culture. It features live p ...

'' in 2004. According to the ''Family Affair'' album insert, "Unconditional Love" lyrics were written and arranged by 2Pac and the songs producer,

Johnny "J" Johnny Lee Jackson (August 28, 1969 – October 3, 2008) was a Mexican-American multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper best known for his early career with Death Row Records, and for his work with 2Pac on ''Me Against the World ...

. Johnny "J" was credited for producing both versions of the song. Hammer wrote this about the song: "This song was given to me as a gift from the late Tupac Shakur. He told me this was a song about how true love is unconditional. He wanted me to rap it because it reflected what I stand for. The secret is this is also what he stood for. We know that our Bible says that God's love is unconditional. Thank you Tupac for this beautiful, spiritual song." Hammer would later go on to mention his friendship with Tupac and the gift of this song to him in a TBN interview.

Music video

A video for "Unconditional Love" was filmed between January 11–12, 1999. It features

Tha Realest Jevon Jones (born October 11, 1973) is an American rapper better known by his stage name Tha Realest, and formerly Tenkamenin The Vigilante (or simply Tenkamenin). His debut album, '' Witness Tha Realest'', was released on July 14, 2009, followi ...

(looking and sounding like 2Pac) recording this song in the studio.

Track listing

# "Unconditional Love" featuring Nanci Fletcher (Clean Version) # "Unconditional Love" featuring Nanci Fletcher (LP Version)

References

{{2Pac Tupac Shakur songs 1998 singles Songs released posthumously 1998 songs Songs written by Tupac Shakur