2PAC PACKS
A POSTHUMOUS WALLOP

He's hotter in death than he was in life…and that's saying something.

2Pac's "Until The End Of Time," a double-CD of material from his Death Row "Makaveli" days, will easily outdistance the competition next week, according to first-day reports from retailers nationwide.

The Amaru Entertainment/Death Row/Interscope release, executive produced by the late rapper's mother Afeni Shakur and still-imprisoned Suge Knight, hit the streets hard yesterday, with Best Buy's projecting that when all are counted, it will do in the 350k range.

The album, the first of two double-albums from the period, features more than 20 previously unreleased tracks. It is the third album of 2Pac material since the rapper's murder in Las Vegas in 1996, which remains unsolved. "Time" follows on the heels of ‘96's "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory," ‘97's "R U Still Down? (Remember Me)" and ‘99's "Still I Rise." All three went Top 10 and have sold almost 7 million copies collectively.

Also on tap for chart debuts next week are Motown's newest neo soul diva India.Arie, whose 75k in first-week sales for her debut album, "Acoustic Soul," should place her close to the Top Five. Columbia alterna-folksters Train's "Drops of Jupiter" appears headed for the 70k range and a Top 10 bow. Other notable debuts include DreamWorks' Buckcherry (30k), MCA's Jesse Powell (20k), Island's Saliva (15k) and Columbia's Shawn Colvin (15k).

Randy Lewis, if you're reading this, hello.