Happy 25th Anniversary to 2Pac’s third studio album Me Against The World, originally released March 14, 1995.
If you consider the fierce, often savage framework around which 2Pac built his public persona—giving paparazzi the finger and spitting at them, severe brushes with the law, the aggression he carried in his final years—you might suspect that naming an album Me Against The World was his ultimate “f**k you” to everybody. In truth, it was a title that spoke for thousands of men and women facing the same kind of problems 2Pac rapped about: being black, poor, and marginalized in a society where they seemed destined to fail.
Weighty issues are handled sensitively and compassionately throughout Me Against The World, an album often considered to be 2Pac’s finest. Be that as it may, 2Pac wasn’t exactly known for his subtlety, and as such, the street violence on Me Against The World is depicted with far less nuance. This mix of drama, tragedy, tenderness, nostalgia, hatred, darkness, love and countless other emotions add up to an all-round excellent album, one that only a talent as unique as Tupac Amaru Shakur could have pulled off so well.
I could write an entire essay on the most impactful song on Me Against The World, “Dear Mama.” Penned as a direct tribute to his mother, Afeni Shakur, but also for any mother who was able to live through the struggle of poverty and drug addiction while still managing to be there for the children, “Dear Mama” is one of 2Pac’s most poignant and emotional songs. With this, “Brenda’s Got a Baby” (from his 1991 debut LP 2Pacalypse Now) and “Keep Ya Head Up” (from 1993’s Strictly 4 My N****Z...), 2Pac showed he could write music that celebrated and championed strong women—a rarity in a music genre so disgustingly misogynistic. It was also at odds with the darker side of 2Pac’s personality; he was infamously charged with sexual assault two years before the release of Me Against The World. And to push home that point even further, 2Pac was even in prison when Me Against The World came out. It was a controversy used as a marketing tool that helped 2Pac achieve the dubious accolade of becoming the first musician to have a number one album while being locked up.
Such contradiction runs through all of 2Pac’s work, and it’s something I previously discussed in my Albumism tribute for the record that preceded Me Against The World, Strictly 4 My N****Z… Any act of tenderness or empathy on a 2Pac album is countered with something darker and violent. On Me Against The World, “Dear Mama” is flanked by the sinister, suicidal thoughts of “Lord Knows” and the death and violence of “It Aint Easy.” Visions of death, mourning, and sorrow dominate Me Against The World, including reference to his own demise; another common element of 2Pac’s work and a dire prediction of his murder in 1996.
As much as I love 2Pac’s first four albums, people are wrong to claim he’s the greatest rapper of all time. He’s arguably not even in the top 20 when judged against lyrical ability and delivery. When people die, there’s a natural rush to elevate them to the highest level of regard, and in 2Pac’s case, people tend to mix up the cultural impact he has made with his rapping ability. He was, of course, without a doubt an extremely talented emcee and writer, and certainly among the best, with love for the craft that went deeper than casual fans probably appreciated.
During interviews in support of Me Against The World, 2Pac spoke of how this was his chance to make music people would consider as art and more than just the latest from the man who made light-weight party anthems like “I Get Around.” He stepped up accordingly with some of his most creative writing on Me Against The World, often switching gears and experimenting with different styles, like on “If I Die 2Nite.”
My personal favorite track on Me Against The World is its other big single, “Temptations.” Like with Strictly 4 My N****Z., there are several songs on Me Against The World with an east coast hip-hop sound. In the case of “Temptations,” this was down to the ear of producer Easy Mo Bee, an unsung hero of 1990s New York rap. Combining samples from the frequently used west coast staple “Computer Love” by Zapp with hard, boom-bap drums works great, bridging the gap between the different sounds coming from both coasts at the time. Speaking of unsung heroes, a lot of credit for Me Against The World deserves to go to Tony Pizarro. The name won’t mean much to most people, but his production and songwriting feature several times on the album, including “Dear Mama.”
Me Against The World was the last album 2Pac released before he committed fully to the thug life mantra he ultimately lived and died by. There would be time for one final classic album before his death, 1996’s All Eyez On Me, before a run of lackluster posthumous albums and compilations.
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