Having stared death in the face and survived, he was a changed man on record, displaying a new confessional bent and a consistent emotional depth. “ Recorded following his near-fatal shooting in New York, and released while he was in prison, Me Against the World is the point where 2Pac really became a legendary figure. In their assessment, this is what AllMusic had to say: I want to bring in a review before moving on. Maybe the fact 2Pac was dogged by a degree of controversy affected some critics when it came to reviewing Me Against the World. So Many Tears and Dear Mama are two of my favourite 2Pac songs ever. Released in 1996, it was the final album released whilst 2Pac was alive (the rapper was murdered in September 1996). Perhaps his fourth studio album, All Eyez on Me, is a better-regarded album. This was widely attributed to Shakur's growing maturity and perhaps an effort to reconcile with his troubled past”. Shakur purposefully made Me Against the World's lyrics more personal and reflective than previously. In rapid succession, however, he had become embroiled in one criminal allegation after another.Īll for incidents in 1993, Shakur was sentenced to 15 days of jail for assaulting director Allen Hughes while filming Menace II Society, had seen the charges dropped after he shot two off-duty police officers, and was sentenced to 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison for, with two other men, sexually assaulting a woman.Īccording to Shakur, Me Against the World aimed to show the hip-hop audience his respect for the art form. His second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., going Platinum, had entered the top 25 on the Billboard 200, and offered two Gold singles, 'I Get Around' and 'Keep Ya Head Up', both entering the top 15 of the Billboard Hot 100. “ By 1994, Tupac Shakur, age 23, was already a prominent and controversial rapper. In terms of the background to the album and the significance of its title, it does make for eye-opening reading: I would urge people to buy it on vinyl, as it is a remarkable album from a rapper at the top of his game. I want so spend some time with his third studio album, Me Against the World. Killed at the age of twenty-five, the world wonders how far he could have gone.

A controversial figure for sure, one cannot ignore his immense talent and legacy.

I am reminder of 2Pac as, on 16th June, it would have been his fiftieth birthday. From the world of Rap and Hip-Hop in Vinyl Corner as I should.

Me against the world album art