Me Against the World
Encyclopedia
Me Against the World is the third studio album
by American
hip hop
artist Tupac Shakur
. It was released March 14, 1995 on the Interscope Records
label. The album was composed of un-used tracks from the Thug Life era, and from other studio sessions from 1993 to 1994. It was this impending prison sentence, troubles with the police and Shakur being poor, which many believe might have contributed to Shakur's artistic re-emergence on record, as his material is believed by Steve Huey of Allmusic to have become markedly more "confessional", "reflective", and "soul-baring".
Me Against the World, released while Shakur was imprisoned, made an immediate impact on the charts, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200
. This ultimately made Shakur the first artist to have an album debut at number one on Billboard 200 while serving time in prison. The album served as one of Shakur's most positively reviewed albums, with many calling it the magnum opus of his career, and is considered one of the greatest and most influential hip hop albums of all-time. It is also his fourth biggest selling album with 2,439,000 units moved to date. Me Against the World won best rap album at the 1996 Soul Train Music Awards.
was already a success in the hip hop
industry, with two gold-certified singles that reached the top twenty on the pop charts ("I Get Around
", "Keep Ya Head Up
"), and a platinum-selling sophomore
album that would peak just inside the top twenty-five of the Billboard 200
(Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
). However, the 22 year old artist had a series of incidents and charges of breaking the law. In the summer of 1993, Shakur was charged for assaulting director Allen Hughes
while filming Menace II Society
; Shakur was later sentenced to fifteen days in jail. Later, in October 1993, Shakur was charged with shooting two off-duty police officers in Atlanta, though the charges would eventually be dismissed. In November, Shakur and two members of his entourage were charged with sexually assaulting a female fan, for which they were found guilty and sentenced to 4.5 years in jail. According to Shakur, the album was made to show the hip hop audience his respect for the art form. Lyrically, Shakur intentionally tried to make the album more personal and reflective than his previous efforts.
's albums up to that point in his career. Steve "Flash" Juon at RapReviews gave the production on the album a perfect 10 of 10 rating, particularly praising tracks like "So Many Tears
" and "Temptations
". Jon Parales remarked that the production had a "fatalistic calm, in a commercial mold". He compared the album's production and synthesized hooks to that of Dr. Dre
's G-funk
style, stating that "while 2Pac doesn't sing, other voices do, providing smooth melody". James Bernard at Entertainment Weekly
was not quite as enthusiastic about the album's production, remarking that Shakur's "vocals are buried deep in the mix. That's a shame—if they were more in-your-face, the lackluster beats might be less noticeable."
The album's recording sessions took place at ten different studios, while it was mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Although the album was originally released on Interscope. Amaru Entertainment
, the label owned by Shakur's mother Afeni Shakur
, has since released the album twice.
, and occasional self-loathing. Much attention is paid to subjects such as the pain of urban survival. Not all of the music deals with such extremely bleak subject matter, however. Some tracks, such as "Old School", lean more to the nostalgic, though somewhat bittersweet side in Shakur's remembrance of his youth and the early days of hip hop music. The album is also well-known for the more sensitive tracks "Dear Mama
" and "Can U Get Away", which are both directed towards and reveal Shakur's devotion to the women he loves. On "Dear Mama", Shakur pays tribute to and expresses his undying affection for his own mother, continuously reminding her that though his actions might sometimes seem to state otherwise, "you are appreciated". On the track "Can U Get Away", Shakur attempts to impress a woman
who has managed to gain his affections away from the woman and Shakur's abusive relationship
. Three of the most eerie and revered tracks on the album are "If I Die 2Nite", "Lord Knows" and "Fuck The World" Throughout the entirety of the album Shakur employs various poetical deliveries, ranging from alliteration
("If I Die 2Nite"), to the use of paired couplet
s ("Lord Knows").
" was released as the album's first single in February 1995, along with the track "Old School" as the B-side
. "Dear Mama" would be the album's most successful single, topping the Hot Rap Singles
chart, and peaking at the ninth spot on the Billboard Hot 100
. The single was certified platinum in July 1995, and later placed at #51 on the year-end charts.
The second single, "So Many Tears
", was released in June, four months after the first single. The single would reach the number six spot on the Hot Rap Singles chart, and the 44th on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Temptations
", released in August, was be the third and final single from the album. The single would be the least successful of the three released, but still did fairly well on the charts, reaching number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, 35 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
, and 13 on the Hot Rap Singles charts.
chart with 240,000 copies sold in the first week, and became certified double platinum by the end of the year. Likewise, it also debuted at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
chart, thus giving 2Pac the first #1 Album on both R&B and Pop charts. While Shakur was in prison, the album over-took Bruce Springsteen
's Greatest Hits
as the best-selling album in the United States, a feat which he took pride in. Shakur became the first artist to have a number one album while serving a prison sentence.
The album received a five-star rating from Allmusic, with reviewer Steve Huey calling it "[Shakur's] most thematically consistent, least self-contradicting work", and stating "it may not be his definitive album, but it just might be his best". However, Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReview seemed to feel differently, remarking that the album "is not only the quintessential Shakur album, but one of the most important rap albums released in the 1990's as a whole". Juon awarded the work a perfect ten-out-of-ten rating. Cheo H. Coker at Rolling Stone
also called the album Shakur's best, giving it three-and-a-half out of five stars.
Robert Christgau spoke out against the album, saying "the subtext of his persecution complex is his self-regard". Of the overall effect of the album, Coker said it was "by and large a work of pain, anger and burning desperation — [it] is the first time 2Pac has taken the conflicting forces tugging at his psyche head-on". Jon Pareles
of The New York Times
gave the album a favorable review, calling Shakur the "St. Augustine of gangster rap" due to his ambivalence towards the behavior and nature of the gangster lifestyle.
and the single "Dear Mama" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance
. In 2008, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers
, in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
, recognized Me Against the World as one of the "most influential and popular albums", ranking it #170 on a list of 200 other albums by artists of various musical genres.
The information regarding accolades is adapted from Acclaimedmusic.net, except for lists that are sourced otherwise.
(*) signifies unordered lists
Singles
Studio album
A studio album is an album made up of tracks recorded in the controlled environment of a recording studio. A studio album contains newly written and recorded or previously unreleased or remixed material, distinguishing itself from a compilation or reissue album of previously recorded material, or...
by American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
artist Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
. It was released March 14, 1995 on the Interscope Records
Interscope Records
Interscope Records is an American record label owned by Universal Music Group that currently operates as one third of UMG's Interscope-Geffen-A&M label group.-History:...
label. The album was composed of un-used tracks from the Thug Life era, and from other studio sessions from 1993 to 1994. It was this impending prison sentence, troubles with the police and Shakur being poor, which many believe might have contributed to Shakur's artistic re-emergence on record, as his material is believed by Steve Huey of Allmusic to have become markedly more "confessional", "reflective", and "soul-baring".
Me Against the World, released while Shakur was imprisoned, made an immediate impact on the charts, debuting at number one on the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
. This ultimately made Shakur the first artist to have an album debut at number one on Billboard 200 while serving time in prison. The album served as one of Shakur's most positively reviewed albums, with many calling it the magnum opus of his career, and is considered one of the greatest and most influential hip hop albums of all-time. It is also his fourth biggest selling album with 2,439,000 units moved to date. Me Against the World won best rap album at the 1996 Soul Train Music Awards.
Background
In 1993, Tupac ShakurTupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
was already a success in the hip hop
Hip hop
Hip hop is a form of musical expression and artistic culture that originated in African-American and Latino communities during the 1970s in New York City, specifically the Bronx. DJ Afrika Bambaataa outlined the four pillars of hip hop culture: MCing, DJing, breaking and graffiti writing...
industry, with two gold-certified singles that reached the top twenty on the pop charts ("I Get Around
I Get Around (2Pac song)
"I Get Around" is the second single from 2Pac's second album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., and features Shock G and Money-B of Digital Underground, the group that introduced him...
", "Keep Ya Head Up
Keep Ya Head Up
"Keep Ya Head Up" is a late 1993 hit by Tupac Shakur. #11 in About.com's Top 100 Rap Songs, with "Dear Mama" voted #4.It was first released in Shakur's 1993 album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., later appearing after his death in 1996 in his Greatest Hits compilation...
"), and a platinum-selling sophomore
Sophomore
Sophomore is a term used in the United States to describe a student in the second year of study at high school or university.The word is also used as a synonym for "second", for the second album or EP released by a musician or group, the second movie of a director, or the second season of a...
album that would peak just inside the top twenty-five of the Billboard 200
Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
(Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
2Pac's "Keep Ya Head Up " [previously-unreleased] from The Outlawz' 2Pac: Evolution 12-CD box set :goo.gl/5K81bEven more unreleased mp3s from the 2Pac: Evolution 12-CD box set:goo.gl/T5dw4...
). However, the 22 year old artist had a series of incidents and charges of breaking the law. In the summer of 1993, Shakur was charged for assaulting director Allen Hughes
Hughes Brothers
Albert Hughes and Allen Hughes , known together professionally as the Hughes brothers, are American film directors, producers and screenwriters...
while filming Menace II Society
Menace II Society
Menace II Society is a 1993 urban crime drama and the directorial debut of twin brothers Allen and Albert Hughes. Menace II Society is set in South Central Los Angeles and follows the life of a hoodlum named Caine Lawson and his close friends. The film gained notoriety for its frequent scenes of...
; Shakur was later sentenced to fifteen days in jail. Later, in October 1993, Shakur was charged with shooting two off-duty police officers in Atlanta, though the charges would eventually be dismissed. In November, Shakur and two members of his entourage were charged with sexually assaulting a female fan, for which they were found guilty and sentenced to 4.5 years in jail. According to Shakur, the album was made to show the hip hop audience his respect for the art form. Lyrically, Shakur intentionally tried to make the album more personal and reflective than his previous efforts.
Recording and production
The musical production on the album was considered by several music critics to be the best on any of ShakurTupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
's albums up to that point in his career. Steve "Flash" Juon at RapReviews gave the production on the album a perfect 10 of 10 rating, particularly praising tracks like "So Many Tears
So Many Tears
"So Many Tears" is the second single from, and the fourth track on, Tupac Shakur's third studio album Me Against the World. It is known as one of Shakur's saddest and most soulful songs, as he was rapping about pain and suffering. The song's harmony is a sample from Stevie Wonder's "That Girl". The...
" and "Temptations
Temptations (song)
"Temptations" is a song by rapper Tupac Shakur, released as the third single from his third album, Me Against the World. The song was produced by Easy Mo Bee...
". Jon Parales remarked that the production had a "fatalistic calm, in a commercial mold". He compared the album's production and synthesized hooks to that of Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre
Andre Romelle Young , primarily known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American record producer, rapper, record executive, entrepreneur, and occasional actor. He is the founder and current CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and a former co-owner and artist of Death Row Records...
's G-funk
G-funk
G-funk, or Gangsta-funk, is a sub-genre of hip hop music that emerged from Westcoast gangsta rap in the early 1990s. G-funk incorporates multi-layered and melodic synthesizers, slow hypnotic grooves, a deep bass, background female vocals, the extensive sampling of P-funk tunes, and a high-pitched...
style, stating that "while 2Pac doesn't sing, other voices do, providing smooth melody". James Bernard at Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly
Entertainment Weekly is an American magazine, published by the Time division of Time Warner, that covers film, television, music, broadway theatre, books and popular culture...
was not quite as enthusiastic about the album's production, remarking that Shakur's "vocals are buried deep in the mix. That's a shame—if they were more in-your-face, the lackluster beats might be less noticeable."
The album's recording sessions took place at ten different studios, while it was mastered at Bernie Grundman Mastering. Although the album was originally released on Interscope. Amaru Entertainment
Amaru Entertainment
Amaru Entertainment was founded by Tupac Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur, in early 1997 to handle the release of the unreleased material Tupac Shakur had created before his death on September 13, 1996. After the death of Tupac Shakur the label inherited the rights to 2Pacalypse Now, Strictly 4 My...
, the label owned by Shakur's mother Afeni Shakur
Afeni Shakur
Afeni Shakur Davis is an African American music businesswoman, philanthropist, former political activist and ex-Black Panther. She is the mother of the late Tupac Shakur...
, has since released the album twice.
Composition
Some of the album's main themes concern the loss of innocence, paranoiaParanoia
Paranoia [] is a thought process believed to be heavily influenced by anxiety or fear, often to the point of irrationality and delusion. Paranoid thinking typically includes persecutory beliefs, or beliefs of conspiracy concerning a perceived threat towards oneself...
, and occasional self-loathing. Much attention is paid to subjects such as the pain of urban survival. Not all of the music deals with such extremely bleak subject matter, however. Some tracks, such as "Old School", lean more to the nostalgic, though somewhat bittersweet side in Shakur's remembrance of his youth and the early days of hip hop music. The album is also well-known for the more sensitive tracks "Dear Mama
Dear Mama
"Dear Mama" is a hip hop song by American hip hop artist 2Pac. The track was produced by Tony Pizarro for 2Pac's third solo album, Me Against the World, which was released in 1995. The song was written by 2Pac as an ode to his own mother, Afeni Shakur....
" and "Can U Get Away", which are both directed towards and reveal Shakur's devotion to the women he loves. On "Dear Mama", Shakur pays tribute to and expresses his undying affection for his own mother, continuously reminding her that though his actions might sometimes seem to state otherwise, "you are appreciated". On the track "Can U Get Away", Shakur attempts to impress a woman
Lisa Lopes
Lisa Nicole Lopes better known by her stage name Left Eye, was an American rapper, singer, dancer, actress, television host, and songwriter...
who has managed to gain his affections away from the woman and Shakur's abusive relationship
Domestic violence
Domestic violence, also known as domestic abuse, spousal abuse, battering, family violence, and intimate partner violence , is broadly defined as a pattern of abusive behaviors by one or both partners in an intimate relationship such as marriage, dating, family, or cohabitation...
. Three of the most eerie and revered tracks on the album are "If I Die 2Nite", "Lord Knows" and "Fuck The World" Throughout the entirety of the album Shakur employs various poetical deliveries, ranging from alliteration
Alliteration
In language, alliteration refers to the repetition of a particular sound in the first syllables of Three or more words or phrases. Alliteration has historically developed largely through poetry, in which it more narrowly refers to the repetition of a consonant in any syllables that, according to...
("If I Die 2Nite"), to the use of paired couplet
Couplet
A couplet is a pair of lines of meter in poetry. It usually consists of two lines that rhyme and have the same meter.While traditionally couplets rhyme, not all do. A poem may use white space to mark out couplets if they do not rhyme. Couplets with a meter of iambic pentameter are called heroic...
s ("Lord Knows").
Singles
"Dear MamaDear Mama
"Dear Mama" is a hip hop song by American hip hop artist 2Pac. The track was produced by Tony Pizarro for 2Pac's third solo album, Me Against the World, which was released in 1995. The song was written by 2Pac as an ode to his own mother, Afeni Shakur....
" was released as the album's first single in February 1995, along with the track "Old School" as the B-side
A-side and B-side
A-side and B-side originally referred to the two sides of gramophone records on which singles were released beginning in the 1950s. The terms have come to refer to the types of song conventionally placed on each side of the record, with the A-side being the featured song , while the B-side, or...
. "Dear Mama" would be the album's most successful single, topping the Hot Rap Singles
Hot Rap Tracks
Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single...
chart, and peaking at the ninth spot on the Billboard Hot 100
Billboard Hot 100
The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday...
. The single was certified platinum in July 1995, and later placed at #51 on the year-end charts.
The second single, "So Many Tears
So Many Tears
"So Many Tears" is the second single from, and the fourth track on, Tupac Shakur's third studio album Me Against the World. It is known as one of Shakur's saddest and most soulful songs, as he was rapping about pain and suffering. The song's harmony is a sample from Stevie Wonder's "That Girl". The...
", was released in June, four months after the first single. The single would reach the number six spot on the Hot Rap Singles chart, and the 44th on the Billboard Hot 100.
"Temptations
Temptations (song)
"Temptations" is a song by rapper Tupac Shakur, released as the third single from his third album, Me Against the World. The song was produced by Easy Mo Bee...
", released in August, was be the third and final single from the album. The single would be the least successful of the three released, but still did fairly well on the charts, reaching number 68 on the Billboard Hot 100, 35 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs
Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,...
, and 13 on the Hot Rap Singles charts.
Critical response
The album debuted at the number one spot on the Billboard 200Billboard 200
The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists...
chart with 240,000 copies sold in the first week, and became certified double platinum by the end of the year. Likewise, it also debuted at number one on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999...
chart, thus giving 2Pac the first #1 Album on both R&B and Pop charts. While Shakur was in prison, the album over-took Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Springsteen
Bruce Frederick Joseph Springsteen , nicknamed "The Boss," is an American singer-songwriter who records and tours with the E Street Band...
's Greatest Hits
Greatest Hits (Bruce Springsteen album)
Greatest Hits is Bruce Springsteen's first compilation album, released February 27, 1995 on Columbia Records. It is a collection of some of Springsteen's hit singles and popular album tracks through the years and four extra numbers at the end, mostly recorded with the E Street Band in 1995...
as the best-selling album in the United States, a feat which he took pride in. Shakur became the first artist to have a number one album while serving a prison sentence.
The album received a five-star rating from Allmusic, with reviewer Steve Huey calling it "[Shakur's] most thematically consistent, least self-contradicting work", and stating "it may not be his definitive album, but it just might be his best". However, Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReview seemed to feel differently, remarking that the album "is not only the quintessential Shakur album, but one of the most important rap albums released in the 1990's as a whole". Juon awarded the work a perfect ten-out-of-ten rating. Cheo H. Coker at Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
also called the album Shakur's best, giving it three-and-a-half out of five stars.
Robert Christgau spoke out against the album, saying "the subtext of his persecution complex is his self-regard". Of the overall effect of the album, Coker said it was "by and large a work of pain, anger and burning desperation — [it] is the first time 2Pac has taken the conflicting forces tugging at his psyche head-on". Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles
Jon Pareles is an American journalist who is the chief popular music critic in the arts section of the New York Times. He played jazz flute and piano, and graduated from Yale University with a degree in music. In the 1970s he was an associate editor of Crawdaddy!, and in the 1980s an associate...
of The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
gave the album a favorable review, calling Shakur the "St. Augustine of gangster rap" due to his ambivalence towards the behavior and nature of the gangster lifestyle.
Accolades
At the 38th Grammy Awards, in 1996, Me Against the World was nominated for Best Rap AlbumGrammy Award for Best Rap Album
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Album is an award presented to recording artists for quality albums with rapping at the Grammy Awards, a ceremony that was established in 1958 and originally called the Gramophone Awards...
and the single "Dear Mama" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance
Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance
The Grammy Award for Best Rap Solo Performance was awarded from 1991 to 2011, alongside the Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. Previously a single award was presented for Best Rap Performance....
. In 2008, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers
National Association of Recording Merchandisers
The National Association of Recording Merchandisers is a United States not-for-profit trade association based in Marlton, New Jersey that serves music retailing businesses in lobbying and trade promotion...
, in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame
The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum is a museum located on the shore of Lake Erie in downtown Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It is dedicated to archiving the history of some of the best-known and most influential artists, producers, engineers and others who have, in some major way,...
, recognized Me Against the World as one of the "most influential and popular albums", ranking it #170 on a list of 200 other albums by artists of various musical genres.
The information regarding accolades is adapted from Acclaimedmusic.net, except for lists that are sourced otherwise.
(*) signifies unordered lists
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Nation New Nation This article is about the British newspaper, which is not to be confused with the Apartheid-era New Nation published in Johannesburg, South Africa or the satirical publication in Singapore.... |
UK United Kingdom The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages... |
Top 100 Albums by Black Artists | 49 | |
| Blender Blender (magazine) Blender was an American music magazine that billed itself as "the ultimate guide to music and more". It was also known for sometimes steamy pictorials of celebrities.... |
USA | 500 CDs You Must Own Before You Die | 2003 | * |
| Ego Trip Ego trip (magazine) ego trip was the name of a hip hop magazine started in New York City in 1994. It lasted four years and 13 issues and distinguished itself based on its irreverence and defiant attitude, eventually adopting the tagline, "the arrogant voice of musical truth."-Description:The roots of the publication... |
Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980–98 | 1999 | 7 | |
| Nude as the News | The 100 Most Compelling Albums of the 90s | 1999 | 47 | |
| Pause & Play | Albums Inducted into a Time Capsule, One Album per Week | * | ||
| Robert Dimery | 1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die | 2005 | * | |
| The Source The Source (magazine) The Source is a United States-based, monthly full-color magazine covering hip-hop music, politics, and culture, founded in 1988. It is the world's second longest running rap periodical, behind United Kingdom-based publication Hip Hop Connection. The Source was founded as a newsletter in 1988... |
The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time | 1998 | * | |
| About.com About.com About.com is an online source for original information and advice. It is written in English, and is aimed primarily at North Americans. It is owned by The New York Times Company.... |
The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time | 12 |
Track listing
All lyrics by Tupac, music compositions listed below.| # | Title | Time | Producer(s) | Performer(s) | Sample(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Intro" | 1:40 | Tony Pizarro | Sarah Diamond, Debby Hambrick, Jay Jensen, Jill Jones, Dan O'Leary | |
| 2 | "If I Die 2Nite" | 4:01 | Easy Mo Bee Easy Mo Bee Osten Harvey, Jr., better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is a hip hop/R&B record producer, known for production work for late 80's artists such as Big Daddy Kane, but most notable for his affiliation with Bad Boy Records in its early years and his heavy production involvement in The Notorious... |
Tupac Shakur Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world... |
|
| 3 | "Me Against the World" | 4:40 | Soulshock & Karlin Soulshock & Karlin Soulshock & Karlin is a duo of Danish record producers and songwriters, Carsten Schack and Kenneth Karlin. They have produced a large number of successful songs, including Monica's "Before You Walk out of My Life", Whitney Houston's "Heartbreak Hotel", JoJo's "Leave ", and Fantasia's "Truth Is"... |
Shakur, Dramacydal Outlawz Outlawz, formally known as Outlaw Immortalz, is an American hip hop group founded by Tupac Shakur in late 1995 after Shakur's release from prison. Collectively, they are probably best known for appearing in the video "Hit 'Em Up", in a diss track aimed at Biggie Smalls and other New York... |
|
| 4 | "So Many Tears So Many Tears "So Many Tears" is the second single from, and the fourth track on, Tupac Shakur's third studio album Me Against the World. It is known as one of Shakur's saddest and most soulful songs, as he was rapping about pain and suffering. The song's harmony is a sample from Stevie Wonder's "That Girl". The... " |
3:59 | Shock G | Shakur |
|
| 5 | "Temptations Temptations (song) "Temptations" is a song by rapper Tupac Shakur, released as the third single from his third album, Me Against the World. The song was produced by Easy Mo Bee... " |
5:00 | Easy Mo Bee | Shakur |
|
| 6 | "Young Niggaz" | 4:53 | Le-morrious "Funky Drummer" Tyler, Moe Z.M.D. | Shakur |
|
| 7 | "Heavy in the Game" | 4:23 | Sam Bostic, Mike Mosley | Shakur, Lady Levi, Richie Rich Richie Rich (rapper) Richard Serrell, better known by his stage name Richie Rich, is a rapper from Oakland, California.He is currently signed to Mack 10's Hoo-Bangin' Records.-Early years :His rapping style is an influence on Snoop Dogg. In Snoop's own words... |
|
| 8 | "Lord Knows" | 4:31 | Brian G | Shakur |
|
| 9 | "Dear Mama Dear Mama "Dear Mama" is a hip hop song by American hip hop artist 2Pac. The track was produced by Tony Pizarro for 2Pac's third solo album, Me Against the World, which was released in 1995. The song was written by 2Pac as an ode to his own mother, Afeni Shakur.... " |
4:40 | Tony Pizarro | Shakur |
|
| 10 | "It Ain't Easy" | 4:53 | Tony Pizarro | Shakur |
|
| 11 | "Can U Get Away" | 5:45 | Mike Mosley | Shakur |
|
| 12 | "Old School" | 4:40 | Soulshock | Shakur |
|
| 13 | "Fuck the World" | 4:13 | Shock G Shock G Gregory E. Jacobs , known by the stage names Shock G and Humpty Hump, is an American musician and rapper, known as the lead vocalist for the hip hop group Digital Underground... |
Shakur | |
| 14 | "Death Around the Corner" | 4:07 | Johnny "J" Johnny "J" Johnny Lee Jackson , commonly known in the music industry as Johnny "J", was a Mexican multi-platinum songwriter, music producer and rapper who was perhaps best remembered for his production on Tupac Shakur's albums All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World, as well as many of Shakur's subsequent... |
Shakur |
|
| 15 | "Outlaw" | 4:32 | Moe Z.M.D. | Shakur, Dramacydal |
|
Altered/Unused Tracks
| # | Title | Time | Producer(s) | Performer(s) | Sample/Note(s) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "If I Die 2Nite" | 3:51 | Easy Mo Bee Easy Mo Bee Osten Harvey, Jr., better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is a hip hop/R&B record producer, known for production work for late 80's artists such as Big Daddy Kane, but most notable for his affiliation with Bad Boy Records in its early years and his heavy production involvement in The Notorious... |
Tupac Shakur Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world... |
|
| 2 | "So Many Tears So Many Tears "So Many Tears" is the second single from, and the fourth track on, Tupac Shakur's third studio album Me Against the World. It is known as one of Shakur's saddest and most soulful songs, as he was rapping about pain and suffering. The song's harmony is a sample from Stevie Wonder's "That Girl". The... " |
4:48 | Shock G | Shakur, Stretch |
|
| 3 | "Temptations Temptations (song) "Temptations" is a song by rapper Tupac Shakur, released as the third single from his third album, Me Against the World. The song was produced by Easy Mo Bee... " |
4:20 | Easy Mo Bee | Shakur |
|
| 4 | "Lord Knows" | 4:21 | Brian G | Shakur |
|
| 5 | "Dear Mama Dear Mama "Dear Mama" is a hip hop song by American hip hop artist 2Pac. The track was produced by Tony Pizarro for 2Pac's third solo album, Me Against the World, which was released in 1995. The song was written by 2Pac as an ode to his own mother, Afeni Shakur.... " |
4:40 | Tony Pizarro | Shakur |
|
| 6 | "It Ain't Easy" | 4:58 | Tony Pizarro | Shakur |
|
| 7 | "Old School" | 4:52 | Soulshock | Shakur |
|
| 8 | "Runnin' From tha Police" | 5:02 | Easy Mo Bee Easy Mo Bee Osten Harvey, Jr., better known by his stage name Easy Mo Bee, is a hip hop/R&B record producer, known for production work for late 80's artists such as Big Daddy Kane, but most notable for his affiliation with Bad Boy Records in its early years and his heavy production involvement in The Notorious... |
Shakur, Dramacydal, Stretch, Notorious B.I.G. |
|
| 9 | "Throw Ya Hands Up" | 5:06 | Moe Z.M.D. | Shakur |
|
| 10 | "R U Still Down" | 6:46 | Tony Pizarro | Shakur |
R U Still Down? (Remember Me) R U Still Down? is the second posthumous album by 2Pac, released in 1997. Although it is the second album release after his death, it is the first to be finished without the creative input of 2Pac... |
Chart positions
Album| Chart (1995) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| Deutsch Albums Chart | 23 |
| Swedish Albums Chart | 40 |
| U.S. Billboard 200 Billboard 200 The Billboard 200 is a ranking of the 200 highest-selling music albums and EPs in the United States, published weekly by Billboard magazine. It is frequently used to convey the popularity of an artist or groups of artists... |
1 |
| U.S. Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a chart published by Billboard magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The name of the chart was changed from Top R&B Albums in 1999... |
1 |
Singles
| Year | Single | Peak positions | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| U.S. Billboard Hot 100 Billboard Hot 100 The Billboard Hot 100 is the United States music industry standard singles popularity chart issued weekly by Billboard magazine. Chart rankings are based on radio play and sales; the tracking-week for sales begins on Monday and ends on Sunday, while the radio play tracking-week runs from Wednesday... |
U.S. Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales Hot Dance Singles Sales is a chart released weekly by Billboard magazine in the United States, established in 1985. It measures the sale of commercially released singles that deal with dance music and remixes... |
U.S. Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs, is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States.The chart, initiated in 1942, is used to track the success of popular music songs in urban, or primarily African American, venues. Dominated over the years at various times by jazz, rhythm and blues, doo-wop, soul,... |
U.S. Hot Rap Singles Hot Rap Tracks Rap Songs is a chart released weekly by Billboard in the United States. It lists the 25 most popular hip-hop/rap songs, calculated weekly by airplay on rhythmic and urban radio stations and sales in hip hop-focused or exclusive markets. From 1989 through 2001, it was based on how much the single... |
U.S. Rhythmic Top 40 Rhythmic Contemporary Rhythmic contemporary, also known as rhythmic top 40, rhythmic contemporary hit radio or rhythmic crossover, is a music radio format that includes a mix of EDM, upbeat rhythmic pop, hip-hop and R&B hits. Rhythmic contemporary rarely uses rock music or country music in its airplay, but it may... |
||||||||
| 1995 | "Dear Mama Dear Mama "Dear Mama" is a hip hop song by American hip hop artist 2Pac. The track was produced by Tony Pizarro for 2Pac's third solo album, Me Against the World, which was released in 1995. The song was written by 2Pac as an ode to his own mother, Afeni Shakur.... " |
9 | 1 | 3 | 1 | 16 | ||||||
| "So Many Tears So Many Tears "So Many Tears" is the second single from, and the fourth track on, Tupac Shakur's third studio album Me Against the World. It is known as one of Shakur's saddest and most soulful songs, as he was rapping about pain and suffering. The song's harmony is a sample from Stevie Wonder's "That Girl". The... " |
44 | 41 | 21 | 6 | — | |||||||
| "Temptations Temptations (song) "Temptations" is a song by rapper Tupac Shakur, released as the third single from his third album, Me Against the World. The song was produced by Easy Mo Bee... " |
68 | — | 35 | 13 | — | |||||||
Chart procession and succession
Personnel
Credits for Me Against the World adapted from Allmusic and from the album liner notes.- Art Director: Eric Altenburger
- Co-Producers: DF Master Tee, Ezi Cut, Jay-B, Moses, Jill Rose
- Designer: Eric Altenburger
- Engineers: Paul Arnold, Kevin "KD" Davis, Jay Lean, Eric Lynch, Bob Morris, Tim Nitz, Tony Pizarro, Mike Schlesinger
- Guitar: Ronnie Vann
- Mixing Engineers: Paul Arnold, Kevin "KD" Davis, Jeff Griffin, Jay Lean, Tony Pizarro, SoulShock
- Performers: Dramacydal, Richie Rich
- Producers: Easy Mo Bee, Sam Bostic, D-Flizno Production Squad, Brian G, Shock G, Johnny "J", Karlin, Mike Mosley, Tony Pizarro, SoulShock, Le-morrious "Funky Drummer" Tyler, Moe Z.M.D.
- Vocals: Tupac Shakur, Kim Armstrong, Eboni Foster, Reggie Green, Puff Johnson, Jill Rose, Richard Serrell, Natasha Walker
See also
- List of number-one albums of 1995 (U.S.)
- List of number-one R&B albums of 1995 (U.S.)