"There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society!”

So said the then Vice President Dan Quayle of 2Pac’s debut album 2Pacalypse Now, right after an attorney defending a Texan youth that shot a state trooper claimed he was influenced by that record. Imagine an album that had yet to go gold having such an impact. Even at his least-polished state, 2Pac’s words had that unbelievable power. But as venomous as 2Pacalypse Now was, 2Pac’s sophomore effort, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. was even more so. Think 2Pacalypse Now, Part II, or 2Pacalypse Now X 2, which is a good thing, for the most part. This is where the legend of 2Pac truly starts, where the major traits of his best known work is first found – the powerful and passionate voice; the overwhelming charisma; the drawn-out syllables; the obsession with an inevitable violent end; and, of course, the glaring contradictions.

2Pac continues from where he left off in 2Pacalypse Now. In Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. he is still his venomous self, spewing lyrical darts at the usual culprits. He retaliates against Dan Quayle, hurling sporadic insults at him, and dedicates an interlude to him (“Pac’s Theme”). This time, it seems that he has narrowed his targets – the people who suffer the most from his lyrical wrath are racist police. Understandably so – 2Pac had his first couple of unpleasant encounters with cops soon after releasing his debut album, thus giving him more than enough fodder for his sophomore record. Violent retaliation is promised on a number of songs, most notably in “Last Wordz” and “Soulja’s Revenge”. The former features Ice Cube and Ice-T, two other guys who did not like cops very much, either. This explosive collaboration, complete with a chaotic backdrop, only amplifies the intensity of 'Pac’s lyrics:

United we stand, divided we fall
They can shoot one n***a, but they can't take us all!
[…]
One n***a teach two n****s
Three teach four n****s, and them n****s teach more n****s
And when we blast, that'll be the biggest blast you've heard!

Again, as in 2Pacalypse Now, there is really nothing distinguishable in his militant raps. In fact, as you can see, they are rather simplistic. The same goes for his gangsta posturing in songs like “Point the Finga” and “Peep Game” (although the collaboration with Treach, Apache and Live Squad, "5 Deadly Venomz", rates a couples of notches above the aforementioned songs). The difference in this album, however, is how he delivers the lyrics. There’s more passion, more intensity, more power. You can practically hear his voice reverberate with unbridled passion in “The Streetz R Deathrow”. He draws out select words and syllables or pauses for maximum listening effect in a couple of songs – for example, he wails “Until they do I pop a clip and grip my niiiiiine tight!” in "5 Deadly Venomz". There is a distinctive dimension to his delivery and flow that was absent in 2Pacalypse Now.

But if there were no great songs in Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., such a distinction would mean little. In fact, a handful of 2Pac’s best songs can be found here, even if some of them are a little underappreciated. One of such songs would be the explosive opener "Holler If Ya Hear Me", with its resounding African drums and thundering organs to accompany his passionate and furious flow. This is the best opener of any ‘Pac album, if not in rap history. One cannot possibly sit still to listen to it – it is a rabble-rousing piece of work that should get a lot more recognition than it currently gets. Another underappreciated piece of work is “Papa’z Song”, which has 2Pac denouncing his negligent father in three painful verses against a slow funky backdrop. Then, of course, there are the twin towers of “Keep Ya Head Up” and “I Get Around”. “Keep Ya Head Up” utilizes a soulful Roger Troutman sample that gives 2Pac’s insightful words of comfort and commentary that necessary soothing power. As for “I Get Around”, which features Shock G and Money B of Digital Underground, it is a fun-filled and feel-good track of carousing. It is an interesting contrast – in one song, 2Pac exalts and consoles black women, then in the other, he switches to player mode and treats them as nothing but sperm receptacles:

“Keep Ya Head Up”:

And uh, I know they like to beat you down a lot
When you come around the block brothers clown a lot
But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up
Forgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up
And when he tells you you ain't nothing don't believe him
And if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him
’Cause sister you don't need him
And I ain't trying to gas you up - I just call ‘em how I see ‘em

“I Get Around”:

A-yo bust it, baby got a problem saying bye-bye
Just another hazard of a fly guy
[…]
If you wanna see me, dial the beeper number, baby, when you need me
And I'll be there in a...jiffyyyy!
Don't be picky - just be happy with this...quickieeee!
But when you learn, you can't tie me down
Baby doll, check it out - I get around!

Not as sharp and discernible as his later contradictions, yes, but here is the root of it all. This would become the most fascinating thing about 2Pac, as well as the most frustrating. One can chalk it up as mere youthful exuberance and confusion – he was twenty-two years old at the time this album was released. But as he grew older, the contradictions intensified all the more. And so did the paranoia – there are hints here and there of what was to come. For example, check out the angst-riddled portions of “The Streetz R Deathrow”:

I just murdered a man, I'm even more stressed!
Wearing a vest, hoping that they’re aiming at my chest!
Much too young to bite the bullet!
Hand on the trigger, I see my life before my eyes each time I pull it!
I hope I live to be a man
[…]
Proven wrong those who swore I wouldn't live ‘til twenty!
[...]
But now I gotta move away now!
'Cause these suckers wanna spray where I lay down!


Did he really have a premonition that he would die violently, even up to the year when it would happen? In “Guess Who’s Back”, he says that he went “to making hits, busting flicks/Now [he’s] sure to be rich ‘til '96," the blood-curdling music halting for a second to heighten the scary impact of his words – coincidentally 1996 was the year he made his earthly exit. Regardless of his level of certainty, this is the kind of stuff that makes Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., sometimes in retrospect, more exciting and interesting than his debut.

But once again, the beats are largely disappointing. Okay, so it’s slightly better than what is found in 2Pacalypse Now. The music’s cluttered and chaotic feel is supposed to greatly complement ‘Pac’s lyrics of fury – that it does extremely well. The highlight is “Holler If Ya Hear Me”, which is easily the best production work in the album. Other worthy mentions are “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z”, “Keep Ya Head Up”, “I Get Around” and the Barry White-sampled “The Streetz R Deathrow”. But the main problem is that the clamor occasionally seems to go overboard, even with the better songs. Even with the welcome guest verses of Ice Cube and Ice-T and that overall hair-raising feel, “Last Wordz” is simply a tuneless mess. “Peep This” also suffers from the same problem. And others are simply competent (e.g. “Point the Finga” and "5 Deadly Venomz"). In fact, the production as a whole has not aged very well. One could only wish that if ‘Pac wanted some real quality organized noise, he should have pulled an Ice Cube and recruited the Bomb Squad.

And speaking of the album’s weaknesses, perhaps “Pac’s Theme (Interlude)” and “Something 2 Die 4 (Interlude)” could have been left out. Even though the former addresses Dan Quayle’s comments, and the latter drops some words of wisdom about race relations in America, they ultimately slow the pace of the album.

Still, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. is generally better than his promising debut. The album is a scary and unwelcoming world, yet a compelling and attractive collage, merging the sixties’ Black-Power socio-political thought, the seventies’ black musical landscape and the nineties’ gangsta rap phenomena into one powerful force. “Yeahehehahaha, we going platinum, n***a, we going platinum!” laughs 2Pac in the intro of the last song, "5 Deadly Venomz" – indeed the album eventually did. However, his growing commercial success would occasionally become more attributable to his off-record mishaps and antics than the brilliance of his music. And Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. marked the true origin of the “thug n***a” image that would gain more prominence in his later releases. “I’m not a role model,” he mutters in “Pac’s Theme (Interlude)”. That would eventually become a big problem.

TRACK LISTING:

1. Holler If Ya Hear Me
2. Pac’s Theme (Interlude)
3. Point the Finga
4. Something 2 Die 4 (Interlude)
5. Last Wordz
6. Soulja’s Revenge
7. Peep Game
8. Strugglin’
9. Guess Who’s Back
10. Representin’ 93
11. Keep Ya Head Up
12. Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
13. The Streetz R Deathrow
14. I Get Around
15. Papa’z Song
16. 5 Deadly Venomz


REVIEWS IN MY 2PAC SERIES:

2Pacalypse Now (1991)
Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993)
Thug Life, Vol. 1 (1994)
Me Against the World (1995)
All Eyez On Me (1996)
The Don Killuminati: The 7-Day Theory (1996)
R U Still Down? (Remember Me) (1997)
Greatest Hits (1998)
Still I Rise (1999)
Until the End of Time (2001)
Better Dayz (2002)
Tupac: Resurrection Soundtrack (2003)
Loyal to the Game (2004)
'Pac's Life (2006)

Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Exercising