1994 saw Tupac jailed for the alleged rape of a fan in a New York hotel. Firstly, this was total bullsh-t. The *victim*, was a money hungry hoe who hung out at clubs every night to see how many penises she could fit in her mouth. Tupac did have consensual sex with her but in short, he was accused of letting the girl be touched and felt up by Pac*s boys, whilst he watched it all. Tupac claimed he was asleep throughout the whole thing. Coming from someone who wrote such inspirations to women like *Keep Ya Head Up*, no one would believe it, and rightly so, except for the judge of course who typically stereotyped Tupac as the usual black man up to no good. It was always a lose-lose situation. But still, even though Tupac was f-cked by the law, and portrayed by the media as a troublemaker, no one of it was true. Fans who tune into MTV a lot to read bullsh-t stories of Tupac and programmes on *Music*s Baddest Males* that contain Tupac are total sh-t, it really p-sses me off. Tupac wasn*t bad. Tupac never intentionally shot anyone. Tupac never raped anyone. Tupac was a smart, thoughtful, intelligent and caring human being, actor, musician and poet. *Me Against The World*, released in 1995 whilst Tupac was incarcerated at Clinton Correctional Facility shows you why Tupac is held so highly as he is. Tupac isn*t a heavyweight rapper because of popular club anthems or sexual inuendos such as *California Love*, *How Do U Want It* or *All About U*. He*s a heavyweight rapper because of the charmingly thuggish, thoughtful, intelligent rhymes laced with quality production in this album. First thing first, *Me Against The World* is THE definitive Tupac album. This is the highlight of Shakur*s troubled career. This is the album to show you why Tupac Amaru Shakur is loved by so many. The album starts of with a collage of news reportings telling of how Tupac was shot in a New York studio and checked himself out of hospital the next day to turn up to his court hearing. But forget about that, it*s the real tracks that need your complete attention. The cold as ice production on the opener *If I Die 2nite* shows Tupac at his best, using clever alliteration and expert rhyming to deliver a paranoid and prophetic rap about his forthcoming demise. Tupac knew he didn*t have long to live after the New York robbery, which is one of the reasons Tupac was a workaholic at Death Row and recorded about 150 tracks, most of which are unreleased and yet to be released. (Unless like me you download them from the net, I have about 60 unreleased). The bouncy title track with its thumping bassline and whining synths fused with nice vocals is a classic. Tupac*s final verse is one of THE best verses ever written. Tupac*s fam (and I do mean literally) *Dramcydal* show up in their first appearance, the raps aren*t that bad too (they*d later become The Outlawz), but Tupac upstages them as always with one of the most memorable verses of all time with the closer. Following that is another one of the best tracks *2pac* ever wrote, the colossal *So Many Tears*. The beat is a sombre and haunting melody topped off with that memorable Stevie Wonder harmonica sample mixed in with the chorus that every rap fan will know and love. Tupac delivers one of the best lyrical performances of his career with a 110% verbal performance. Again, Tupac is still paranoid about his own demise, but what makes Tupac a class above the rest is his delivery in tracks such as this, you can feel the passion, energy and paranoia in Tupac*s voice. Reading the lyrics may make you impressed, but it*s something you can*t emulate on paper, you have to LISTEN to his voice, the way he delivers rhyme after rhyme like a man possessed, almost with an obsession. You feel for him. *And though my soul was deleted, I couldn*t see it, I had my mind full of demons tryin*a break free, they planted seeds and they hatched sparkin the flame, inside my brain like a match, such a dirty game, no memories just a misery, paintin a picture of my enemies killin me, in my sleep, will I survive to the morning to see the sun? Please don*t forgive me for my sins, cos here I come*Great. No doubt about it. Moving on from there is a welcome change of mood as far as song motives go, the bouncy saxophone laced Redman-sampled *Temptations* tells the story of how he can*t be committed in relationships because of his situation, and the lifestyle that he leads, being a Worldwide Rap Phenomenon and all. *Ain*t no time for commitment, I gotta go, can*t be with you every minute miss, another show, and even though I*m known for my one night stands, look here I wanna be an honest man.* You can*t help but forgive him, you can*t help to love his thuggish charm. *Young N-ggaz* is Pac*s perspective on the teenagers trying to live the lifestyle and growing up in the streets, addressing problems in younger generations, from guns to AIDS. The typically Westcoast *Heavy In The Game* with fellow baller Richie Rich is enough to fuel any crowd at a party, followed by a change of topic with Pac getting a little more serious with *Lord Knows*, another class display of lyricism on the usual topic of the streets and the lifetsyle. *Dear Mama* needs no introduction really. But hey, you got one. Written in jail, this is Tupac at his finest, once again. The rhymes are flawless, Pac*s passionate voice and heartfelt flow combine with the slow moving grove and memorable chorus. No one else could do this except for Pac. Pac and his moms went through a lot, Tupac was devastated when he found out his mother was a crack fiend, the woman he*d looked up to and was single handedly raised by his whole life. He lost every single bit of respect he had for her and didn*t speak to her for months, but he forgave her, he showed her how much he appreciated his bringing up, which is basically what the track is about. Memorable raps such as: *And I can see ya comin home after work late, ya in the kitchen tryina fix us a hot plate, and just workin with the scraps you was given, and mama made miracles every thanksgivin, but now the road got rough youre alone, ya tryina raise two bad kids on your own, and theres no way I can pay you back, but my plan is to show that I understand...* And *And when it seems that Im hopeless, you say the words that can get me back in focus, when I was sick as a little kid, to keep me happy theres no limit to the things you did, and all my childhood memories, are full of all the sweet things you did for me, and even though I act crazy, I gotta thank the lord that you made me, there are no words can express how I feel, you never kep*a secret, always stayed real, and I appreciate that you raised me, and all the extra love that you gave me, I wish I could take the pain away, if you can make it through the night theres a brighter day.* Astounding. When Pac spits some of those lines you can actually feel him smiling whilst rapping them, without laughing, you can*t feel that in any other rapper. Forget Eminem and the sh-t with his moms, this is how your moms should be treated, forgive and forget Marshall. We have a few more tracks still left, such as a nice ode to all the artists Pac loved and was influenced by whilst growing up in *Old Skool*, I*m glad he mentioned Eric B. & Rakim there. Some of the tracks that don*t quite match the rest of the album in terms of quality like *F-ck Tha World*, and *Outlaw*, which are still good tracks but just don*t seem to have that ingredient X which is cooked up in the majority of the joints, but they*re quickly overshadowed by tracks like the again paranoid and self prophetic Jonny J laced *Death Around The Corner*, and another *sweet tale of a lady* track in *Can U Get Away* where Tupac again turns on that charm of his, and the light, bouncy and laid back *It Ain*t Easy*, where Pac shows more reasons why he*s an established hall of famer. Tupac*s after Thug Life, pre-Death Row spell was his finest. He wanted to give up Thug Life, he grew and matured in his writing and lyricism, it wasn*t all about guns, government and Thug Life. It*s a shame he went back to all this with *All Eyez On Me*, but *Me Against The World* is one of the most heartfelt, thoughtful and greatest Hip-Hop albums of all time. Period.

Production: A. These are the best beats Tupac has had the pleasure of writing over because they match the tone Tupac sets, creepy beats match creepy lyrics in prophetic and paranoid raps, party raps are matched by bouncy Westcoast synths and laid back lyrics are matched by soft and chilled out beats. Producers havn*t matched this formula since.
Lyricism: A+. Tupacs finest hour, period. Watertight all the way.
Total: A. If there*s only one Tupac album you should own it*s this one without a doubt.


Recommended: Yes

Great Music to Play While: Getting ready to go out