2pac Me Against The World Album Art

The gruesome details surrounding Tupac's third solo offering are enough to give any music fan the willies. Released when Tupac was in jail serving time for a rape conviction and just after his recovery from being shot-up gangland-style at a recording studio, this was his most introspective piece of work to date. The heavy-hearted album opens up with a radio commentary describing the circumstances surrounding his shooting, and then plunges headfirst into Pac's infatuation with death. "So Many Tears," "Death Around the Corner," and "If I Die 2Nite" are all dark, eerily prophetic tunes that lend credence to widespread theories which suggest that Pac anticipated his impending death. The perpetually thugged-out wonder reveals a more benevolent side when it comes to gender and family issues. On "Dear Mama"--a fitting tribute to his mother recorded in the "Keep Ya Head Up" vein--Pac takes listeners into the loving recesses of his heart, while on "Can U Get Away," he echoes similar respectful sentiments to black womynkind. This is probably Pac's most progressive issues-oriented release before he signed to Death Row and became a full-blown thug. --Dalton Higgins