This is part three of Inside Pulse Music’s groundbreaking 10-part series on the impact and influence of Tupac Shakur.
Sometimes it’s better to start at the end.
On February 14, 1995, Tupac Shakur was sentenced to four and a half years in prison for the sexual abuse of Ayanna Jackson. It was a sad conclusion to a 24-month stretch that saw two divergent paths come together.
On the one hand, there was his burgeoning career. Pac added two more movies to his growing resume with starring roles in Poetic Justice and Above the Rim. Hot on the heels of his debut performance in Juice, Tupac was becoming one of the hotter and more bankable stars of the early ’90s. This is to take nothing away from his music career, which looked to be on the rise, as well. His sophomore album was moving better than his first and he was getting significantly more airplay on the radio and MTV.
On the other hand, there was a growing pattern of defiance and criminal conduct. A run-in with a limo driver, the assault of a fan at one of Tupac’s own concerts and the infamous shooting of two off-duty police officers on Halloween ’93. Though Pac was only charged in the concert incident (and served 10 days in jail), even his most staunch supporters had to wonder when Shakur’s luck would finally run out.
In November 1993, Tupac and members of his crew met Ayanna Jackson in New York. Pac was filming his 1994 movie Above The Rim and eventually rendezvoused with Jackson in his hotel suite on November 18. The events of that evening are truly only known to those who were there, but afterwards Jackson accused Shakur of rape.
Tupac remained defiant. Not just defiant of these new charges, which could have sent him to prison for the rest of his life but defiant of the downward spiral that had become his very existence.
The following month, he was dropped from the cast of John Singleton’s Higher Learning, in no small part due to the accusations that anchored him. A few months later, he was sentenced to fifteen days in jail for the assault of director Allen Hughes, who had earlier dropped Shakur from the film, Menace II Society.
Maybe I’m wrong?maybe Tupac did understand the magnitude of what was happening. How could he not? How do you stand accused of a crime as vile and despicable as rape, yet still find a way to squeeze in a little movie director assault into your day?
In the summer of 1994, Tupac began work on his third album Me Against The World. The title was both clich餠and accurate. The words that flowed from those studio sessions were to be the realest and most sincere lyrics that Pac would ever spit. He would eventually draw on his cynical view of the criminal justice for this album. He would draw on his fishbowl existence as one of the most famous performers in the world.
He would draw on an icy New York evening on November 30, 1994 when Tupac Shakur was shot five times while waiting for an elevator at a recording studio.
Two years of?well, of everything went into Tupac’s third album. It was released on April 1, 1995 and many think of it as his defining album?at least until his next defining album.
Intro – This is a hauntingly effective opening that’s built on a foundation of an ominous beat and a forlorn guitar. It’s plays like a summary of the controversy that had followed Tupac from his shooting in 1994. Something so understated has rarely sounded more powerful.
If I Die 2Nite – Easy Mo B creates a smooth, low-key beat, while Pac spits a crazy, paranoid soliloquy on the inherent dangers of the streets and his own mortality. Every aspect of his lyrical game is improved upon from even his best efforts on his first two albums. Listen for the Dr. Dre sample from the classic Deep Cover album, too.
Goin insane, never die, live eternal, who shall I fear?
Don’t shed a tear for me nigga I ain’t happy here
I hope they bury me and send me to my rest
Headlines readin’ MURDERED TO DEATH, my last breath
Take a look picture a crook on his last stand
Motherf*ckers don’t understand, if I die tonight
Me Against The World – One of Tupac’s more underrated cuts, this one continues the pessimistic themes from the previous track in the first verse. Oddly enough, the beat is uplifting and almost bouncy. It serves to offer a ray of hope to the tragic picture that is being painted here. When Pac returns for the third verse, his message has turned more optimistic with words on how we should deal with adversity.
Be grateful for blessings
Don’t ever change, keep your essence
The power is in the people and politics we address
So Many Tears – A familiar Stevie Wonder sample can be heard here, as Pac laments the life he’s led and the friends he’s lost. The fatalistic wordplay used here is so much more substantial and affecting than the over-the-top “shoot-em-up, kill-em-all” approach that he used in some of his subsequent releases.
I spend my time in this cell, ain’t livin’ well
I know my destiny is Hell, where did I fail?
My life is in denial, and when I die,
baptized in eternal fire I’ll shed so many tears
Temptations – This is another look at the more vulnerable side of Pac, however the setting has changed from the streets to the bedroom. Again in more reserved tones, he writes an open letter to his girl on the difficulties of remaining faithful when you’re famous. This single produced a memorable video that featured a different rapper cameo in nearly every scene, to make up for the incarcerated Tupac.
A lot of people think it’s easy, to settle down
Got a woman that’ll please me, in every town
I don’t wanna but I gotta do it?the temptation?
Young Niggaz – A cautionary tale that attempts to warn his younger listeners on the false allure of gangbanging, this track avoids becoming a four minute lecture. On one of the swiftest beats on the album, Pac is able to project urgency in his lyrics without being preachy.
Now that I’m grown, I got my mind on bein’ somethin’
Don’t wanna be another statistic, out here doin’ nuthin’
Heavy In The Game – Not a great track, by any means, but the production and cameos by Lady Levi and Richie Rich make the generic subject matter sound better than it is. The themes here have been recycled to death in rap music and one could argue that the whole “too deep in the dealin’ game” concept was passé ·hen this was first dropped eight years ago.
I’m just a young black male, cursed since my birth
Had to turn to crack sales, if worse come to worse
Lord Knows – This is easily one of the more quietly powerful songs that Pac has ever penned. Much like the title track, it’s message of frustration and angst is almost a paradox when blended with the angelic beat. The subtle cue of Tupac’s raspy, whispering cough on the hook is a nice touch, which gives a clue as to the artist’s state of mind at the time.
I smoke a blunt to take the pain out
And if I wasn’t high, I’d probably try to blow my brains out
I’m hopeless, they shoulda killed me as a baby
And now they got me trapped in the storm, I’m goin’ crazy
Dear Mama – Arguably, the most influential track that Pac ever wrote, this one proved that even “thugs” had a sensitive side. The unfortunate consequence was that every two-bit rapper felt obligated to include a “tribute” track to their mothers on their albums. The obvious difference is that none of those pretenders possessed a fraction of the heartfelt sincerity that drenches every word in every verse found here.
Cause when I was low you was there for me
And never left me alone because you cared for me
And I could see you comin home after work late
You’re in the kitchen tryin to fix us a hot plate
Ya just workin with the scraps you was given
And mama made miracles every Thanksgivin’
It Ain’t Easy – The highlight on this excellent track is the incorporation of the real-life anxiety that was chasing Pac at the time in regards to his legal concerns. He asks throughout the hook if “I’ll see the penitentiary or will I stay free?” This one works as a slice-of-life joint tinged with the fear of what might lie around the corner.
Late night hangin’ out til the sunrise gettin high
Watchin the cops roll by
It ain’t easy… that’s right
Can U Get Away – Some of Tupac’s biggest hits came from raunchy free-for-all tracks like How Do U Want It. It’s funny how he shines just as well when he comes with a more mature approach to sex like he does here. This one tells the tale of a woman in an abusive relationship and Pac’s efforts to get her out. Other than being about a minute too long, it’s a solid and refreshing effort in a genre overdone with “bitches” and “hoes”.
I hope you see that I’m sincere, and even if you
stay with him today I’m still here
I refuse to give up — cause I believe in what we share
You’re livin in prison and what he’s givin can’t compare
Old School – Tupac’s ode to those who came before him, this one features shout outs to everyone from Rakim and LL Cool J to Salt N’ Pepa and BDK. It effectively uses a sample from Grand Puba for the hook, as well. The most unusual thing about this cut is the unabashed love that Pac shows for New York and it’s hip hop history. A year later this song would seem like ancient history.
Through my speaker Queen Latifah, and MC Lyte
Listen to Treach, KRS to get me through the night
Fuck The World – This track sounds much more like the belligerent and defiant Tupac that symbolized his persona while on Death Row Records. It’s a bit jarring to hear a more reflective and vulnerable Tupac on the first twelve tracks, then have him morph into a proverbial middle finger. Digital Underground makes their final cameo in a Tupac project.
I’m gettin threats to me, comin from my enemies
And, in they dreams it’s Hell where they sendin me
Death Around The Corner – The dread and paranoia continue on a track that, again, sounds more like the Hit ‘Em Up” version of Pac. His barely contained rage is boiling to the surface on this one as is evident by the hidden messages (threats?) that seem to be directed to those involved in his sexual assault case.
Here’s hopin I die the way I lived, straight thuggin
Huggin my trigger for all them niggas that was buggin’
Outlaw – One of the staples of Tupac’s Death Row era was the presence of so many tracks where Pac shared the mic with talent that was less than stellar. This is something of a precursor to that material as Pac splits time with his future prot駩s from Dramacydal. This is probably the only mediocre cut, as it’s slow and meanders over material that was covered better previously on this album.
Before I close my eyes I fantasize I’m livin well
when I awake and realize I’m just a prisoner in hell
On December 1, 1994, a still bloodied and bandaged Shakur was convicted of sexual abuse. Between his conviction and sentencing, Pac put the finishing touches on this album and prepared for whatever the future held for him. His outlaw reputation had become larger than life. The number of people he turned off in the boardrooms of shirt and tie corporate America was matched only by those in the streets, who his music appealed to most.
One of these people was Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records. Tupac worked with the infamous label earlier in the year on the soundtrack to the Above The Rim movie, contributing the cut Pour Out A Little Liquor. As his third album was burning up the charts, Knight saw the kind of opportunity that only presents itself when a man has hit rock bottom and has no where else to turn.
Outside the walls of Tupac’s jail cell, the seeds for his eventual demise were already being sewn. Enemies, battle lines, feuds and beefs?all months, even years, in the making were gathering like storm clouds. Make no mistake about it?the end was near.
Or was it the beginning?
Next, in Part IV of Countdown to Resurrection, we’ll review the legendary All Eyez on Me album, the bicoastal beef it helped fuel and what happens when you make a deal with the devil.
