‘Me Against The World’: 2Pac’s record-breaking album
2Pac’s portfolio is full of classics. From songs to albums, the emcee’s discography is unparalleled in its quality, and many of his projects are regarded as sacred to the culture and undefeated in their excellence. However, some of the lyricist’s albums are more revered than others, and his 1995 classic Me Against The World is widely considered his best.
It’s almost been three decades since 2Pac was tragically murdered in Las Vegas. However, his musical, acting and social legacy remains a vital part of hip-hop and has inspired many to pick up the mantle of tackling the street life and poverty that plagues the US.
Me Against The World has, for a long time, been recognised as 2Pac’s most insightful, introspective and poignant album. As a carefully crafted and curated body of work, the 1995 project was released before 2Pac joined the Death Row roster and was when fans saw him at his most vulnerable.
That said, its artistic excellence saw 2Pac break all sorts of records along the way. The project’s lead single ‘Dear Mama’ is still revered as one of the most evocative and emotional songs ever produced. The track, which was written as a tribute to 2Pac’s mother, Afeni Shakur hears the Oakland icon praise his mother for trying her best to raise him with morals.
However, it also explores his childhood poverty and his mother’s drug addiction in the 1980s when the crack epidemic was destroying black communities across America. ‘Dear Mama’ debuted at the top of the Billboard Hot Rap Singles and stayed there for five consecutive weeks.
‘Dear Mama’ also became a platinum-certified single only five months after its release. The song is such an integral part of hip-hop that in 2010, it was added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress. In an official statement, the organisation called the song “a moving and eloquent homage to both the murdered rapper’s own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty, and societal indifference.”
Me Against The World also hit the number one spot on the Billboard 200 while the emcee was incarcerated, making 2Pac the first artist to have an album debut at number one while serving a prison sentence. The 15-track classic also showed the popularity of hip-hop in the US, surpassing Bruce Springsteen’s Greatest Hits as the best-selling album of 1995.
The album was nominated for many awards, including two Grammy awards: one for ‘Best Rap Album’ and ‘Dear Mama’ was nominated for ‘Best Rap Solo Performance’. Although neither won, the project still became triple platinum by the RIAA, and its legacy is far greater than that of other rap albums released that year, including E-40’s In A Major Way and Erick Sermon’s Double Or Nothing.
Due to its excellence, the project still and always will live on as a classic revered by all hip-hop fans.