Me Against the World (album)

## **Singles from *Me Against the World***

1. "Dear Mama"
Released: February 9, 1995
2. "So Many Tears"
Released: June 13, 1995
3. "Temptations"
Released: August 29, 1995

***Me Against the World*** is the third studio album by 2Pac. It was released on March 14, 1995, by Interscope Records. It was preceded by the singles "Dear Mama," "So Many Tears," and "Temptations".

During its release, Shakur was incarcerated at the Clinton Correctional Facility, where he reported to a journalist, "I don't even got the thrill to rap no more... In here I don't even remember my lyrics." Despite his confinement, the record was commercially successful and debuted at #1 on *Billboard*'s 200 pop album chart for four consecutive weeks, making him the first prison inmate with a number one album. He remarked about this achievement, "Every time [corrections officers] used to say something bad to me, I'd be like, 'That's alright, I got the number one record in the country right now… I just beat Bruce Springsteen.' And they used to be like, 'Go back to your cell.'" On December 6, 1995, *Me Against the World* was certified double platinum.

## Background

Shakur was held in a jail cell at the Clinton Correctional Facility since February 1995, for conviction of first-degree sexual abuse. The incident occurred during November 1993, where it was alleged that he and road manager, Charles Fuller, groped a woman at the Parker Meridien Hotel in Manhattan. This followed by a conflict on November 30, 1994, where he was in the lobby of Quad Recording Studios in Times Square, and was shot five times and robbed. He showed up two days later at the jury's verdict in a wheelchair. During this all, he laid down the groundwork for his forthcoming album, much of which contained his honesty and rawness, with subjects of mortality and dark aspects of the world around him.

Four days prior to the album's release, Shakur filed a request for Interview or Information to the New York Department of Corrections, which detailed his harsh living conditions at the prison. *Spin* reviewed, "He was under 24 hour a day lockdown, without bedsheets, begging for a transfer to a different prison or reclassification from his Involuntary Protective Custody Status. He spent another six months bickering with officials, pacing, chain-smoking, cut off from the outside world, with only books, a radio, and an occasional visit from his wife, Keisha Morris, (whom he married while incarcerated) for solace."

## Critical reception and legacy

*Me Against the World* was initially met with mixed reviews from critics during its inception, though gradually turned to appraisal in retrospective assessments. *The Quietus* lamented of this, "At the time, the record was perceived in many quarters as self-serving and disingenuous: a transparent ploy to win sympathy and support from a man who had done much that was reprehensible yet who sought to portray himself as a misunderstood victim." They summarized the controversy surrounding 2Pac's sexual abuse case, where they noted, "He would continue to proclaim his innocence, but if the account he gave to Powell were the truth, he would still have been guilty [...] As far as the published record is concerned, he went to his grave believing he had done nothing wrong, which means that the redemption many fans want to see as a key theme in his story was never an option that he allowed himself to choose. You can't assess the album without acknowledging this hateful preamble, and it's the one aspect of its creation that sits most uncomfortably alongside the self-image 2Pac spends his time projecting here."

*Rolling Stone* wrote, "Most of the songs on *Me Against the World*, 2Pac's third and best album, demonstrate that underneath his hardened postures is a method. [...] With less thuggin' clouding the picture, 2Pac examines some of the results of the gangsta lifestyle: paranoia, the promise of death and a combative relationship, with a higher, all-powerful authority." *Chicago Sun-Times* praised its introspective subject matter and vulnerability, while *The New York Times* complimented it sonically with "a fatalistic calm, in a commercial mold." *Los Angeles Times* noted the album's commercial success, which "has sold almost 500,000 copies" at the time, and *Entertainment Weekly* stated, "the rapper-turned-movie icon's vocals are buried deep in the mix. That's a shame — if they were more in-your-face, the lackluster beats might be less noticeable."

AllMusic gave their highest rating of five stars, where they declared it as the rapper's "most thematically consistent, least-self-contradicting work." *Spin* stated moments where the rapper's lyrics were delivered "from the bottom of his soul and into the center of your field of vision." They continued, "On the strength of these songs of pain, perseverance, righteous fury, desperation, suicidal ideation, and triumph [...] The blistering emotional honesty, the ability to put so much of himself into every single syllable, was so gripping, so undeniable that the album did not require a conventional club record, nor a single compromise in 2Pac's vision. And as important as 2Pac's force of personality was, he often abandons 2Pac, the character, to create vignettes of young black men navigating poverty, racist courts, militarized police, gang violence and despair." They concluded that it was "arguably his most accomplished and important" album. *uDiscoverMusic* said that it was *Me Against the World* "that transcended the cultural trappings surrounding 90s gangsta rap, making Tupac a cultural force that went beyond hip-hop." They suggested that it "helped shift his image from that of gangsta rapper to more of a gangsta poet" and was his "origin story." *Sputnikmusic* described "it transcends its peers" and his "quest for redemption," while RapReviews.com said it "reflects the maturity [...] and his potency as a rap artist." *Huffpost* similarly complimented his lyrics of being "more reflective, thought-conscious, and sometimes painfully desperate," and opined it being "the greatest hip-hop album of all time."

## Track listing

Notes
* Additional Vocals on "Lord Knows" performed by Natasha Walker
* Background Vocals on "F\*\*\* the World" performed by Shock G
* Background Vocals on "Me Against the World" performed by Puff Johnson
* Background Vocals on "So Many Tears" performed by Thug Life, Digital Underground and Stretch

**Sample Credits**

* "If I Die 2Nite" contains samples from:
	+ "Tonight Is the Night", written by Betty Wright and Willie Clarke, as recorded by Betty Wright.
	+ "Tonight", written by Norman Durham, as recorded by Kleeer.
	+ "Deep Cover", written by Calvin Broadus, Colin Wolfe, and Andre Young, as recorded by Dr. Dre.
* "Me Against the World" contains samples from:
	+ "Walk On By", written by Burt Bacharach and Hal David, as recorded by Isaac Hayes.
	+ "Inside My Love", written by Minnie Riperton, Richard Rudolph, and Leon Ware, as recorded by Minnie Riperton.
* "So Many Tears" contains a sample from "That Girl", written and recorded by Stevie Wonder.
* "Temptations" contains samples from:
	+ "Computer Love", written by Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, and Shirley Murdock, as recorded by Zapp.
	+ "Watch Your Nuggets", written by Reggie Noble, George Clinton, Garry Shider, and David Spradley, as recorded by Redman & Erick Sermon.
* "Young N\*\*\*az" contains an interpolation of "She's Strange", written by Nathan Leftenat, Charles Singleton, Tomi Jenkins, and Larry Blackmon.
* "Dear Mama" contains:
	+ a sample from "In All My Wildest Dreams", written and recorded by Joe Sample.
	+ an interpolation of "Sadie", written by Joseph B. Jefferson, Bruce Hawes, and Charles Simmons.
* "Can U Get Away" contains an interpolation of "Happy Feelin's", written by Frankie Beverly.
* "Old School" contains samples from:
	+ "We Share", written by John Buchanan and Donald Tilery, as recorded by the Soul Searchers.
	+ "Dedication", written by Maxwell Nixon, as recorded by Brand Nubian.

## Personnel

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* Tupac "2Pac" Shakur – composer, primary artist, vocals
* Eric Altenburger – art direction, design
* Kim Armstrong – vocals (background)
* Paul Arnold – engineer, Mixing
* Burt Bacharach – composer
* Eric Baker – composer
* Larry Blackmon – composer
* Sam Bostic – composer, producer
* George Clinton – composer
* Hal David – composer
* Kevin "KD" Davis – engineer, mixing
* Digital Underground – guest artist
* Dramacydal – guest artist, performer, primary artist
* Easy Mo Bee – composer
* Eboni Foster – vocals (background)
* Reggie Green – vocals (background)
* Jeff Griffin – mixing
* Greg Jacobs – composer
* Gregory "Shock G" Jacobs – composer
* Johnny "J" Jackson – composer
* Puff Johnson – guest artist, vocals (background)
* Lady Levi – guest artist
* Jay Lean – engineer, mixing
* Eric Lynch – engineer
* Moe Z – composer
* Bob Morris – engineer
* Mike Mosley – composer
* Shirley Murdock – composer
* Tim Nitz – engineer
* Tony "D" Pizarro – composer, engineer, mixing, producer
* Richie Rich – guest artist
* Minnie Riperton – composer, vocals (background)
* Roger – composer
* Jill Rose – vocals
* Richard Rudolph – composer
* Joe Sample – composer
* Garry Shider – composer
* Charlie Singleton – composer
* David Spradley – composer
* Thug Life – guest artist
* Larry Troutman – composer
* Le-Morrious "Funky Drummer" Tyler – composer
* Ronnie Vann – guitar
* Natasha Walker – guest artist, vocals (background)
* Leon Ware – composer
* Brian Gardner – mastering
* Stevie Wonder – composer

Template:Div col end

## References

1. ↑ Namikas, Michael (March 14, 2015). "2Pac's "Me Against the World:" A Retrospective". *HipHopDX*.
2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 Foster, Lucas (March 14, 2020). "2Pac's *Me Against The World* Turns 25: Rap Legend Cemented His Legacy On Introspective Masterpiece". *Spin*.
3. ↑ Batey, Angus (April 7, 2015). "25 Years On: Me Against The World By 2Pac Revisited". *The Quietus*.
4. ↑ Coker, Cheo (February 2, 1998). "Me Against the World". *Rolling Stone*.
5. ↑ Lynch, Joe (April 1, 2015). "What Critics Said About Tupac's 'Me Against the World' 20 Years Ago". *Billboard*.
6. ↑ "Me Against the World Review by Steve Huey". AllMusic*.*
7. ↑ Bierut, Patrick (March 14, 2022). "'Me Against The World': How 2Pac Transcended Hip-Hop's Trappings". *uDiscoverMusic*.
8. ↑ "2Pac Me Against the World". *Sputnikmusic*. August 5, 2010.
9. ↑ Juon, Steve (November 13, 2001). "2Pac :: Me Against the World". *RapReviews.com*.
10. ↑ Malamud, Kobi (October 24, 2011). "*Me Against the World* Album Review". *Huffpost*.
11. ↑ Adaso, Henry (June 29, 2015). "The 100 Best Rap Albums of All Time". *About.com*.
12. ↑ *Ego Trip's Book of Rap Lists*. St. Martin's Griffin. December 3, 1999. ISBN 978-0-3122-4298-5
13. ↑ Robert Dimery; Michael Lydon (23 March 2010). *1001 Albums You Must Hear Before You Die: Revised and Updated Edition*. Universe. ISBN 978-0-7893-2074-2.
14. ↑ Williams, Stereo (April 13, 2013). "The 20 greatest West Coast hip-hop albums of all time". *Rolling Out*.
15. ↑ *The Source*, 100th Issue. January 1998.
16. ↑ "The 200 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time". *Rolling Stone*. June 7, 2022.