ME AGAINST THE WORLD (FEAT DRAMACYDAL)Ī pleasant, jazzy instrumental, this is an appealing mix of east and west coast sounds from the time period. Pac also rips the fuck out of the beat solo, which helps.ģ. One of the two Easy Mo Bee-produced songs, and some of the producer's best work, I should say. Heads right into possibly my favorite song on the album, and the one I tend to point to when people say 2Pac couldn't rap very well. That effect could get old after not too long. While this is slightly more impressive than most intros, it's mainly just the jaw-dropping effect of listening to media coverage of all the different shit the person formerly known as Parrish Crooks got himself into. (Stretch was also murdered execution-style, exactly one year to the day of Shakur's 1995 shooting, but that must just be a coincidence, right?) All the controversy shows its influence, especially considering that his former friend, Stretch, was completely removed from the final cut of the album. This was also at a time when he and the Bad Boy camp had been on friendly terms, a fact punctuated by Easy Mo Bee's inclusion and the overall Ready to Die-esque sound of the album. The album came in the midst of a clusterfuck of bullets, media controversy, fan adoration, and imprisonment for a rape charge-and this wasn't even the most controversial point of his career. Which brings me to Me Against the World, the only (if you didn't hear it, I said only) 2Pac record that I have ever felt the need to own. So I took it upon myself to throw Max a bone by reviewing a 2Pac album that doesn't suck, which may bring him more Shakur-fanatic readers who are otherwise turned off by his reviews of the man's material. However, I did find empathy with his statement that he likes any 2Pac music that doesn't spout off at the mouth, like the types of 'bitches' that thug-ass gangsters like to screw in their spare time. I don't necessarily always agree with Max when it comes to what sounds good and what doesn't (something he'll probably be quick to point out I don't have to do, and neither do either of the two readers out there ).

So, for those of you who are appalled that I haven't gotten to your favorite albums yet, let that be a lesson to you.

In fact, it took me receiving this write-up in my inbox to finally get motivated to give it a spin. Marks provides a second take on 2Pac's Me Against The World, an album that took me forever to actually get to.

2pac me against the world album cover