On Me Against The World, “Dear Mama” is flanked by the sinister, suicidal thoughts of “Lord Knows” and the death and violence of “It Aint Easy.” Visions of death, mourning, and sorrow dominate Me Against The World, including reference to his own demise another common element of 2Pac’s work and a dire prediction of his murder in 1996. Such contradiction runs through all of 2Pac’s work, and it’s something I previously discussed in my Albumism tribute for the record that preceded Me Against The World, Strictly 4 My N****Z… Any act of tenderness or empathy on a 2Pac album is countered with something darker and violent. It was a controversy used as a marketing tool that helped 2Pac achieve the dubious accolade of becoming the first musician to have a number one album while being locked up. And to push home that point even further, 2Pac was even in prison when Me Against The World came out. It was also at odds with the darker side of 2Pac’s personality he was infamously charged with sexual assault two years before the release of Me Against The World. With this, “Brenda’s Got a Baby” (from his 1991 debut LP 2Pacalypse Now) and “Keep Ya Head Up” (from 1993’s Strictly 4 My N****Z.), 2Pac showed he could write music that celebrated and championed strong women-a rarity in a music genre so disgustingly misogynistic. I could write an entire essay on the most impactful song on Me Against The World, “Dear Mama.” Penned as a direct tribute to his mother, Afeni Shakur, but also for any mother who was able to live through the struggle of poverty and drug addiction while still managing to be there for the children, “Dear Mama” is one of 2Pac’s most poignant and emotional songs. Be that as it may, 2Pac wasn’t exactly known for his subtlety, and as such, the street violence on Me Against The World is depicted with far less nuance. This mix of drama, tragedy, tenderness, nostalgia, hatred, darkness, love and countless other emotions add up to an all-round excellent album, one that only a talent as unique as Tupac Amaru Shakur could have pulled off so well. Weighty issues are handled sensitively and compassionately throughout Me Against The World, an album often considered to be 2Pac’s finest. In truth, it was a title that spoke for thousands of men and women facing the same kind of problems 2Pac rapped about: being black, poor, and marginalized in a society where they seemed destined to fail. If you consider the fierce, often savage framework around which 2Pac built his public persona-giving paparazzi the finger and spitting at them, severe brushes with the law, the aggression he carried in his final years-you might suspect that naming an album Me Against The World was his ultimate “f**k you” to everybody. Happy 25th Anniversary to 2Pac’s third studio album Me Against The World, originally released March 14, 1995.
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