Me Against The World

Following the bar “I was raised in the city, real shitty, as a kiddy, sucking liquor out my mama’s tiddy,” my wife said, “Shakespeare who?”

Things are moving fast this morning. Hip-hop isn't music. 1/5

Really great album. Not my favorite by him, but 2Pac is an amazing lyricist and the songs all have meaning.

Semi-poetic & good flow. Lyrics aged like milk.

I don't like him... sry

I really liked this, quite a mood creatied.

Eh…yeah yeah.

Good hip hop record

We’re not at home to Mr Potty Mouth

Better than Kanye. But still not really my thing. Could have been better had it not been so cliche-ridden. Why don’t rappers know what a Thesaurus is?

I can appreciate some of the grooves but really not my thing.

More braggadocio musings from another rap titan. Starts off with a theatrical intro recounting a shooting of our protagonist and his miraculous recovery. "If I die 2nite" is the first track proper and hits all the clichés of modern rap within the first few bars. Misogyny, guns, drugs and gangs. He has a hypnotic, alliterative style that draws you in, spitting out lines like he's angry at you for listening to him. The chorus seems like an afterthought with a half sung refrain that is neither insightful or pleasant. Particular highlights for English pedants are the tautology "murdered to death" and the use of "conversating". "Me against the world" highlights the victim complex (or paranoia) that seems to affect quite a few rappers. More laid back, I felt it grated after a while and lacked the punch of the first track. Did like the line "Everyday theres mo death plus I'm doughless" Act III. Enter God, stage right. Fuck me this is awful. Performative religion to sell records. "Temptations" Tupac just got horny and is telling us how conflicted he is about banging her. Must be all that religion he has. Ends with the line "give them the finger" and I'm not sure who he's giving it to and why. Track 5 is a plodding tale of Tupacs youth and how you should not be a gangster, instead be a lawyer or accountant or something. Well done Tupac, you've just solved inner city deprivation at one insightful stroke. More bars about the futility of gangster life although this feels more genuine and insightful. Funky backing track and a nice tempo. One of the better tracks. Tupac raps about the ever present threat of death. "Dear mama" not sure i can listen to this clichéd pile of sentimental horseshit but the underlying message is that his mum is great. "It ain't easy" curious mix of booze, name dropping and ruing the thug life again. Unexceptional without being awful. "Can u get away" Tupac isn't horny, he just wants to talk to the young lady without his girlfriend knowing. "Old school" Everyone knows its spelt Old Skool, what was he thinking? "Fuck the world" All these tracks are surpringly low energy. I'm getting bored now. Starts off with the line "who you callin rapist? Ain't that a bitch". Odious. Next track, and he's got an AK now. "Outlaw" For a brief moment i thought he was rapping a social commentary on the futility of life being constantly under threat of murder. But them 2 lines later he's bragging about snitches get killed. It doesn't play, this isn't clever, its just bragging. Oh and thr chorus is out of tune. Ffs. Nothing grabbed me in this album, save perhaps the first song, with its rhetorical stylings. I expected more anger, more to say and much less cliché. What a fucking disappointment.

Der Amerikaner 2Pac nahm Me Against the World zwischen September 1993 und November 1994 in zehn Studios auf, darunter Quad und Unique in New York sowie Soundcastle und Westlake in Los Angeles. Das Hip-Hop-Album mit Westküstenwurzeln erschien am 14. März 1995 auf Interscope und Tupacs eigenem Label Out da Gutta, vertrieben von Atlantic. Tupac saß da im Gefängnis. Trotzdem stieg die Platte auf Platz eins der Billboard 200 ein, als erstes Album eines Inhaftierten. Das Album beginnt mit einem Intro aus nachgestellten Nachrichtenmeldungen über seine Prozesse und die Schüsse vom November 1994. Pac macht seine Lage selbst zum Material. „Dear Mama” ist der bekannteste Song, eine Liebeserklärung an Afeni Shakur, die deren schwere Jahre nicht ausspart. Es wurde sein erster Top-10-Hit in den Pop-Charts, Platz 9. Ähnlich stark sind „So Many Tears” und „Temptations”. Der Titelsong stammt von Soulshock & Karlin, „Fuck the World” von Shock G. Getragen wird die Platte vom Ton. Pac klingt müde, wütend und gelegentlich witzig, oft im selben Song, und die gedämpften, dunklen Produktionen lassen ihm Raum, statt ihn zuzudecken. Ein paar Stücke in der zweiten Hälfte bleiben hinter den Höhepunkten zurück. Aber auch sie halten die Stimmung, und das ist bei fünfzehn Tracks keine Selbstverständlichkeit.

Taken from us too soon. This is definitely my favourite 2pac album, but I really wish he had the chance to do more, as none of his albums quite live up to the potential they had. He's easily one of the most talented rappers and lyricists of the 90s, which really comes through on this album especially. I just really wish he could have proved himself more, because he clearly had so much more still in him.

Various things I dislike about this, but he did have some things to say.

3/5 - Old School, So Many Tears, and If I Die 2Nite all stood out for me. Wasn't familiar at all and wasn't expecting much, but I thought this was alright.

solid 90's hip hop album for sure. the lead single is my personal favourite track which probably makes me a sheep or something. again though, the fact that Illmatic was my first hip hop album on the list means that everything else gets rated vs the best of the best

Sound: G(eneric)-funk Lyrics: Introspective, fatalistic Highs: "Death Around the Corner" best exemplifies the album's themes Lows: Although he exhibits commendable self-awareness, watching 2Pac hurtle toward an inevitable end is tedious and grim

2pac's discography is a gaping hole in my catalogue of hip hop albums i've listened to, so i went into this with no prior dedicated listening experience. it's got some great standout performances, but it does have a few awkward hooks and odd production choices, which mildly weighs it down for me.

This is definitely more melodic gangsta rap than it is traditional rap. Recorded amid intense legal turmoil, it captures Tupac's raw vulnerability. I can see where modern artists such as Eminem or 50 Cent get their core style from. The flow and the poppiness have all carried over to the modern day. It's interesting to see how much of this album is still relevant to modern life over three decades later. I think I like my rap a bit more hip-hop and a little less poppy, which is why this album sounds a little bit cheesy to me in parts. Overall, the songs were okay, but nothing really struck a chord with me. 6.5/10

This was great. Don't know that I feel super strongly for it, but one has to respect the writing and the legacy

Honestly not terrible, but not my favorite rap album of this project. Lyrically honest with a good flow.

3.5 there’s a lot of yearning and meditation on death in this one, masked by masculine energy and a gruff voice

I really enjoyed this album and would listen again, although I have mixed feelings about Tupac since l tend to believe Ayanna Jackson.

somehow my first 2pac album. i get the hype

pretty fun listen.

6/10… old school hip hop / *1995

?? c

The backing tracks are pretty good. His voice and flow are solid. It is a chronicle of his experience and probably pretty important to capture that. However, I don't think I'd listen to this on the regular as there are too many songs about gang violence and I can't relate.

Okay, I can't lie, I never know "how to listen to hip hop." I might like an album, but I'm not really sure why. When it comes to other hip hop albums that I've already heard and already like, it usually comes down to the beats. I know lyrics are the main focus of rap, but to be honest I don't often pay attention to lyrics in music at all. Unless they're really bad, that is. Also important to note is that I'm just not a huge fan of hip hop in general. With that being said, I think this album was pretty boring. The songs all kinda sounded the same, and it felt like he was repeating the same stories and topics over and over throughout them. It also just kinda went on longer than I think it should have. Is this worth a listen? Ask a hip hop fan, not me. ----- #0015 Heard on: 1 Oct. 2026 Rating: ★★★★★☆☆☆☆☆ (239 / 335) Favorite track: Me Against the World Least favorite track: Can U Get Away

I kind of think I'm not really a big hip hop person, so take it with that in mind. The narrative story of "thug life" is a cliché and somewhat of a drag to rehash twelve times on a record. Clever production and rhymes, strong beats, and Tupac's singular baritone voice gives the record some lift and heft, but I get bored with it by the end.

my ears against this dogwater album

should be 4.5

Classic hip hop album that I listened to many times when I was young. This album was super popular when I was in high school. There were several music videos made and 2Pac was extremely popular. His flow was and maybe still is unrivaled, it's really incredible to listen to. The vocals really flow and then change to a jerky style that works perfectly. I will be listening to this one many more times.

Classic

Not in this life

God damn do we ever need more West Coast hip hop on this list

Putting out a chart-topping album while in jail is wild I liked this better than a lot of the other hip-hop albums in the book. Not sure why

It's disappointing to see All Eyez On Me's G-funk/West Coast bangers get snubbed on this list, but this album might indeed be a more focused and concise demonstration of what made Tupac such an icon. He gets personal, emotional and introspective in his lyricism without totally rejecting the gangsta rap genre, and that presentation might be the very reason it connected with people who wouldn't have otherwise gravitated towards a Tribe or a De La Soul (two groups that I adore, mind you!). Listening today, you realize how big of a blueprint this album is for any contemporary "conscious" rapper. Great stuff! Standouts: Young Niggaz • Lord Knows • Dear Mama • It Ain't Easy • Can U Get Away • Old School

3/5 not because it's a bad album, I would just probably never listen to this again. I like it more than All Eyez On Me and I enjoyed hearing Tupac get introspective. He covers a huge variety of topics on this album, but from a listening perspective many of these songs sound fairly similar unless you're paying very close attention to the lyrics, and it's easy to zone out. This is also an extremely long album at nearly an hour and it was a bit of struggle sometimes.

Classic hip hop... I do like 2Pac more than Biggie.

Pre Listen: Outside of the conspiratorial nature of 2Pacs death, I honestly don't know much about the guy. I haven't listened to any of his work, but from my understanding he's considered one of the original legendary 90's rappers who shaped the genre as we know it today. I'm really not a fan of post 90's rap, so expectations are a bit lower than usual. Notable Tracks: Post Listen: Tupac's voice is a lot deeper than I thought it was. The album though just about fell within expectations, if not just a tiny bit better than I thought it would be. Unlike other 'Gangster' rap albums I've listened to, this one had slightly more eloquent lyrics, with a decent message behind them every now and again. Despite that, the average song was still about the big 3 things every gangster rap album is about: - I'm tough - My ops suck - I got money and women it just gets boring after a while, especially if the back-tracks are nothing but smooth beats. Nothing necessarily wrong with smooth beats, just that again, it gets boring after a while. Get well soon, 2pac. 3/5 EDIT - I forgot to hit 'rate' on here, and forgot to put notable tracks on. I don't feel like relistening to this one, so I'll trust my judgement when I first wrote this out.

Way too smooth rap from the 90's. A few tracks I can stand, but as a whole this album is not for me.

Great. Another classic Rap / Hippity Hop / Gansta / Urban album. < sigh> So...Tupac/2Pac/ whatever. Really, I can't see what's exceptional about this. I almost made it to the 60 minute mark before bailing out. Not bad, not unlistenable, but unexceptional.

It’s not bad, I just don’t get it. Not as catchy as I had hoped for

I mean, yep! Imagine if this G hadn’t been capped.

pretty good

Yeah, this is definitely some 90s music. The further we get from the 90s, the more I think, "What the hell were we doing, musically". I do like the 90s songs that are just a shoutout to moms, but that's really the only major highlight on the album for me. I was expecting something great, and I got something mediocre, which also kind of hurts how I end up seeing the album. Expectations matter! Favorite Song(s): Dear Mama

Poetry flows like butter. One of the best. The themes of the record are haunting considering how everything went. Wish it was funkier.

Honestly, I just skipped through this one. I like rap, RnB but I just got bored of the subject matter with no interest in his lifestyle choices.

Just cant get into itttt, maybe next time read the lyrics?

5/5

7.1/10

Jesus, a lot of aggrieved white guys gotta make their hurt feelings known about Tupac. It's okay, you know, you can skip it. I love this album. It's real, it's Tupac telling his story. Yeah, he's a killer, an asshole, he was always going to end up dead. Grow up like he did, how else would he turn out? I'm not making excuses but he raps about the world he was surrounded by. The beats and lyrics are fucking bangers and it sounds great blasting out of my car speakers. I'm a 57-year-old white dipshit who lives a billion miles from that life, but I still respect it and nod my head like a gangsta to "If I Die 2Nite". You rather listen to Ed Fucking Sheeran?

Great voice and storytelling. Like the warmer beats behind it as well.

First time listening to a 2Pac album in full! Really good!

guy was just really good at making music . no doubt about it

super chill.

This guy was not a good person and I cannot seperate the art from the artist

Far too dense like most “conscious” classic hip hop on a first listen, but this flew by, first Tupac I’ve ever really heard

Liked pretty much all of the songs, but didn’t really have any that stood out that much, kinda disappointing given how much I liked the last one 3

Prophecy or did he manifest his own destiny

Tupac Sahur 🪾🪾

4/10

Was convinced we had a 2Pac album on the list already, but this seems to be the first. Despite being extremely highly regarded by many, I fail to see what makes him THAT good. While the lyrics are much more mature and deep, than compared to for example Dr. Dre, I think the beats are less so. Which might be unfair since Dr. Dre basically was the best around when this came out. Still, the whole album is a nice blend of hip-hop and blues. It also feels more melodic than some other hip-hop albums I've heard around the same time, which makes it quite easy to digest. Apart from perhaps 'So Many Tears', i struggled to find any hit song that stood out over the rest. Otherwise it held a quite even level throughout the album. I think if I gave this more time, it might creep towards a weak 4, but going to have to be a strong 3 for now. Especially considering it outstayed its welcome quite a bit with its 1hr 5 min runtime, which was too long for me.

Maybe I wasn't listening closely enough, but this failed to make much of an impression on me. The samples were fine, but nothing special, and I felt the same way about the rapping. None of the songs really stood out to me, and none of them are even among 2Pac's 10 most popular songs on Spotify. Weak 3.

Not bad but not the goat.

Trash

Not for me.

Entertaining for a bus ride from Bury to Bolton.

I think the world won

2 for the Pac

Take your pick of track: boring or bland. Won't be troubling the decks again. 2*

I'm quite hit and miss on 2Pac, I think he's done some stellar songs and I love his delivery and flow! The issue for me has always been that clean g-funk adjacent sound that's never really landed with me. When it does get a little grittier, like the title track here, it really works but too much of this album and his catalogue (that I've heard) live in the former territory.

Day 394 Talented Bloke Highlights Heavy in the Game Old School Fuck the World

Not my favorite (not a big 2Pac guy), but there were some great, introspective tracks in here. Worthy of 4 stars

Did not love this brand of gangster rap/hip hop. It seems authentic to him but did not connect with me at all

Tupac sucks and he raps like a bitch. Makes Drake seem cool and last time i checked he's not! (Mic drop)

Liked If I Die 2Nite, Me Against The World, and Lord Knows.

I think 2pac's smoothest tracks land on this album. It's far from perfect, there are a few tracks on here that have some iffy features and shaky background vocals. The beats, for the peak of the 90s gangsta rap and west coast revival, are a bit subdued and leave more than enough room for 2pac to do his thing. It's a great album, smooth and intoxicating, with the feelings of cognac and real world struggles embedded. I can't argue that it's anything less than a 4. Stop being a fucking bitch and open your ears to the struggle of the black community. Simple as that. I think 2pac has a better album though.

5/10 not the kind of rap i llike but nice stories

I do not understand what is special about this album. But I guess I will never become a rap fan. The album is not as terrible as a lot of other rap/hip-hop albums on this list but I don't see a reason to listen to it.

acho que da rinha da época eu prefiro o 2pac, apesar de num geral não ser muito minha vibe de música

i almost cried

i understand now

Never listened to a Tupac album before usually don’t like 90s rap that’s not from southern artists but I did enjoy this not really my style so don’t think i’ll replay it but I did like it.

I feel like, in listening to this, I finally get to hear the same Tupac that everyone else has been listening to this time. I've tried All Eyez On Me a few times now, and I've always found it to be really bloated and honestly pretty boring (though there are glimpses of greatness in songs like Ambitionz Az A Ridah). This was really amazing though, he had that really smooth flow that was one of my favorite things about him, but the production here matches him and really elevates the whole thing. It feels like it's on a whole other level from what I've heard before. Favorites: Temptations, Young Guys, Fuck the World

thought I'd hate this, but it was ok - not my usual style of music

Vitiði, mér fannst þetta döll. Nenni ekki öðru rennsli.

The goat , I like hiphop so its an easy listen

Very good album

Not my personal favourite 2Pac album, but it does have one of my all-time favourite hip-hop tracks on it in 'dear mama'

A quality rap album where 2Pac reflects on himself and the world around him, the life he’s lived and built. That’s the intrigue here - it’s interesting from both a psychological and cultural perspective. He’s not here to to excuse himself or promote his greatness. He’s here to present the messy reality - the good, the band, the regrets and desires, the things you run to and can’t run away from. All presented with solid lyrical skill and a range of beats from boom bap to G-funk sounds. Voice is a bit too buried in the mix though.

I adore the G-funk era sound, and 2Pac had some smooth rhymes.

makes me think of my dad. garage open and sweeping with this on, driving to pick up my siblings from school with this on, him sitting at the computer discussing music with me while this is on. la rap always

Len Houmous knew exactly how 2Pac felt. 2.2 12/15 Old School

👑🕊️🎤💵🧨

This is not as good as i remember it being if I’m honest. Still Tupac’s best album as a whole but there are better hip hop albums from this period. 6/10

Sure feels like he knew he was getting shot and killed at some point. Couple of bangers on the record. But not Tupac’s best in my opinion.

Lyrically it’s hard to compete with 2pac. I just want more club stuff when it comes to hip hop and thats not really what this is.