Me Against the World

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Me Against the World
Studio album by Tupac Shakur
Released	March 14, 1995
Recorded	1994
Genre	Rap
Length	65:57
Label	Out Da Gutta/Interscope
Producer(s)	Easy Mo Bee, Johnny "J", SoulShock, Tony Pizarro
Professional reviews
All Music Guide
Tupac Shakur chronology
Thug Life: Volume 1 (1994)	Me Against the World (1995)	All Eyez on Me (1996)

Me Against the World is a hip-hop album by Tupac Shakur, released on March 14, 1995 (see 1995 in music). The album was recorded before and while Shakur was recovering from his November 1994 shooting, and released while he was incarcerated. Perhaps as a result of these circumstances, Me Against the World has become known to many as the most incendiary of Shakur's releases, expressing an intensely personal mix of emotions and reactions to the events of his life. Most listeners found the frequent digressions into the dangers of paranoia, organized crime and the moral repercussions of violence extremely refreshing in the mid-1990s world of hard-edged, nearly cartoonish thug rap albums. Although the album was originally released on Shakur's label Out Da Gutta, Amaru Entertainment, the label owned by Shakur's mother, has since gained the rights to it.

This album, has been credited as setting the 'nothing to lose' persona adopted by many rappers since Shakur's death. The album is generally regarded as a classic album by the hip hop community due to its soulful and emotional content, claiming that Pac could make you feel as if you were in his shoes throughout the album, thus making the album distinct from others. In one particular review it was said that Tupac's uncovered and raw humanity created a flow of inspiration and vibes through all who heard the album, and that it is a remarkable and somewhat insightful musical achievement.

Me Against the World topped the Billboard 200. Shakur thus became the first artist to have an album debut at #1 while incarcerated. In a late-1995 interview with MTV, Shakur expressed amazement over the fact that Me Against the World held the top spot on the Billboard charts, over artists as mainstream as Bruce Springsteen. In a different interview with MTV's Tabitha Soren, taped after Shakur was bailed out of the Clinton Correctional Facility, the rapper described Me Against the World as his favorite album, up to that point. The album debuted at number-one and stayed there for four weeks and first week sales of 240,000 copies which was the record for longest time at the top of the charts for a solo male rap artist at the time.^[1]

Contents 1 Track listing 2 Samples 3 Album singles 4 Album Chart Positions 5 Singles Chart Positions 6 Personnel 7 References

[edit] Track listing

#	Title	Performer(s)	Producers(s)
1	"Intro"	Dan O'Leary, Debbie Hambrick, Jay Jensen, Jill Rose, Sarah Diamond	Tony Pizzaro, Jill Rose (co-producer)
2	"If I Die 2 Nite"	2Pac	Easy Mo Bee
3	"Me Against the World"	2Pac, Dramacydal, Puff Johnson	SoulShock & Karlin
4	"So Many Tears"	2Pac, Digital Underground, Stretch, Thug Life	Shock G
5	"Temptations"	2Pac	Easy Mo Bee
6	"Young Niggaz"	2Pac, Killa (backing vocals), Le-Morrious "Funky Drummer" Tyler (backing vocals), Milia (backing vocals), Moe ZMD (backing vocals)	Le-Morrious "Funky Drummer" Tyler, Moe Z.M.D.
7	"Heavy in the Game"	2Pac, Eboni Foster (backing vocals), Lady Levi (backing vocals), Richie Rich	Mike Mosley, Sam Bostic
8	"Lord Knows"	2Pac, G-Money (backing vocals), Kenyatta (backing vocals), Killa (backing vocals), Kim Armstrong (backing vocals), Natasha Walker (backing vocals)	Brian G, Moe ZMD (co-producer), Tony Pizarro co-producer)
9	"Dear Mama"	2Pac, Reggie Green (backing vocals), Sweet Franklin (backing vocals)	Tony Pizarro, DF Master Tee (co-producer), Moses (co-producer)
10	"It Ain't Easy"	2Pac	Tony Pizarro
11	"Can U Get Away"	2Pac	Mike Mosley
12	"Old School"	2Pac	SoulShock, Ezi Cut (co-producer) & Jay B (co-producer)
13	"Fuck the World"	2Pac	Shock G
14	"Death Around the Corner"	2Pac	Johnny J
15	"Outlaw"	2Pac, Dramacydal, Rah Rah (backing vocals)	Moe Z.M.D.

[edit] Samples

"If I Die 2Nite"

• "Tonight Is The Night" by Betty Wright
• "Deep Cover" by Dr. Dre & Snoop Dogg
• "Tonite" by DJ Quik

"Me Against the World"

• "Walk On By" by Isaac Hayes
• "Inside My Love" by Minnie Riperton

"So Many Tears"

• "That Girl" by Stevie Wonder

"Temptations"

• "Sing A Simple Song" by Sly & The Family Stone
• "Computer Love" by Zapp

"Young Niggaz"

• "Sing A Simple Song" by Sly & The Family Stone
• "She's Strange" by Cameo

"Heavy in the Game"

• "Just Be Good To Me" by S.O.S. Band

"Lord Knows"

• "All I Ask" by Blackbyrds

"Dear Mama"

• "In All My Wildest Dreams" by Joe Sample

"Can U Get Away"

• "Happy Feelin's" by Maze & Frankie Beverly

"Old School"

• "We Share" by Soul Searchers

[edit] Album singles

Single cover	Single information
	"Dear Mama" Released: February 21, 1995 B-side: "Old School"
	"So Many Tears" Released: June 13, 1995 B-side: "Hard To Imagine", "If I Die 2Nite"
	"Temptations" Released: August 29, 1995 B-side: "Me Against The World"

• The A-Side of "Dear Mama" features the song "Thug Life's Bury Me A G" with Natasha Walker

[edit] Album Chart Positions

Year	Album	Chart positions
		Billboard 200	Top R&B/Hip Hop Albums
1995	Me Against The World	#1	#1

[edit] Singles Chart Positions

Year	Song	Chart positions
		The Billboard Hot 100	Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks	Hot Rap Singles	Rhythmic Top 40	Hot Dance Music/Maxi-Singles Sales
1995	"Dear Mama/Old School"	#9	#3	#1	#16	#1
1995	"So Many Tears"	#44	#21	#6	-	#41
1995	"Temptations"	#68	#35	#13	-	-

[edit] Personnel

• 2Pac (Tupac Shakur) - Main Performer
• Yaki Kadafi (Yafeu Fula) (as Dramacydal) - Performer
• Malcom Greenridge (Big Malc)(as Dramacydal) - Performer
• Richard Serrel (Richie Rich) - Performer
• Kim Armstrong - Performer (bckgr)
• Paul Arnold - Engineer, Mixing
• Reggie Green - Performer (bckgr)
• Jeff Griffin - Mixing
• Simon "Sickhead" Hardman - Engineer, Mixing
• Puff Johnson - Performer (bckgr)
• Jay Lean - Engineer, Mixing
• Eric Lynch - Engineer
• Bob Morris - Engineer
• Gawthaman Gobinath - Engineer
• Ronnie Vann - Guitar
• Kevin Davis - Engineer, Mixing
• Tony Pizarro - Producer, Engineer, Mixing
• Eric Altenburger - Art Direction, Design
• Tim Nitz - Engineer
• Eboni Foster - Performer (bckgr)
• Sam Bostic - Producer
• Jill Rose - Performer
• Natasha Walker - Performer(bckgr)
• Dramacydal - Performers
• Richard Serrell - Performer (bckgr)

[edit] References

1. ^ "Timeline: 25 Years of Rap Records". BBC News. Oct. 11, 2004. Retrieved on Apr. 10, 2006, from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3734910.stm