After being shot 5 instances and sitting in prison for a criminal offense he believed he did not commit, Tupac Shakur hit the studio with a vengeance when he touched down in California in October of 1996. The outcome was All Eyez on Me, an album that helped outline each a style and his personal profession.
As brazen because it was formidable—it was hip-hop’s first double album, his fourth LP total—the venture is coated with winding West Coast synths, shameless boasts, dying threats and “thug life” aphorisms. The LP showcases ’Pac in all of his Gemini multitudes, larger, bolder and higher. He may very well be vengeful one second, as demonstrated on “Ambitions Az a Ridah” and “When We Ride,” and touching the subsequent, displayed on “I Ain’t Mad At Cha.” The contradictions weren’t new; he’d been flipping the change since his 1993 LP, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…. But AEOM was noticeably extra intense.
Though the stylistic DNA of All Eyez on Me existed earlier than he truly dropped the album, the then 24-year-old rapper was harsher and extra unapologetic than he was on his 1995 album, Me Against the World. Before, he’d been ambivalent a few thuggish life-style. He grips an AK-47, however solely in response to hazard. On All Eyez on Me, he shoots first, and there isn’t any mercy.
Songs like “When We Ride,” “Ambitionz Az a Ridah” and “Ain’t Hard 2 Find” see him frightening his would-be killers from the 12 months earlier than. On “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” he posits himself as certainly one of America’s most-wanted criminals, teaming up with Snoop Dogg, who was going through a homicide cost on the time, within the course of. With slick bars and a tough beat, the 2 created an indelible anthem.
Meanwhile, on his extra sentimental facet, ’Pac delivered an ode to outdated homies with “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” and a track devoted to buddies he misplaced within the streets on “Life Goes On.” Sometimes, he simply centered on flossing, basking within the second he’d been ready for as he sat behind jail partitions in upstate New York. On “Picture Me Rollin’,” he taunts the decide and anybody else who doubted him as he paints an image of himself in 4-D. Anyone that wishes to think about ’Pac at his greatest solely needed to play this album.
Contradictory, poignant and compelling, All Eyez on Me is ’Pac at his greatest. Today, in celebration of the album’s twenty fifth anniversary, which is on Feb. 12, XXL ranks the tracks on the venture. Peep the rankings for your self under.
- 27 “Skandalouz” Tupac Shakur that includes Nate Dogg
- 26 “Tradin’ War Stories” Tupac Shakur that includes CPO, Outlawz, C-Bo and Storm
- 25 “Whatz Ya Phone #” Tupac Shakur that includes Danny Boy
- 24 “Holla at Me” Tupac Shakur that includes Nanci Fletcher
- 23 “Run Tha Streetz” Tupac Shakur that includes Michel’le, Mutah and Storm
- 22 “No More Pain” Tupac Shakur
- 21 “Wonda Why They Call U Bitch” Tupac Shakur
- 20 “Heaven Ain’t Hard 2 Find” Tupac Shakur
- 19 “Check Out Time” Tupac Shakur that includes Kurupt and Big Syke
- 18 “Thug Passion” Tupac Shakur that includes Jewell, Outlawz and Storm
- 17 “All About U” Tupac Shakur that includes Nate Dogg, Top Dogg and Dru Down
- 16 “Shorty Wanna Be a Thug” Tupac Shakur
- 15 “Can’t C Me” Tupac Shakur that includes George Clinton and Nanci Fletcher
- 14 “Ratha Be Ya Nigga” Tupac Shakur that includes Richie Rich
- 13 “When We Ride” Tupac Shakur that includes Outlaw Immortals
- 12 “Ain’t Hard 2 Find” Tupac Shakur that includes B-Legit, C-BO, E-40 and Richie Rich
- 11 “Got My Mind Made Up” Tupac Shakur that includes Dat Nigga Daz, Kurupt, Method Man and Redman
- 10 “All Eyez on Me” Tupac Shakur that includes Big Syke
- 9 “Heartz of Men” Tupac Shakur
- 8 “Only God Can Judge Me ” Tupac Shakur that includes Rappin’ 4-Tay
- 7 “California Love (Remix)” Tupac Shakur that includes Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman
- 6 “How Do U Want It” Tupac Shakur that includes Okay-Ci and JoJo
- 5 “Picture Me Rollin” Tupac Shakur that includes Danny Boy, Big Syke and CPO
- 4 “I Ain’t Mad at Cha” Tupac Shakur that includes Danny Boy
- 3 “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted” Tupac Shakur that includes Snoop Doggy Dogg
- 2 “Life Goes On” Tupac Shakur
- 1 “Ambitionz Az A Ridah” Tupac Shakur
