Me Against the World

by 2Pac

Overview

Recorded following his near-fatal shooting in New York, and released while he was in prison, Me Against the World is the point where 2Pac really became a legendary figure. Having stared death in the face and survived, he was a changed man on record, displaying a new confessional bent and a consistent emotional depth. By and large, this isn't the sort of material that made him a gangsta icon; this is 2Pac the soul-baring artist, the foundation of the immense respect he commanded in the hip-hop community. It's his most thematically consistent, least-self-contradicting work, full of genuine reflection about how he's gotten where he is -- and dread of the consequences. Even the more combative tracks ("Me Against the World," "Fuck the World") acknowledge the high-risk life he's living, and pause to wonder how things ever went this far. He battles occasional self-loathing, is haunted by the friends he's already lost to violence, and can't escape the desperate paranoia that his own death isn't far in the future. These tracks -- most notably "So Many Tears," "Lord Knows," and "Death Around the Corner" -- are all the more powerful in hindsight with the chilling knowledge that he was right. Even romance takes on a new meaning as an escape from the hellish pressure of everyday life ("Temptations," "Can U Get Away"), and when that's not available, getting high or drunk is almost a necessity. He longs for the innocence of childhood ("Young Niggaz," "Old School"), and remembers how quickly it disappeared, yet he still pays loving, clear-eyed tribute to his drug-addicted mother on the touching "Dear Mama." Overall, Me Against the World paints a bleak, nihilistic picture, but there's such an honest, self-revealing quality to it that it can't help conveying a certain hope simply through its humanity. It's the best place to go to understand why 2Pac is so revered; it may not be his definitive album, but it just might be his best. ~ Steve Huey

Product Details

Release Date:	03/10/1998
Label:	Interscope
UPC:	0012414163622

Tracks

1. Intro
2. If I Die 2nite
3. Me Against the World
4. So Many Tears
5. Temptations
6. Young Niggaz
7. Heavy In the Game
8. Lord Knows
9. Dear Mama
10. It Ain't Easy
11. Can U Get Away
12. Old School
13. Fuck the World
14. Death Around the Corner
15. Outlaw

Album Credits

Performance Credits

2Pac   Primary Artist,Vocals
Richie Rich   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Vocals (Background),Featured Artist
Dramacydal   Primary Artist,Guest Artist,Featured Artist
Puff Johnson   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Natasha Walker   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Lady Levi   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Digital Underground   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Thug Life   Guest Artist,Vocals (Background)
Le-Morrious "Funky Drummer" Tyler   Vocals (Background)
Milia   Vocals (Background)
Sara Diamond   Spoken Word
Debbie Hambrick   Spoken Word
Jay Jensen   Spoken Word
Kenyatta Forman   Vocals (Background)
Killa   Vocals (Background)
G-Money   Vocals,Vocals (Background)
Stretch   Vocals (Background)
Eboni Foster   Vocals (Background)
Jill Rose   Vocals,Spoken Word
Sweet Franklin   Vocals (Background)
Darrell Crooks   Guitar
Rah Rah   Vocals (Background)
Kim Armstrong   Vocals (Background)
Ronnie Vann   Guitar
Richard Serrell   Vocals (Background)
Eric "Kenya" Baker   Guitar
Moe Z MD   Vocals (Background)
Piano Man   Keyboards
Dan O'Leary   Spoken Word
Reggie Green   Vocals (Background)

Technical Credits

Le-Morrious "Funky Drummer" Tyler   Producer,Composer
John Buchanan   Composer
Osten Harvey   Composer
Malcolm Greenidge   Composer
Kevin KD Davis   Mixing,Engineer
Carsten Shack   Composer
Gregory Jacobs   Composer
Master Tee   Producer,Producer
The D-Flizno Production Squad   Producer
Moses   Producer,Producer
Andre Young   Composer
Shock G   Producer
Soulshock   Producer,Mixing Engineer
Betty Wright   Composer
Kenneth Karlin   Composer,Producer
Colin Wolfe   Composer
Larry Blackmon   Composer
Larry Troutman   Composer
Eric Baker   Composer
Easy Mo Bee   Composer,Producer
Frankie Beverly   Composer
Tupac Shakur   Composer
Dramacydal   Performer
Jay Lean   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Jeff Griffin   Mixing,Engineer
Johnny J   Producer,Composer
Brian G.   Producer
Stevie Wonder   Composer
Bruce Hawes   Composer
Burt Bacharach   Composer
Willie Clarke   Composer
Paul Arnold   Mixing,Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Soulshock & Karlin   Producer
Bob Morris   Engineer
Hal David   Composer
Kevin Toney   Composer
Garry Shider   Composer
Joe Sample   Composer
2Pac   Composer
Tomi Jenkins   Composer
Kevin Davis   Engineer,Mixing Engineer
Calvin Broadus   Composer
Jill Rose   Producer
Charles Simmons   Composer
Ezi Cut   Producer
Donald Tillery   Composer
Sam Bostic   Composer,Producer
Leon Ware   Composer
Roger Troutman   Composer
Joseph Jefferson   Composer
Roger   Composer
Richard Rudolph   Composer
Charlie Singleton   Composer
Nathan Leftenant   Composer
Reggie Noble   Composer
Michael Schlesinger   Engineer
Mike Mosley   Composer,Producer
Norman Durham   Composer
Minnie Riperton   Composer
George Clinton   Composer
Tim Nitz   Engineer
Jay B Bisgaard   Producer
David Spradley   Composer
Eric Lynch   Engineer
Jay B   Producer
Eric Altenburger   Design,Art Direction
Terence Thomas   Composer
Moe Z   Composer
Carsten Schack   Composer
Maurice Stewart   Composer
Maxwell Dixon   Composer
Eric "Kenya" Baker   Composer
Moe Z MD   Composer,Producer
Randy Walker   Composer
Yafeu Fula   Composer
Brian Gallow   Producer
Tony Pizarro   Mixing,Composer,Engineer,Producer,Mixing Engineer
Shirley Murdock   Composer