Talk:Me Against the World

"Comments on some tracks"

I have removed the entire "Comments on some tracks" section, which was basically someone's reviews of all the songs on the album. Such a section is POV by nature and does not belong in an encyclopedia article. Taco Deposit | Talk-o to Taco 02:36, May 16, 2005 (UTC)

This album is a dramatic shift away from 2Pac's earlier works, where he was arguably still struggling to come to terms with his powers as a rapper and social commentator. This album is deeply introspective, and we see Pac wondering aloud about how he has gotten to this point in career and beginning to fear his own death.

Intro is a somewhat long introduction, though it has a smooth beat. It mostly deals with the robbery and shooting of Shakur a few months before the album's release, and sheds some light on what Tupac thought of all the events.

If I Die 2 Nite is one of 2Pac's many musings about his own death, probably inspired by his near-brush with death. He seems bold, "with no remorse".

Me Against the World is one of the best tracks on this album, with 2Pac musing about his sudden dearth of friends. Very nice female singer in the background strengthens a good beat, and Dramacydal has some good lines as well.

So Many Tears is incredible. It features a powerful, hard-hitting beat that is rarely seen outside of 2Pac's final work. 2Pac is reminiscing about all of the trials he's had to go through to become a star, envisioning himself becoming a faceless body in the not-too distant future. The lyrics in here are downright eery considering Shakur's untimely death, "My every move is a calculated step/ To bring me closer, to embrace an early death/...Please Lord, forgive me for my sins/ Cause here I come"

Temptations also has a very nice beat. 2Pac's theme here seems to be of his life as a player, having fun, although he says "Even though I'm known for my one night stands/ I wanna be an honest man". Pac talks about women, and his relationsips with and respect for them.

Young Niggaz is a decent track, mostly consisting of Pac reminiscing about being young. Old School falls along the same lines.

Lord Knows is a good example of religious themes in Shakur's work. It features his vocals double-tracked in a production move aimed to amplify the feeling of intensity.

Heavy in the Game is perhaps the most underrated track on the album. It features a spectacular beat, the enchanting (though largely incomprehensible) Jamaican-accented Lady Levi doing a lot of lyrics, and Richie Rich with some strong lyrics. 2Pac's lyrics are quite powerful in this track, and they are mostly about street life.

Dear Mama is a gut-wrenchingly emotional track. Though the lyrics and beat are clean and simplistic, it is definitely the most moving piece in the album. It is all about Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, who raised him and his half-brother and half-sister mostly singlehandedly. The track is in stark contrast to some of Shakur's more thug-oriented work.

It Ain't Easy is a solid, yet often overlooked track. Pac's words are depressingly truthful on the hardships of life. He delves into the political and social foundations of his struggle, mentioning Bill Clinton in a negative light. He drops some autobiographical hints of note, including his earlier fall into drug dealing and life on the streets and his fear of going on a "long vacation" to jail.

Can U Get Away is an oddity for the album. In the dialogue of the track, a boyish sounding Tupac coaxes "Abby", who is caught in an abusive relationship. Even when Tupac starts laying down the rap slow and smooth, he has lost his traditionally deep, sometimes angry, voice of a thug who has been through too much. Can U is a soothing, romantic track.

In Fuck the World, the violent side of 2Pac once again emerges. He is presumably expressing his anger at being indicted for numerous offenses and let down by his friends.

If you want to make the tracks a bit more specific, then Dramacydal featured in Track 3, "Me Against the World" and Track 15 "Outlaw". As well as this, Richie Rich featured in Track 7 "Heavy in The Game". Might want to add those in :)

Amaru Entertainment

It is an Amaru Entertainment album, look at the back cover. License2Kill 00:58, 4 December 2006 (UTC)

RIAA Certification

I remember wikipedia saying that Me Against The World was certified 4x platinum. But currently on the Tupac Shakur article, it says it's 2x. Anyone got a source to find out?

Simple Plan

Me Against the World is also the name of a Simple Plan song

....So? --- 72.142.212.28 16:52, 27 May 2007 (UTC)
....so? He means is that the title of the article directs to this song and not the simple plan song Pathfinder2006 14:35, 9 January 2008 (UTC)

Fair use rationale for Image:Meagainsttheworldcover.jpg

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BetacommandBot 07:51, 1 October 2007 (UTC)

Background

This is clearly not NPOV.

This was not a pop-rap record in any way, and it had been around since at least 87 with hammer and vanilla ice. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 124.168.224.220 (talk) 09:43, 6 April 2009 (UTC)

I've changed the background section entirely, as it had no references and didn't really tell much about the background of the album or artist. WikiGuy86 (talk) 21:01, 17 May 2009 (UTC)

Young Niggaz

In the booklet notes that come with the Me Aginst the World album a singer that goes by 'G. Money' is credited for singing the hook on Young Niggaz. I think he should be listed as a featured artist. In the tracklisting section under performers, next to 'Shakur'. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.246.80.178 (talk) 04:14, 12 March 2013 (UTC)

Orphaned references in Me Against the World

I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Me Against the World's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "sales":

• From Loyal to the Game:
• From Do for Love:
• From R U Still Down? (Remember Me):
• From The Lion King (soundtrack):

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT⚡ 00:16, 25 December 2015 (UTC)

External links modified

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External links modified

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G-funk

Why isn't this album considered G-funk? The LP has a style that could be considered the genre. It's got "funky" production, the synthesizers, and the overall attitude of a G-funk LP. — Preceding unsigned comment added by Souljia 1991 (talk • contribs) 20:10, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

Song/album/band genres are, for whatever reason, a point of contention on Wikipedia. (In fact, we have probably a dozen or so banned editors repeatedly resurfacing with new sockpuppet accounts and/or new IP addresses to continue the battles for particular genres they feel it is somehow vitally important that the world agree with them apply/do not apply to particular songs/albums/artists.)

As a result, we've codified our approach to genres. Essentially, there are two ways to establish a genre for a song/album/artist. The easiest is to find independent reliable sources that directly state the song/album/artist's genre. A few tricky parts here: 1) The source must be a reliable source (explained in detail at WP:IRS). A shortcut here is to go to obvious sources: Rolling Stone, Spin, Entertainment Weekly, etc. and look for reviews of the song or album or retrospectives on the artist. 2) You will find sources that assign genres that you don't agree with. Intellectual honesty would have you add those to the article as well. 3) Particularly with older songs/albums/artists, but also some newer ones, sources might not state a genre, even an obvious one.

If you are unable to find reliable sources for the genre, you can A) drop it or B) try to build a consensus on the article's talk page. If you suggest a genre on the article's talk page and other editors agree with you, you can add it based on that. Realize, of course, that it will take some time for a reasonable number of editors to respond. - SummerPhD^v2.0 22:34, 10 October 2017 (UTC)

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Orphaned references in Me Against the World

I check pages listed in Category:Pages with incorrect ref formatting to try to fix reference errors. One of the things I do is look for content for orphaned references in wikilinked articles. I have found content for some of Me Against the World's orphans, the problem is that I found more than one version. I can't determine which (if any) is correct for this article, so I am asking for a sentient editor to look it over and copy the correct ref content into this article.

Reference named "xxlmag":

• From 2Pacalypse Now:
• From Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...:

I apologize if any of the above are effectively identical; I am just a simple computer program, so I can't determine whether minor differences are significant or not. AnomieBOT⚡ 09:26, 16 July 2019 (UTC)

December 2019 dispute over lead

I recently revised the article, but my version of the lead was reverted because I allegedly made "several mistakes", and have now been taught, "No need to make unimproved changes" [diff]. This concerns me for a few reasons. One, as I didn't introduce new information to the lead, but instead trimmed the lead, my putative mistakes remain in the lead, I contend. Two, the reversion has restored poor English composition: wordiness, redundancy, mispunctuation, poor syntax, and such. Three, it restores debatable assertions, some narrowly specific, some vaguely broad, and, either way, possibly speculative, about Tupac's motivation and inspiration. Frankly, it also reads almost like bloggish hagiography. — Occurring (talk) 20:03, 26 December 2019 (UTC)

A sampling of the sources that label album/music "gangsta rap"

IS GANGSTA RAP THROUGH? DEFECTIONS, DEATH AND LACK OF IDEAS MAY DO WHAT CENSORS COULDN'T: [CHICAGOLAND FINAL Edition] Greg Kot, Tribune Rock Music Critic.  Chicago Tribune (pre-1997 Fulltext); Chicago, Ill.. 01 Dec 1996: 10.

GANGSTA RAP NO STAR, BUT IT'S NOISY: [FIVE STAR LIFT Edition] 1995, New York Times News Service.  St. Louis Post - Dispatch (pre-1997 Fulltext); St. Louis, Mo.. 07 June 1995: 05.C.

Trials of gangsta rap only make it stronger Legal troubles give Snoop, Shakur credibility in eyes of record buyers: [Final Edition] Maples, Tina.  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Milwaukee, Wis.. 23 Feb 1996: 7.

Tupac Shakur and the death of gangsta rap As the music loses its taste for violence, a star falls victim to it: [City Edition] Saunders, Michael.  Boston Globe (pre-1997 Fulltext); Boston, Mass.. 13 Sep 1996: D.17.

REMEMBERING TUPAC SHAKUR Weekend All Things Considered; Washington, D.C. : NPR. (Sep 14, 1996): 1.

RAPPER SHAKUR DIES, A VICTIM OF `THUG' LIFESTYLE SUCCESS AS A MUSIC STAR RAN PARALLEL WITH CRIMINAL RECORD: [NORTH SPORTS FINAL Edition] Schodolski, Vincent J.  Chicago Tribune (pre-1997 Fulltext); Chicago, Ill.. 14 Sep 1996: 1.

Obituary: Tupac Shakur: The reality of gangsta rap Bennun, David.  The Guardian (pre-1997 Fulltext); Manchester (UK). 16 Sep 1996: 014.

2Pac leaves the party behind: [MORNING Edition] Darling, Cary; STEVE EDDY: The Orange County Register.  Orange County Register; Santa Ana, Calif.. 12 Mar 1995: F.28.

Soulful spins: [SOONER Edition] Norman, Tony.  Pittsburgh Post - Gazette; Pittsburgh, Pa.. 21 Apr 1995: 20.

The top sellers of 1995: here they are Holsey, Steve.  Michigan Chronicle; Detroit, Mich.. 03 Jan 1996: 1-B.

PARELES, JON.  New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y.. 13 Feb 1996: C.13. [Duplicate]

POP VIEW; Death of a Rapper: A Legacy Built on the Gangster Image Pareles, Jon.  New York Times, Late Edition (East Coast); New York, N.Y.. 02 Apr 1995: 2.40.

Am I Black Enough for You? Popular Culture from the 'Hood and Beyond By Todd Boyd · 1997 p. 135

MusicHound R & B The Essential Album Guide By Gary Graff, Josh Freedom Du Lac, Jim McFarlin · 1998 p. 580

These are my only comments, as I'm slowly weaning myself from WP. Take care. Caro7200 (talk) 23:25, 4 April 2025 (UTC)

I lied. Please note that the NYT and LAT articles you disparage do refer to Tupac/album as gangsta rap in context. Peace. Caro7200 (talk) 23:28, 4 April 2025 (UTC)

Hey brother, hope you’re doing well. To start, let me tell you that there’s a lot of sources (other than the ones you brought) that states that Tupac was a “Gangsta rapper”, please keep in mind that the MEDIA (to this day) are the ones who labeled Tupac as “Gangsta rapper”, Tupac never called himself as “Gangsta rapper”, and they merely labeled him that only because of his controversial and problematic life, not because of his character/music. Believe it or not, out of the 4 albums he released during his lifetime, only 1 was actually a gangsta rap album and that is All Eyez on Me, he intentionally did that to align himself with the new record label he signed with at the time (Death Row Records), but before DRR, the music that he made was surely not gangsta rap. Just by being a passionate listener, you can literally listen to Tupac’s music (pre-death row) and other more common gangsta rap music from that period and tell me if you see/hear any difference. Best regards. Moh8213 (talk) 22:22, 5 April 2025 (UTC)