Customer Reviews

2pacalypse Now

5 star:		(57)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(4)

 

 

This is the pac that many people initially fell in love with. All political and less of the gangsta stuff that he never did. Pac spoke out against many things on this album and made a dope solo debut into the hip hop world. This album gives a message, dope lyrics and some decent beats. I love the later releases that pac had, but this one is a little more real due to the subject matter.

I really don't understand these so called 2Pac fans. I mean don't u hear the same passion & political side on this album that u heard on "Me against the world". Songs like "Trapped" & "Violent" talks about racial profile & police brutally that black males still deal with 10 years after this album was release."If My Homies Calls" can be seen as a pre-"I ain't mad at cha" where Pacs tells his friend no matter what happens 2 u in the future I there for u."Words of wisdom" is a wake up called 2 the black community on not depending on white people & help yourself & each other. "Brenda got a baby" is the song that made Pac known in the rap world but in my opnion the true gem on this album is "Part time mutha..." where pac take the role of a man who had a one night stand with a girl & now he's a father. There a verse my some unknown girl on the song where she take the role as a female who was molested by her father & her mother took his side & blame's her. I don't know if her verse is true but one thing I know she had one of the best guest appreance I ever heard on a pac song. If u looking for the Thug Life & player's theme on this album u ain't gonna find it this was in my opnion(read the poem book in u see why i believe that) the true side of Pac before the rap game switch & u had 2 either be a tough guy or a player 2 be respected in the game.

There is no doubt in my mind that this is the best side of 2Pac: young, aggressive and political. 2Pacalypse Now isn't as finely trimmed as it's follow-up, 'Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.', but it's violent, intensive and, um, West Coast. Songs like 'Soulja's Story', 'Brenda's Got A Baby' and 'Violent' all take stand on meaningful things like ghetto violence, young mothers and the corruption of the police department in general. 'If My Homie Calls' is so West Coast it puts Cali Love and To Live And Die In L.A. to shame. The production, on the other hand, is very old school. Lots of live instruments and tempo varieties, heavy piano and bass lines. At this time 2Pac's raw lyrics were at their best. All in all, if you're planning on buying a 2Pac album, I sure would recommend either this, 'Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.' or 'Me Against The World'. Get ready to be shook, though.

Now this is hardly 2Pac's most celebrated album. That distinction goes to some of his later work (Me Against the World, All Eyez on Me, Makaveli) and deservedly so. But make no mistake, there isn't a more important 2Pac album. Here we truly see into his Black Panther roots in the social consciousness he displays throughout his life. He speaks of the plights of poor blacks in the classic "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Trapped" and "Part Time Mutha". In the brilliant "Words of Wisdom", 2Pac masterfully criticizes our society while simultaneously instilling strength into black youth.

2Pac in his brief lifetime became the voice of a generation. While he may never have been the most talented of MC's, he was by far the most beloved. His impact was simply bigger than rap music. He symbolized hope and strength for a young generation. He fearlessly attacked the status quo on behalf of those who were unable to themselves. He didn't just stand for poor black youth, he stood for anyone that has ever felt disenfranchised by society. 2Pac's message to America was clear: "this is what you made me, NOW DEAL WITH IT!!!" And never has that message been so clear than in this, his stunning debut album. For those who wish to better understand the life and legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur, please purchase this album.

Tupac Shakur's first album "2Pacalypse Now" (1991) marked the public debut of an artist whos name will now forever be associated with Rap. Prior to this release he was a member of a group called "Digital Underground". Back in 91 he was young man wanting to share his views, and all throughout this album he does: whether addressing police brutality, discrimination, poverty, street life and politics. Tupac always delivers alot of emotion in his music, whether it be deep anger,sadness,calmness or happiness . "2Pacalypse Now" has thirteen tracks (55 Minutes long) and is Executive Produced by Atron Gregory and came out on Interscope. Guest appearances come from Shock-G, Strech, and Raw Fusion. No tracks of blatant self promotion, lots of conscientious thought provoking music. Warning for those who know the Tupac of later albums on this one: Tupac's flow is far less developed, and the albums beats are oldschool. His lyrics and ability to convey emotion are solid though. "Young Black Male" starts the album off, a track with 2Pac flowing fast and with several other people talking in background and laughing, you can not help but find this track amateur sounding, all the same I like it. "Trapped" is about being young and black and having to face discrimination, police brutality among other matters, Pacs lyrics on this one had me listening to every word, and I liked the simple chorus of "Naw they cant keep the black man down". "Soulja's Story" is a dark track where Pac talks about you have to be hard to survive. "Violent" has Pac talking about the police and uses a brief sample from Public Enemy's Chuck D. "Words of Wisdom" is a highly political track, which has Pac talking about everything from drugs, the government, the United States and dropping lines like "No Malcolm X in my history text, Why is that? Cause he tried to educate and liberate all blacks Why is Martin Luther King in my book each week? He told blacks, if they get smacked, turn the other cheek" lines that you can understand coming from the son of black panther. On later albums you will find less and less tracks like this. "If My Homies Calls" is one of the first real upbeat songs on this album and is a track about being there for ones boys, like the background beat used on this. The track that stands out the most on this album for me is the incredibly deep "Brenda's Got a Baby" , which has Tupac telling a story about the downward spiral a twelve year girl takes after becoming pregnant. "Rebel of the Underground" has Pac talking about himself and is followed up by the albums closer "Part Time Mutha" where Pac puts himself in the place of a part time mother and a track which also features a lady telling a story of abuse, a strong closer to a powerful album. I dont recommend this album to people who are looking for hot beats or the Tupac of later albums, or to people who hold very specific politcal views. I recommend this album to dedicated fans, and to people who are intrested in hearing a young more political Tupac. "2Pacalypse Now" introduced the world to a young emerging artist who would become one of hiphops most prolific and loved rappers, glad to have this album in my collection.

This is the first album from the late, great 2Pac Shakur. Recorded in 91', it was released when Pac was only 20. Though not his best album, its very underrated, and Pac had already shown on this album he was a gonna be a major force in the hip hop world, before he became the greatest rapper ever. This album sounds like a mixture of Public Enemy and NWA. The songs are very political, and almost all them contain some message or another. On "Brendas Got A Baby", Pac demonstrates his story-telling skills to perfection and makes Slick Rick look like an beginner. Its one of his most deep songs today even, about teenage pregnancy. "Souljaz Story" is another great story telling track. However, songs like "Words Of Wisdom", "Trapped", and one of the best Pac songs ever, "Part Time Mutha", showcase Pac's social conscience at its best. This is a very underrated album. Definatly a must have for all Pac fans. RIP Pac

Unlike Snoop Dogg, Biggie, Nas etc, it took Pac 2 albums to get to classic. But this album is still a good effort. While production lacks a fare bit on most tracks, Pac's very intelligent rhyming and story telling make this well worth listening to. Its certainly alot different to his others but i still recommend it well. It is unfortunate that like "The Main Man" said, it wasn't appreciated until years after his sad passing.

Top 5
1. Brenda's Got A Baby - Another of Pac's very heartfelt tracks, whether based on a true story or not its an excellent song
2. Soulja's Story - Very good storytelling
3. Words Of Wisdom - A decent beat with very political lyrics
4. If My Homie Calls - best beat on the album
5. Violent - like soulja's story, Pac tells a creepy story about police brutality

The theme for 2Pacalypse now is obvious: the Black community. This album definetly should have been given 5 mics on the strength of Pac's subject matter, and his rhymes and flow are also on point, altough sometimes old school. Although NWA gets much praise for Straight Outta Compton, 2pacalypse Now discusses more issues relevant to the Black community. Songs like "Trapped", "Words of Wisdom", and "Violent" describe police brutality, unity, and 2Pac's frustration with the decaying conditions in the Black ghettos. Songs like "Brenda's Got A Baby", and "Part Time Mutha" depict situations pertinent to young Black women in the ghetto and some problems they face such as pre teen pregnancy, and irresponsible young mothers. Pac does a great job of exhibiting his anger with the ever growing problems in the ghettos across America. Great album!!

When Tupac Shakur dropped his solo debut, "2Pacalypse Now" in 1991, he was far from the controversial media target that he would become during his final years. His biggest claim to fame at this point was his show-stealing verse on Digital Underground's "Same Song". Aiming to establish himself as his own identity outside of the group while still staying true to those who opened the door for his career, Pac teamed with Shock G to give people a taste of what he had to offer as a solo star.

"2Pacalypse Now" isn't quite on the level of such classic debuts as Nas' "Illmatic" and Biggie's "Ready To Die" or even Pac's later work on "Me Against The World" but it is still a very overlooked album in its own right. Sure, Pac doesn't have the lyrical ability of someone like Nas or the tremendous flow of a Notorious B.I.G. but his gift for painting powerfully poetic pictures with his words is unmatched by even the most elite of his rapping peers. While "2Pacalypse" put Pac on the hit list of many angry politicians for his angry "f--k the system" approach, the same critics never bothered to look deeper at the social commentary he was providing. While tracks like "Souljah's Story" and "Trapped" are rooted in the rage of hungry ghetto youth, "If My Homie Calls" showcases Pac's undying loyalty for his comrades. Pac also dedicates a great deal of this album to talking about the problems facing black females with cuts like "Part Time Mutha" and "Brenda's Got A Baby". The latter of which could be considered his most female-friendly song next to "Keep Ya Head Up".

"2Pacalypse Now" did cause an outrage amongst white America. It may have scared politicans far worse than albums like Ice Cube's "Amerikka's Most Wanted" and N.W.A.'s "Straight Outta Compton" for the simple fact that it wasn't just screaming anti-authority anthems, it was detailing the problems in many poor urban communities and forcing people to deal with them. It challenged all of the hypocritical world leaders to look at what they created and account for it. While it might not go down as Pac's most beloved work, "2Pacalypse" is certainly groundbreaking in its own right.

2Pacalypse Now is Tupac Shakur's debut album, first released in 1991, when Pac was only twenty years old. Some fans who really like All Eyez on Me or Me Against the World, but aren't familiar with his earlier works may be just a little surprised after fully listening to this album. Why? If you can't tell by what others have had to say about it, this is a more political Tupac. This record is laced with rhymes about police brutality, crooked cops, an unequal society, and even pre-teen pregnancy and hardships a family may face when a mother is addicted to crack. This album doesn't showcase a thugged out gangsta but more of a young man who wants to get his frustrations out about the hard times many African Americans face everyday in this society. Pac has his arrogance to him as he's always had in his later albums, and I know many people don't think that this album or his sophomore release, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., are quite as good as his later releases, but I'd say that 2Pacalypse is right up there with Me Against the World and All Eyez on Me (maybe not just as good as these two, but I still like this album just as much as those).

My personal favorite track on here has got to be "Pat Time Mutha". The beat is great for this type of track. Pac tells a story of living with a mother who's addicted to crack. This cut is nothing short of amazing and is a very strong way to end the album. This is a track I can listen to over and over again. "Brenda's Got A Baby" (I'm pretty sure you've heard this) is another story about a 12 year old who's pregnant. Before I was really into rap music and before I really had an idea of who Pac was, I knew about this track and how it was the first hit by Tupac. I don't think he could have made a better choice. This cut almost made me cry the first time I heard it (seriously). It's sad because this is honestly how most unplanned teen pregnancy's really do happen. "Violent" is a strong cut telling a tale of harrassment by policemen. I really like the way his lyrics end, with "They wanna sweat me never get me to be silent, giving em a reason to claim that I'm violent". "Trapped" is another hit off this album. It's about injustice and how this society was made to keep blacks down and trapped. Pac showcases nice lyricism (I especially like the line "One day I'm gonna bust, blow up on this society, why did you lie to me? I couldn't find a trace of equality!). On "I Don't Give A F*ck", Pac raps about being pushed to his limit by the cops and people who stereotype blacks (who can blame him? All he was trying to do was buy a bag of chips!).

"Soulja's Story" has to be my second personal favorite on the album. This is a more darker song than the rest. I like how Pac slows the pitch of his voice down on the first verse. The lyrics, the chorus, and the beat all come together to make a classic track. "Words of Wisdom" is where Pac talks about how America is guilty of wrongdoing's to his people. "If My Homie Calls" is a fun track which shows that he is loyal to his friends no matter what route they choose in life. "Crooked A$$ N***a" is a hard track which features Stretch, who comes correct with his verses, and samples of N.W.A.'s "Gangsta Gangsta" (which is a classic track in it's own right). "Rebel of the Underground" is a classic track about how the government and politicians want to keep him down and keep his message from being heard, but they are not going to. "Young Black Male" is the intro to the album. There's a bunch of people in the background talking and laughing, and Pac drops a decent verse for an album opener. "Something Wicked" and "Tha Lunatic" are probably the weakest tracks on here, but that's not really saying that much.

This album gives fans a taste of Tupac before his thugged out Death Row days with Suge Knight. Tupac was a great storyteller on this album. All the songs are good, while most are great, tracks like Pat Time Mutha, Soulja's Story, Trapped, Violent, Brenda's Got A Baby, Rebel of The Underground, and I Don't Give A F*ck make this album great. Pac wanted to let the world know what the Black community goes through on a daily basis. Due to the content and excessive cussing, this record definitely didn't go over well with politicians and the government, as it was said that this album "has no place in our society" (which you'll hear on his next record, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.). I think he did a fine job however, as his lyrics are truthful and can be touching (as in Brenda's Got A Baby and Pat Time Mutha). This is a great album to add to your collection if you don't already own it.