Disco de 2Pac: “2pacalypse Now [PA]”

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.

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!!

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.

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

I made this review because i saw that this album got only 4 stars. This album is the real thing, everybody should skip everything and start straight here. This is the album that set it off. It's not the best album of 2pac, but it's a very good start. It seems like a digital underground album with 2pac on the vocals. The beats are like the ones of digital underground but the lyrics are much harder then any digital underground album. I must say that without digital underground, there is no 2pac. The best songs are Trapped, Soulja's Story, If My Homie Calls, Brenda's Got A Baby and Rebel Of The Underground. Anyone who wants to know 2pac should start here