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Showing posts with label Tupac Shakur. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Tupac Shakur. Show all posts
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Wednesday, November 22, 2023
Dave's Music Hall of Fame: Album Inductees (November 2023)
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The Top 10 Classic (‘80s and ‘90s) Rap AlbumsOriginally posted 11/22/2023. January 22, 2019 marked the 10-year anniversary of the DMDB blog. To honor that, Dave’s Music Database announced its own Hall of Fame. This month marks the twentieth group of album inductees. These are taken from are taken from the DMDB’s top rap albums of all time list. The focus of this set inductees is only on those albums from the ‘80s and ‘90s. Previous inductees to fit this category are MC Hammer’s Please Hammer Don’t Hurt ‘Em and Public Enemy’s It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back. |
Beastie Boys Licensed to Ill (1986)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| The Beastie Boys were a white group from New York City who found success through Rick Rubin and his label, Def Jam. Licensed to Ill, with its samples from rock stalwarts like Black Sabbath and Led Zeppelin, was the first rap album to top the Billboard charts, largely on the strength of the party vibe of the top 10 hit “You Gotta Fight for Your Right to Party.” The Grammy Hall of Fame album has sold more than 15 million copies worldwide. Read more. |  |
De La Soul 3 Feet High and Rising (1989)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| De La Soul offered a stark contrast to the violence and misogyny of gangsta rap with its art-meets-jazz approach to hip-hop. In his column “The Great Albums,” Jim DeRogatis called 3 Feet High and Rising “one of the most optimistic, life-affirming and wildly creative albums that hip-hop has ever produced.” NME named it the album of the year and it has been inducted into the National Recording Registry. Read more. |  |
Dr. Dre The Chronic (1992)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| AllMusic.com’s Steve Huey called this “one of the greatest and most influential hip-hop albums of all time.” Dr. Dre helped write the book on West Coast hip-hop and gangsta rap as a member of N.W.A. and then as a solo artist. The Chronic not only introduced Dre as a solo act but launched him into fame as a producer and introduced the world to his protégé Snoop Dogg. The album has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and National Recording Registry. Read more. |  |
Lauryn Hill The Miseducation of Lauryn Hill (1998)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| Lauryn Hill first gained attention with the rap group the Fugees before launching a solo career that resulted in what Consequence.com called “one of the best solo female albums ever recorded.” The album went beyond hip-hop; Entertainment Weekly said it features “Aretha Franklin–caliber vocal,” “the funky grunt of vintage Stevie Wonder,” the “uptown soul of Roberta Flack,” and “the moral fervency of Bob Marley.” It sold over 15 million copies worldwide, won the Grammy for Album of the Year, and has been inducted into the National Recording Registry. Read more. |  |
The Notorious B.I.G. Ready to Die (1994)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| AllMusic.com’s Steve Huey called this “the album that reinvented East Coast rap for the gangsta age.” Author Robert Dimery said the album combined “in-you-faceness [that] is pure New York” with production “as sumptuous as anything Dr. Dre was cooking up in California.” Sadly, it was the only album released during Biggie’s lifetime as he was shot and killed in March 1997, a victim of the East Coast vs. West Coast hip-hop rivalry. Read more. |  |
N.W.A. Straight Outta Compton (1989)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| In Time magazine, Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light assert that “virtually all gangsta rap remains a response to or an elaboration of this one album.” The album was criticized for glamorizing Black-on-Black crime, but the rap collective insisted they were just presenting an audio documentary of the life they knew in Compton. It has been inducted into the Grammy Hall of Fame and National Recording Registry. Read more. |  |
Run-D.M.C. Raising Hell (1986)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| Time magazine’s Josh Tyrangiel and Alan Light called this “rap’s first masterpiece.” Like the Beastie Boys’ Licensed to Ill, also released in 1986, the album owed much of its success to a fusion of rap and rock with Rick Rubin as producer. Run-D.M.C.’s collaboration with Aerosmith’s Steven Tyler and Joe Perry for a cover of that group’s “Walk This Way” made for a groundbreaking commercial breakthrough for the fledgling genre. Raising Hell has been inducted into the National Recording Registry. Read more. |  |
Tupac Shakur All Eyez on Me (1996)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| All Eyez on Me, rap’s first double-disc album of all new material, was 2pac’s first release after signing with Death Row, a gangsta rap label helmed by Suge Knight. Unlike some of his peers, 2pac “really did come from the background of bleak, inner-city violence he rapped about.” TB “Nobody was going to rep the West Coast harder.” CQ Sadly, it was the last album released in his lifetime. He was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996, a victim of the East Coast vs. West Coast feud. Read more. |  |
Snoop Dogg Doggystyle (1993)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| Snoop was introduced to the world on Dr. Dre’s The Chronic but burst out on his own with Doggystyle, the fastest-selling debut album. AllMusic.com said it was a “de facto sequel to The Chronic…another round of P-Funk-inspired grooves and languid gangsta and ganja tales.” Wikipedia.org said the two albums transformed “the entire sound of West Coast rap by its development of what later became known as the ‘G-funk’ sound.” About.com said, “gangsta rap never sounded so sweet.” Read more. |  |
Wu-Tang Clan Enter the Wu-Tang (36 Chambers) (1993)Inducted November 2023 as “Top Classic Rap (‘80s and ‘90s) Albums.” |
| AllMusic.com’s Steve Huey called this “one of the most influential rap albums of the ‘90s… It laid the groundwork for the rebirth of New York hip-hop in the hardcore age, paving the way for everybody from Biggie and Jay-Z to Nas and Mobb Deep. Moreover, it introduced a colorful cast of hugely talented MCs, some of whom ranked among the best and most unique individual rappers of the decade.” Read more. |  |
Friday, September 13, 1996
The Death of Tupac Shakur: September 13, 1996
Originally posted September 13, 2012.
Awards:
Resources and Related Links:
image from vigilantcitizen.com
On September 7, 1996, rapper/actor Tupac Shakur (generally referred to as 2Pac) attended the Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon boxing match in Las Vegas, Nevada. When Shakur and his Death Row Records entourage left the MGM Grand Hotel, a fight broke out. Later that night, Shakur was in the riding to an event with Death Row’s Suge Knight when a car pulled up beside them and fired roughly 13 shots at the car. Shakur was hit four times. He died a week later on September 13, 1996. He was 25.
He is estimated to have sold more than 100 million albums worldwide. His songs often depicted the harsh realities of ghetto life, largely inspired by his own upbringing in East Harlem. His parents’ background as members of the Black Panthers also shaped the social commentary in 2Pac’s music. Shakur faced trouble with the law and was caught up in the East Coast-West Coast rap rivalry commonly assumed to be the reason for his gang-style killing.
His music career started with Digital Underground in 1990. He worked as a roadie and backup dancer and contributed a rap on their “Same Song” for the 1991 film Nothing But Trouble. He launched his solo career that same year with 2Pacalypse Now. Me Against the World (1995) and All Eyez on Me (1996) are both DMDB top 1000 albums and went to #1, a position he attained three more times posthumously. He’s charted more than 20 albums; only four were released in his lifetime. Eleven of his albums have been top tens.
Awards:
- one of the top 1000 music makers of all time
- top 100 rap songs of all time (“Keep Ya Head Up”, “Dear Mama”, “California Love”, “Changes”)
- in the National Recording Registry of the Library of Congress"> (“Dear Mama”)
- top 100 videos of all time according to the DMDB (“California Love”)
- top 1000 albums of all time (1995’s Me Against the World, 1996’s All Eyez on Me)
- Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (World, Eyez)
- top 50 rap albums of all time (World, Eyez)
Resources and Related Links:
- Tupac Shakur’s DMDB Encyclopedia entry
- DMDB album page for Me Against the World
- DMDB album page for All Eyez on Me
- Rolling Stone Tupac Shakur: 1971-1996 by Kevin Powell (10/31/96)
- WK Wikipedia Tupac Shakur entry
Saturday, July 20, 1996
2pac “California Love” hit #1
 | California Love2pac with Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman |
Writer(s): Tupac Shakur, Andre Young, Roger Troutman, Larry Troutman, Mikel Hooks, Norman Durham, Ronald Hudson, Woody Cunningham, Joe Cocker, Chris Stainton, James Anderson (uncredited) (see lyrics here) Released: December 3, 1995 First Charted: February 9, 1996 Peak: 12 US, 2 CB, 31 GR, 35 RR, 6 RB, 6 UK, 51 CN, 4 AU, 25 DF (Click for codes to charts.) Sales (in millions): 4.4 US, 0.6 UK Airplay/Streaming (in millions): -- radio, 284.66 video, 586.14 streaming |
Awards:Click on award for more details. 
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About the Song:Tupac Shakur was born in 1971 in New York City but lived in Baltimore and eventually the San Francisco Bay Area. Both his parents were political activists and members of the Black Panther Party. His “revolutionary pedigree was one of his big selling points” SG when he launched his solo career in 1991 with the album 2Pacalypse Now. In 1993, he scored a pair of top-20 hits on the Billboard Hot 100 with “I Get Around” and “Keep Ya Head Up.” He was also becoming a movie star and finding himself in legal trouble. In 1993, he was arrested after a gunfight with two off-duty cops in Atlanta. He shot and wounded both of them, but claimed self-defense and the charges were dropped. While on trial for sexual assault, he was shot five times. He was convinced it was set up by former friend and rapper Biggie Smalls and the subsequent rivalry between them “mushroomed into the East Coast/West Coast feud, which became the dominant narrative in rap music in the late ’90s.” SG While in prison for the assault charge, his third album Me Against the World debuted at #1, making him the first incarcerated artist to top the Billboard album chart. SG He would also land his first top-10 hit with “Dear Mama.” Suge Knight, the “the notorious co-founder of Death Row Records,” SG arranged for 2Pac’s bond and appeal in exchange for him signing with Death Row, a move which furthered the East Coast/West Coast rivalry. 2pac’s label debut was the double album All Eyez on Me in 1996. It debuted at #1 and has since been certified diamond for ten million in sales. The double A-side single “How Do U Want It” and “California Love” topped the Billboard Hot 100. The latter “might be the anthem that filled up the air in the summer of 1996.” SG It “might not be the best 2Pac song, and it may not be Pac’s definitive song” SG but “so much about ‘California Love’ is just perfect. There’s the Dr. Dre production with the royal horn-fanfares and the stabbing pianos. There’s computer-funk wizard Roger Troutman slathering his voicebox bleat all over everything…There’s Pac himself, bringing unreal levels of charisma to his verse.” SG Dre built the “celebration fo the California hip-hop lifestyle” SF on a sample from Joe Cocker’s 1972 song “Woman to Woman” and incorporates Troutman’s 1981 song “So Ruff, So Tuff.” Dre and 2Pac “rap about the vibrant activity and creativity they constantly encounter, but also warn about the gang violence, crime and social ills.” SF Less than two months later, 2Pac was murdered after a Mike Tyson boxing match in Las Vegas. “After he died, he became a symbol for a lot of things — Black pride, defiance, outlaw romance, unresolved internal conflicts, senseless slaughter.” SG The case remains unsolved. Resources:
Related Links:
First posted 8/7/2023. |
Saturday, March 2, 1996
2pac hit #1 with All Eyez on Me
All Eyez on Me |
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Released: February 13, 1996 Peak: 12 US, 13 RB, 32 UK, 11 CN, 19 AU Sales (in millions): 5.89 US, 0.30 UK, 8.90 world (includes US and UK), 24.66 EAS Genre: rap |
Tracks, Disc 1:Song Title (Writers) [time] (date of single release, chart peaks) Click for codes to charts.
Tracks, Disc 2:
Total Running Time: 132:20 |
Rating: 4.286 out of 5.00 (average of 19 ratings)
Awards:(Click on award to learn more).
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About the Album:2pac’s third album, Me Against the World, was released while he was serving a prison term for sexual abuse. It made him a superstar, reaching the pinnacle on the Billboard album chart and going double platinum. All Eyez on Me became the rapper’s second album to debut at #1 and sold even more copies than its predecessor.It was his first release after signing with Death Row, a label helmed by Suge Knight “that dealt exclusively in…gangsta rap.” TB Unlike some of his peers, 2pac “really did come from the background of bleak, inner-city violence he rapped about.” TB It showed him “hardened and hungry” AM as he “unleashed all his pent-up frustrations into creating a larger-than-life gangsta rap persona.” CQ “Nobody was going to rep the West Coast harder than he was, as demonstrated by the unadulterated aggression of Ambitionz Az a Ridah.” CQ Throughout the album, he rapped “about his experiences in poverty and in luxury.” WK He was eager “to throw down a monumental epic whose sheer scope would make it an achievement of itself.” AM It was “the first double-disc album of original material in hip-hop history.” AM This album finds him “backing off the sober self-recognition of Me Against the World. Sure, there are a few reflective numbers and dead-homiez tributes, but they’re much more romanticized this time around. All Eyez on Me is 2Pac the thug icon in all his brazen excess, throwing off all self-control and letting it all hang out – even if some of it would have been better kept to himself.” AM As implied by the title, 2pac’s fourth album reflects how “he’d been affected by several years of living in the spotlight. He sounds somewhat paranoid, quick to draw conclusions about people and their motives; on Only God Can Judge Me, he muses, ‘Perhaps I was blind to the facts, stabbed in the back / I couldn’t trust my own homies, just a bunch of dirty rats.’” TM “Among Shakur’s enduring contributions to hip-hop is his effective use of R&B-style hooks, repetitive and often sung catchphrases. These offset the brutality of the All Eyez raps with basic structure. Can’t C Me, one of several tightly wound Dr. Dre productions, features the sepulchral vocals of George Clinton doing a P-Funk thing; All About U contains a refrain sung by Nate Dogg over a beat that flirts with disco.” TM “The production of Dre, DJ Pooh, DJ Quik, and Johnny J round out All Eyez on Me by finally offering Pac a soundtrack that could fully match his talents.” CQ It is “easily the best production he’s ever had on record.” AM Johnny J’s work is most notable on the club smash How Do U Want It AM and Dr. Dre “contributes another surefire single in California Love (which, unfortunately, is present only as a remix, not the original hit version). Both hits are on the front-loaded first disc, which would be a gangsta classic in itself.” AM This is “an accurate depiction of what made him such a volatile and compelling personality.” AM “From the social commentary of the still-relevant Brenda’s Got a Baby to the unbridled rage of Hit ‘Em Up and everything in between, Tupac’s range as a rapper remains unparalleled.” CQ “Other highlights include the anthemic Snoop Dogg duet 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, All About U (with the required Nate Dogg-sung hook)” AM “and the introspection of I Ain’t Mad at Cha,” CQ “a tribute to old friends who’ve gotten off the streets.” AM There are also “showcases for his group The Outlawz like Thug Passion.” CQ The two-hour-plus “ode to the gangsta lifestyle isn’t without its warts.” CQ “Despite some good moments, the second disc is slowed by filler and countless guest appearances, plus a few too many thug-lovin’ divas crooning their loyalty. Erratic though it may be,” AM “Pac’s burning passion elevates the album to another level.” CQ All Eyez on Me is “carried off with the assurance of a legend in his own time, and it stands as 2Pac’s magnum opus.” AM Sadly, it was his last album (other than posthumous releases). He was murdered in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas in September 1996. |
Reviews:
Related DMDB Links:
First posted 4/17/2008; last updated 7/15/2025. |
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