2pacalypse Now [PA] - 2Pac

Author's product rating:   

Originality	Groundbreaking
Lyrics	Sublime
Quality and consistency of tracks	Mixed
Value for Money	Good

Advantages:	Inspiring and fresh
Disadvantages:	Inconsistant

Recommend to potential buyers:

yes

Full review

"2Pacalypse Now" is the debut from the late West Coast rapper, 2Pac. This LP was released way back in 1991, when he was still working as an associate with the alternative rap group Digital Underground, the group which is only really know for the single hit single "Humpty Hump". 2Pac worked as a roadie for the group at the time and would often dance on stage with the group and get the occassion chance to rap, and after a breakthrough with "Same Song", his potential was apparent, giving him a chance to go at it alone.

This album was boycotted by many at the time because it was an extreme example of the lengths West Coast rappers would go to as NWA did with "F*** Tha Police", which got them an official warning from the FBI, and 2Pac was promoting a similar message of rebellion against the police in his lyrics, and portraying whites to be the enemy. So everythign was against the rapper and his hardcore lyrics, but despite this, it is a classic an includes some very powerful messages which not many MCs had touched upon in the past.

1. Young Black Male

Everything is slowed down as we get into some serious rhymes, the set up for it is very clever as it begins by stating the the title before the beginning is repeated, but by being backtracked, signifying how blacks are seen as regressive and I bet that many missed this out because it's more than a clever DJing technique, this was used to make a point for this particular tune.

'Pac talks us through al the thigs which people expect to here from a person with this description, as based on this an ignorant criminal stereotype is created, and he just plays up to it here to give the hites what they want to here in terms of how these individuals are bringing down the whole race.

**Five Stars**

2. Trapped

Here you get a rap which seems to be a fusion of the influence he took from from his up-bringing out West, and the education which he received to make him see through all of the political systems whih are designed to bring his race down, and prevent them from getting up once they are in such a poor situation, and it is great to see that he is able to bring these together so effortlessly, but without having seen it done by anyone in the past, as he pioneered this style which has politics mixed in with the ideal person to represent a LA gangsta lifestyle.

The beat for this shows that the West Coast were still experimenting with making a unique style of production as it sounds like the early stages of G-Funk, but without the sampled funk as Dr. Dre went on to do it, this one has a hard beat on a soft piano melody, which create a harsh contrast to bring out the harder side more easily. This creates strong foundations for him to talk about making the blacks rise against all of the oppression which they face.

**Four Stars**

3. Soulja's Story

This is a very cold and dark track whjich is haunting at times as 'Pac's voice is slowed down for added impact on the listener who is forced to hear about how black are the target for everyone (including themselves). Before I truely understood the lyrics for this as I was growing up, I always got goosebumps from hearing the simple beat and the slowed voice, and background chanting voice as it the atmosphere created by it is frightening, so all of this is only increased once you get into the rhymes.

The raps in this are just too cold for those who are unaware of what goes on in the West Coast as 2Pac plays two roles, one as himself, and another as the 'Soulja', a person who canunderstand what it takes to be a thug like 'Pac, but then the rapper talks as himself and tells him that it's a lot deeper than killing police if they've step out of line, and he tell the potential 'Soulja' about his darker experiences.

**Five Stars**

4. I Don't Give A F*** (feat. Pogo)

This is one of the controversial tracks from the album and 2Pac really expresses his opinion in this track on how he feels towards racists and all goverenment enforcement agencies as he ends the track with background vocals which addresses them by saying F*** you to the F.B.I., f*** you to the C.I.A...." and just doesn't seem to stop. Clearly displaying his lack of trust in these groups who claim to be for the benefit of the public.

I'm not going to say that I agree with all that he says during this track, but he does really have a passionate hatred towards everyone who is addressed for this one, and although many non-Hip Hop fans, or those who won't have heard much of 'Pac, won't expect to hear some real lyrical here despite his anger, age (20) and inexperience, but even at these times he uses so many metophorical phrases, and is able to speak on the issue from so many angles.

**Five Stars**

5. Violent

It really doesn't get as controvercial as this track here in terms of it's lyrical content as he tells a tale of him not accepting anything which the poice give him, and he is only willing to go down if its in warfare. The story is so extreme as it comes out of nowhere, because the track starts off as him saying that blacks are seen as violent by the poilce, which is why racial profiling occurs, and he talks us through this, then he gets into the ficitous account of what would happen in some detail.

I thought that it was odd that the beat to this was a Dub-Reggae one, and it contrast from the hardcore theme of the track. At the time many didn't believe any of what he said, because there's no reason to accept that he would rebel against the police in such a way, but he did go to shot two police officers a few years later, so he when you look back, you have more acceptance for the lyrics than when this was released.

**Four Stars**

6. Words Of Wisdom

'Pac gives us some of his 'Words of Widom' as he initially addresses his target audience who he calls his N.I.G.G.A.s, (Never Ignorant, Getting Goals Acomplished) and he does it like a lecture before he gets into the raps after one minute of explaining the backronym; displaying that he has put a lot of thought into having justification for using the word as he sees it as a word for the advancement of black people and not for degression into a lower class.

I would call this an anthem for all those people in the ghettoes who are forced to feel as though they are infirior, as the rapper gives these people hope in his words, as he explains that they have been tricked into thinking this way, but they are just taking time to adjust to the fast pace of 'white America' which seems to prgress so quickly that those who are left behind are ignored. 'Pac is so inspiring here, and you wouldn't expect something like this from a 20-year-old.

**Four Stars**

7. Something Wicked (feat. Pee Wee)

Something which will immediately hit you in this track is the hard drums, which seem to have a strong African influence to them; as if it is the basis for a chant, so it creates quite intimidating foundations for the rest of the tune to be built upon. The voice of Terminator X (of Public Enemy) doesn't aid in this as a little snippet of him is used to work along with the beat, but only using the word "wicked" from the line "Here the drum, and get wicked", as most Hip hop fans would be able to work back and realise that not all of it is required to get it across to the listener.

To continue with the P.E. theme in this track, you here the word "Ruthless" in the background from them, and it presents the 2Pac relentless nature, which makes him so feared as he is willing to do anything for something he has a real passion for. Although I liked the arrangement of the track, I didn't think that it was executed all that well, and 'Pac didn't really have much to say.

**Three Stars**

8. Crooked Ass N***a (feat. Stretch)

This is a pretty typical gangsta rap track and it doesn't really have anything special to it as we are takien through a typical story in the hood where a beef immerges and they are going to be killed for it. 'Pac was disapppointingly straight-forward with the raps and he didn't try to bring that much depth to the table as he had done in other tracks on the album, and it makes you see him as a regular West Coast rapper who takes influence from those who had just made it big in the area (Coolio, NWA and Ice-T). So it makes the consicous raps seem like flukes.

**Three Stars**

9. If My Homie Calls

This was the second solo single in 2Pac's career, and as a follow-up to "Brenda's Got A Baby", it shows a completely different side to the MC and it is a lot more conventional for a West Coast artist in terms of it's content, as he talks about chilling with his homies, and showing that he will always be there for them when things go down.

We have a typical gangsta rap beat for this track which you would expect to hear in the album, but there isn't really that many like this, and although this is what I wanted to hear, with so many original tracks, you want to be surprised more by what he could potentially come out with.

**Four Stars**

10. Brenda's Got A Baby (feat. Dave Hollister)

This was 2Pac's debut single, and it contrasts heavily from all of the hardcore lyrics which surround it in the album. I felt that this was a very important track as it highlighted an issue which many outside the black community wouldn't take notice of, so by hitting us with something so shocking, the world is forced to take notice.

This is a tale about a 12-year-old girl who became pregnant and hid this from everyone around her, even afer the birth where she throws the baby "...in a trash heap", and the downward sprila contunes from her as she gets involved with drugs, then forced into prostitution, and is eventually killed by her lifestyle. You are suddendly hit by this in the way that Grandmaster Flash & The Furious Five did with "The Message" in 1988 as the lyrics use the conscious style of Hip Hop, where the MCs take on the troubles in the ghettoes, and use their powers as well-known musical figures to spread the word of what happens in the places which America ignores as "Brenda" is a metophor for all the teenage mothers throughout the country (and now all over the world).

**Five Stars**

11.Tha' Lunatic (feat. Stretch)

From reading the title, you wouldn't exepect to get what is heard in the track as it seems as though they went for the wrong name to represent the tune, as it is more to do with girls than 'Tha' Lunatic', (what he decides to call himself). 'Pac sounds very excited in this one as he speaks about all the girls h ehas been able to see since he got "down with the Underground" (his former group Digital Underground) and he's just happy about the added attention which he is receiving.

Apart from this, he also raps about the negavitiy which he has faced from others who don't think that he will be unable to live up to he hype which he created, about he's just wanting a chance to show that he has potential, but at this time, not much had been shown yet. I thought that this was far from his best work and didn't do him any justice at all, because he is usually very consistant, but this was a dip in is quality.

**Two Stars**

12. Rebel Of The Underground (feat. Ray Luv and Shock G)

'Pac asserts his position as the someone who didn't really fit in as part of any group, so he was seen as the "Rebel of the Underground", in reference to the group which he came from, and from there he has been rejected from many others due to his extreme views which are far from what is expected by anyone, and his willingness to express these things are what set him apart from everyone else.

A whole host of saples are used in this, and they seem to come together well once they have all been condensed into a single piece (not to say that they didn't work in their original setting), and they really allow the best of the rapper to come out with a very strong beat to hit the listener, anbd increase the power of his rhymes.

**Five Stars**

13. Part Time Mutha (feat. Angelique and Poppi)

To end us of, the mood is dragged down by the deep bassline and a sombre tone which has strong similarities to "Brenda's Got a Baby" as we are taken into more serious issues as we are forced to face shocking matter which only people who can say that they have experince of, will be able to tell you about in so much detail. here he tlaks on how mothers in the ghettoes are often 'part-time', because when they aren't they are just crack heads, therefore unfit in the presence of children.

'Pac really drills the message into you as he seems desperate to put it across to the listener, but it wasn't as shocking as "Brenda's Got A Baby", so it didn't have as big an impact, but regardless of this, the issue is clearly presented, and is made to seem as big a problem for people in troubled conditions as teenage motherhood.

**Four Stars**

As a 2Pac fan, you are obliged to buy this album as you get to see how he developed over the years, and this just shows how far he would go even in the early years to cause controversy, and he didn't stop from here. I felt that although he did send out lots of inspiring messages, at times he let himself down by resoting to normal gangsta rap, but when he did this, he still made it shound differnt to what was going around at the time, and it is far better than today's rap.