For a guy who really did have death hanging over him, Tupac Shakur sounds no more troubled than usual on All Eyez on Me, his sort-of swan song. (It was the rapper’s final release before his September 1996 death, though his catalog, of course, would continue to grow.) If anything, he seems more resolute than ever to ride the gangsta dream down. The old cautions that young wannabes might reconsider the lifestyle are missing from the double album’s two-plus hours, unless you count the AIDS drama of “Wonda Why They Call U Bitch.” “2 of Amerika’s Most Wanted,” a duet with new Death Row labelmate Snoop Dogg, alternates descriptions of a great party and the vow that “I keep my hand on my gun ’cause they got me on the run.” Moments of real peace — a rumbling remix of the Dr. Dre/Roger Troutman collabo “California Love” the most notable — are few and far between on this street tract. 2Pac became the unlikely martyr of gangsta rap, and a tragic symbol of the toll its lifestyle exacted on urban black America. At the outset of his career, it didn't appear that he would emerge as one of the definitive rappers of the '90s — he started out as a second-string rapper and dancer for Digital Underground, joining only after they had already landed their biggest hit. But in 1991, he delivered an acclaimed debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, and quickly followed with a star-making performance...

Joze Roque

Popular tracks