Description
2018 reissue, 2×12″ LP, Amaru Entertainment/Interscope/UMG. 30th Anniversary release. Alternate cover, midnight mist colored vinyl.
By the mid-90s, 2Pac was shaping West Coast rap into something rawer and more emotionally direct and this set captures him at a moment when the pressure around him sharpened every line. ‘If I Die 2Nite’ lands with a cold urgency, his delivery tighter and more controlled than on earlier records whilst ‘So Many Tears’ turns vulnerability into momentum as the hook folds around his voice like a worn memory. ‘Temptations’ and ‘Heavy In The Game’ lean into something smoother. It’s got that r&b-tilted swing yet doesn’t lose the weight behind the writing. The centrepiece remains ‘Dear Mama’, still disarming in its clarity. Later tracks such as ‘Old School’ and ‘Death Around The Corner’ circle back to upbringing and survival. It’s 2Pac at his most inward-facing: steady and unguarded.
