2Pac
2Pacalypse Now

THE REVIEW

Dusting off the old hits, one cannot help but notice the debut album of the now legendary Tupac Amaru Shakur: obviously, I am talking about "2pacalypse now", the most underrated album (okay, I am biased) in the history of hip hop!

But let's start from the beginning: first of all, it's 1991 (November to be exact) when the well-known artist, under the advisory wing of Digital Underground (a very important group in the West Coast scene), releases his first CD featuring violent lyrics (how could they not be) but at the same time intelligent (2pac already proves to be skilled with rhymes), full of a deep sense of disgust for the racism that characterized the police of the era (let's mention trapped, violent or soulja story) or of respect for friends (and here we're talking about if my homie calls and rebel of the underground).

The tracks that immediately stand out are brenda's got a baby (a beautifully hard-hitting yet profound piece that tells the harsh life of a young girl who got pregnant), the already mentioned if my homie calls and trapped, i don't give a fuck (particularly great especially in the final verses where the artist tells America to go to hell) and part time mutha (the artist here expresses respect for the mothers in the ghetto, forced to raise their children in extremely harsh conditions), yet this does not take away from the other tracks which are overall effective.

Despite everything, the album didn't achieve massive success (well, it did get a gold record): whether it was because the beat was still too weak, or the controversies about the lyrics were too heavy (let's not forget the scandal caused by the killing of a policeman by a fan influenced by some of the tracks), or even the order for an immediate withdrawal of copies (later suspended) by a politician whose name I can't recall (don't kill me), somehow influenced the album's success (which I repeat, remains good anyhow), the fact remains that "2pacalypse now" didn't manage to achieve the fame it deserved.

And here I must give a small opinion on the beats because I think compared to other albums, it's really weak and lacking in something (rebel of the underground sounds pitiful from an audio standpoint); only after several attentive listens do the tracks start to linger in your head (be patient, we're talking about a still young Tupac).

The album itself still remains a gem I recommend to all genre enthusiasts, for those wanting to get to know 2pac or simply for the nostalgics of old school rap!