Maps of Music

2Pacalypse Now (1991)

Where the lyrics of 2Pacalypse Now take you, and where it was really made.

The album's title borrows from a 1979 war film, and its sharply political lyrics later drew a public attack from a sitting U.S. Vice President.

Key places

Recording at Starlight Sound Studio (1991)

Recording site Starlight Sound Studio — The recording sessions for 2Pacalypse Now took place at Starlight Sound Studio in Richmond, California. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• 2Pacalypse Now: debut solo studio album by American rapper 2Pac
• Released 12 November 1991 through TNT Recordings and Interscope Records
• EastWest Records America, a division of Atlantic, distributed the album
• Socially conscious hip-hop album that comments on contemporary American social issues
• The title is a reference to the 1979 war film Apocalypse Now

Background

• Produced by the Underground Railroad, the Digital Underground production team
• Team members: Big D the Impossible, Shock G, Pee-Wee, DJ J-Z, Raw Fusion and Live Squad
• Contributors include Stretch, Angelique, Dave Hollister, Pogo, Poppi, Ray Luv and Shock G
• Themes include racism, police brutality, poverty, gang violence, teenage pregnancy and drug abuse
• Addresses black urban concerns that remain relevant to the present day
• Relatively tame compared with Shakur's later works

Recording

• Recording sessions took place at Starlight Sound Studio in Richmond, California
• Three singles with music videos: "Trapped", "Brenda's Got a Baby" and "If My Homie Calls"

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Tracklist

Sources: musicbrainz.org

Artist

Early life

• Born June 16, 1971 in East Harlem, New York City, to Black Panther Party members Afeni Shakur and Billy Garland.
• Raised by his mother; moved to Baltimore in 1984 and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts.
• Moved to Marin City, California in 1988.

Career

• Debuted as 2Pac on Digital Underground's 1991 single "Same Song" under Interscope Records.
• Debut album 2Pacalypse Now (1991) established him as a central figure in West Coast hip-hop.
• Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993) and Me Against the World (1995) brought critical and commercial success.
• All Eyez on Me (1996), the first hip-hop double album, produced two Billboard Hot 100 number-one singles, "California Love" and "How Do U Want It".
• Also acted in films including Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), and Above the Rim (1994).
• Died September 13, 1996, after a drive-by shooting in Paradise, Nevada; the 2026 trial convicted Duane Davis of orchestrating the murder.

Legacy

• Record sales exceed 75 million worldwide.
• Inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame (2002) and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2017).
• Awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023.

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Reception

At release

• Upon release, the album debuted at number 197 on the Billboard 200
• Debuted at number 77 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and number 31 on the Heatseekers Albums chart
• Critics generally gave the album positive reviews
• Critics praised the political messages, the lyrics and the storytelling
• Critics criticized the album's production

Reappraisal

• In a retrospective review, RapReviews gave the album 4 stars out of 5
• RapReviews described the album as a dense and heavy listen that demands close attention to its persistent theme
• RapReviews said the beats fail to make much impression but that suits the lyrical performance
• RapReviews credited Tupac's sincerity and charisma as the vitriol's driving force
• RapReviews noted the political themes later gave way to the personal across his career

Records

• Billboard 200 peak: number 64, in the first third of 1992
• Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums peak: number 13
• Heatseekers Albums and Catalog Albums peak: number 3 each
• RIAA Gold certification on 19 April 1995 for passing 500,000 copies sold
• After 2Pac's death in 1996, the album reached number 3 on the US Catalog Albums chart
• UK Hip Hop and R&B Albums chart peak: number 35
• 25th anniversary vinyl and cassette re-release on 11 November 2016, peaking at number 21 on the Billboard Vinyl Albums chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• Then-U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle publicly criticized the album after a Texas murder case in which the defense claimed the killer was influenced by it
• The song "I Don't Give a Fuck" from the album appeared in the 2004 video game Grand Theft Auto: San Andreas on the in-game radio station Radio Los Santos
• The violent lyrics aimed at police and the government appear in "Trapped", "I Don't Give a Fuck" and "Soulja's Story"
• The album is considered relatively tame compared with Shakur's later works

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

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