Maps of Music

Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993)

Where the lyrics of Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... take you, and where it was really made.

The album was recorded in three studios in three cities, and its title abbreviation is a backronym that 2Pac fabled himself.

Key places

Echo Sound Studio, Los Angeles (1993)

Recording site Echo Sound Studio — One of the three studios where the album's recording sessions took place, located in Los Angeles. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Unique Recording Studios, New York (1993)

Recording site MSR Studios — One of the three studios where the album's recording sessions took place, located in New York City. Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Starlight Sound Studio, Richmond (1993)

Recording site Starlight Sound Studio — One of the three studios where the album's recording sessions took place, located in Richmond (point at city center). Google Maps · Apple Maps

How to get there: See the map for directions.

Album story

Overview

• Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...: second solo studio album by American rapper 2Pac
• Released February 16, 1993 by TNT Recordings, Interscope Records and EastWest Records America
• Recording sessions held at three studios in three cities: Starlight Sound Studio in Richmond, Echo Sound Studio in Los Angeles, Unique Recording Studios in New York
• Follows 2Pac's rise after his role in the film Juice
• Commentary on social issues and on former vice president Dan Quayle, who criticized the rapper's violent lyrics
• Peaked at number 24 on the Billboard 200, more commercial success than the predecessor
• Production differs noticeably from the first album, which leaned toward an underground or indie rap sound
• Considered 2Pac's breakout record

Background

• Early 1992: began a follow-up to 2Pacalypse Now, originally titled Black Starry Night
• Renamed Troublesome 21 during the recording process
• Set for September 1992 release, but rejected by Time Warner amid media outcry and political scrutiny over the lyrics
• Several songs recorded for Troublesome 21 were reused on the final track listing

Recording

• Four singles released: Holler If Ya Hear Me, I Get Around, Keep Ya Head Up, Papa'z Song
• Each single had an accompanying music video

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

• Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... received generally positive reviews from music critics
• Greg Tate in The New Rolling Stone Album Guide: called it Shakur's 'best constructed and most coherent album, and it's also his most militantly political'
• Marisa Brown in AllMusic: production sometimes suffers, especially in the middle of the album, where it's utterly forgettable
• Marisa Brown in AllMusic: the record shows a continually developing MC, with increasingly complex lyrical themes
• Melody Maker: called the album 'an adventure into life on the streets of America'
• Eric Berman in The Source: praised the mix of '60s black political thought and '90s urban reality
• Jonathan Gold in Los Angeles Times: found the production accomplished but described 2Pac as 'a gifted mimic' and 'not an especially deep thinker'
• Ian McCann in Q: described the album as bitter and more distant, with Ice Cube no longer an influence but a guest
• Robert Christgau in Christgau's Consumer Guide: singled out Keep Ya Head Up as the album's only worthy track

Reappraisal

• Critical opinion ranged from praise for the political content to criticism of uneven production and shallow themes

Records

• Debuted at number 24 on the US Billboard 200 and number four on the US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums
• First-week sales of 38,000 units
• I Get Around peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100
• Keep Ya Head Up peaked at number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100
• Papa'z Song peaked at number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100
• RIAA gold certification on September 24, 1993, for over 500,000 copies in the United States
• RIAA platinum certification on April 19, 1995, for over one million copies in the US
• BPI silver certification on April 14, 2007, for over 60,000 units in the UK
• After 2Pac's death in 1996, reached number two on the US Catalog Albums chart

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Trivia

• The title's punctuated abbreviation of 'nigga' stands for 'Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished', a backronym that 2Pac himself fabled
• The second single, I Get Around, features his D.U. band-mates Shock G and Money-B
• Track 1 samples I Heard It Through the Grapevine, as recorded by Roger Troutman
• Track 14 samples Computer Love, as recorded by Zapp
• The album was reissued through Amaru/Jive Records in 1998 and 2003

Sources: en.wikipedia.org

Maps of Ages ↗ (mapsofages.com)

Privacy · Contact