This was Tupac’s first album, released in 1991 on Interscope Records, when he was just 20 years old. It featured 13 tracks. I bought this album when it came out, due to having been a fan of Digital Underground, the group that showcased Tupac’s first record appearance on “Same Song”. How does it stack up today?

1/Young Black Male
An almost semi-typical “gangsta rap” song, with Tupac rapping in a sort of Jamaican cadence about guns and women.

2/Trapped (featuring Shock G)
The debut single, featuring Shock G from Digital Underground on the chorus. A gripping tale of the frustration that a young Black male in America. I still love this song, and when playing it can recite the entire lyrics.

3/Soulja’s Story
A slow track, where Tupac’s voice is artificially slowed down, making it sound much deeper, as he tells the story of a gangsta on the streets. Not really sure what to make of this song.

4/I Don’t Give A Fuck (featuring Pogo)
An uptempo track that is about being fed-up with society and it’s treatment of Blacks.

5/Violent (featuring DJ Fuze, Money B and Mac Mone)
A nice beat, a song about violence, but no just violence on the streets, it’s about violence in the larger society.

6/Words of Wisdom
A dope fast beat, and the straight-out political “message song,” rapping about racism, drugs, poverty, and violence.

7/Something Wicked (featuring Pee-Wee)
Standard rap track, with a beat you could dance to, but nothing special.

8/Crooked Ass Nigga (featuring Stretch)
Another typical gangsta-rap song.

9/If My Homie Calls
The 3rd single released form the song, an uptempo beat, and Tupac rapping about being loyal to his old friends. Very good song.

10/Brenda’s Got a Baby (featuring Dave Hollister)
The 2nd single off this album. Tupac recites a heartwarming rap about a young single mother, over a smooth R&B track.

11/Tha’ Lunatic (featuring Stretch)
Fast beat with braggadocio lyrics.

12/Rebel Of The Underground (featuring Ray Luv & Shock G)
A mix of braggadocio lyrics and politics.

13/Part Time Mutha (featuring Angelique & Poppi)
One of the most creative songs on the album. Over an up-tempo R&B beat, Tupac and his collaborators raps about child abuse, sexual abuse, drugs and single parenthood and it’s effects on the Black community.

Overall it’s a promising debut album. Just the right mix of gangsta and political themese, it’s like what if Eazy E had been produced by Public Enemy? I don’t think anyone, including myself, listening to this album back then would have predicted that Tupac would go to be considered one of the Greatest Rappers of All Time, but his talent was evident from the beginning.

GRADE:

B

2Pacalypse is available on Itunes