Tupac Shakur hit the studio with a vengeance when he touched down in California in October of 1996 after being shot five times and sitting in jail for a crime he knew he did not commit. All Eyez on Me, an album that helped establish both a genre and a career of its own, was the result.
As brazen as it was ambitious—it was hip-hop's first double album, his fourth LP overall—the project is coated with winding West Coast synths, shameless boasts, death threats and “thug life” aphorisms. The LP showcases 'Pac in all of his Gemini multitudes, bigger, bolder and better. He could be vengeful one moment, as demonstrated on “Ambitions Az a Ridah” and “When We Ride,” and touching the next, displayed on “I Ain't Mad At Cha.” The contradictions weren't new; he'd been flipping the switch since his 1993 LP, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…. But AEOM was noticeably more intense.
Although before he actually dropped the record, the stylistic DNA of All Eyez on Me existed, the then 24-year-old rapper was harder and more unapologetic than on his 1995 album, Me Against the World. He'd been ambivalent before about a thuggish lifestyle. He's gripping the AK-47, but only in response to danger. He fires first at All Eyez on Me, and there is no mercy.
Songs like “When We Ride,” “Ambitionz Az a Ridah” and “Ain't Hard 2 Find” see him provoking his would-be killers from the year before. On “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted,” he posits himself as one of America's most-wanted criminals, teaming up with Snoop Dogg, who was facing a murder charge at the time, in the process. With slick bars and a hard beat, the two created an indelible anthem.
Meanwhile, on his more sentimental side, 'Pac delivered an ode to old homies with “I Ain't Mad At Cha” and a song dedicated to friends he lost in the streets on “Life Goes On.” Sometimes, he just focused on flossing, basking in the moment he'd been waiting for as he sat behind prison walls in upstate New York. On “Picture Me Rollin',” he taunts the judge and anyone else who doubted him as he paints a picture of himself in 4-D. Anyone that wants to imagine 'Pac at his best only had to play this album.
27. “Skandalouz”
Tupac Shakur featuring Nate Dogg
26. “Tradin' War Stories”
Tupac Shakur featuring CPO, Outlawz, C-Bo and Storm
25. “Whatz Ya Phone #”
Tupac Shakur featuring Danny Boy
24. “Holla at Me”
23. “Run Tha Streetz”
Tupac Shakur featuring Michel'le, Mutah and Storm
22. “No More Pain”
Tupac Shakur
21. “Wonda Why They Call U Bitch”
Tupac Shakur
20. “Heaven Ain't Hard 2 Find”
Tupac Shakur
