Tupac would often rap about the struggles specific to womanhood – especially Black womanhood – in America, and “Keep Ya Head Up” is a bittersweet ode in which Pac calls out the way men treat women. Hearkening back to a bygone era without feeling like a gimmick, “Temptations” describes struggles with relationships, love, and dating, all of which are in Pac’s wheelhouse. Thanks to legendary hip-hop producer Easy Mo Bee (and Erick Sermon of EPMD on a sample), this is one of Pac’s most old-school-inspired tracks. He’s regretful for some of his actions and the situation, but also knows that these events shape him. The album was recorded in 1995 and reflects the somber, introspective mood he was in as he faced an impending jail sentence. Plenty of Tupac songs contain religious references and motifs, but “So Many Tears,” from Me Against The World, directly quotes Psalm 23:4. At this point in his career, it was one of his biggest hits, charting at No. The single is both a quintessential 90s track and Tupac song. The late Shock Gproduced a handful of Tupac’s early songs, but none bigger than “I Get Around.” Tupac was still on his way to becoming a sensation, and he wouldn’t achieve true superstardom for a couple more years. Obviously these artists ended up having very few songs together despite their simultaneous stardom and “Runnin’” tried to course correct that. For the project’s lead single “Runnin’ (Dying to Live,” he recreated one of Tupac’s scrapped collaborations with the Notorious B.I.G. He earned his executive position on Loyal to the Game with a 3-song contribution to the Tupac: Resurrection soundtrack. Notorious B.I.Gīefore he was producing an entire album, Eminem was still ambitious when it came to getting Tupac songs out into the world. He ended up crafting what might be Pac and Nate Dogg’s most beloved song.Ģ2: Runnin’ (Dying to Live) Feat. Eminem’s career would explode shortly after Tupac’s death, and his own association with the same artists, coupled with his brashness, really did make it feel like he was almost stepping into Pac’s role. The two had worked on a handful of songs before Pac’s death, and collaborated with many of the same producers. “I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto” was initially released as B-side in 1993, but took on a new meaning when it was released on R U Still Down?, the rapper’s first posthumous album.Īnother cut off Loyal to the Game, “Thugs Get Lonely Too” was a success not just because of Eminem’s shepherding, but because Eminem (like Tupac) had a working relationship with Nate Dogg. The titular question is, of course, metaphorical, but the earnestness in 2pac’s voice almost makes the question sound literal. He was venomous one moment and disarmingly earnest the next. He might be the first rapper people associate with the word “poet,” even to this day.
Tupac was brash, bombastic, and headstrong, but he was also one of the most introspective rappers of his age.
Somehow, all of this came together on Loyal to the Game’s lead single “Ghetto Gospel,” making it one of the definite singles of 2004. The documentary Tupac: Resurrection had been in theaters just a year earlier Eminem, a lifelong Tupac devotee, was a global superpower and had defiantly performed “Stan” at the Grammys with Elton John, and thanks to Kanye, sampling was bigger than ever. “Ghetto Gospel” is another cut from Loyal to the Game, and despite being a posthumous release, it’s an incredibly of-the-era song and a few factors led to its success. It wouldn’t get a proper release until 2004’s Eminem-produced Loyal to the Game.
Adding to the song’s reputation was the fact that Pac performed “Out on Bail” at the first Source Awards before Interscope pulled it from Thug Life’s debut album. This was before his longer prison stint – earlier in life when a 15-day stint cost him a role in Menace II Society.
Hip-hop has always involved a degree of self-mythologizing, so for better or worse, it helped 2pac’s credibility that he’d actually been to jail.
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