Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ
| Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ | |||||||||
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| Studio album from 2Pac | |||||||||
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Publication |
February 16, 1993 |
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| Label (s) | Interscope Records | ||||||||
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Format (s) |
CD, LP, cassette |
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Title (number) |
16 |
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running time |
63 min, 55 s |
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| occupation | Guest appearances:
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Afron Gregory, DJ Deryl, Tupac Shakur |
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Studio (s) |
Starlight Sound Studio, Echo Sound Studio, Unique Recording Studio |
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Chart positions Explanation of the data |
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| Singles | ||||||||||||
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Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ is the second studio album by the US rapper Tupac Shakur . It was released on February 16, 1993 on the Interscope Records label. It contains hit songs like I Get Around or Keep Ya Head Up and is considered Tupac's breakthrough in America (Tupac only achieved global success two years later with the album Me Against the World ).
background
The album was originally supposed to be called Troublesome 21 as Tupac was 21 years old at the time of recording. The reason for the change of name is only that Tupac no longer liked the name shortly before the album was released. According to Tupac, the “NIGGAZ” from Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ stands for N ever I gnorant G etting G oals A ccomplished.
Similar to its predecessor , the album contains many personal and political songs. So acts z. B. Papa'z song of Tupac's antipathy towards his father, while Keep Ya Head Up with misogyny apart sets. According to their own statements, the album originally only consisted of representative tracks, as Tupac wanted to set a contrast to 2Pacalypse Now .
production
Due to Tupac's increasing popularity during the recording phase, he recorded the album in three different studios, which also explains the difference in quality between the different songs. The album was largely produced by DJ Daryl, Afron Gregory and Tupac, but Tupac's companions such as B. Stretch or Bobby Ervin in several productions.
The high number of guest appearances is special for the album. So only five songs are real solo songs by Tupac, while two more are skits and nine were recorded together with guest appearances. The guest appearances consisted almost exclusively of companions of Tupac such as B. Deathly Threath, Stretch, Mopreme Shakur and Money B, however, with Ice Cube and Ice-T , more prominent representatives were also represented on a Tupac album for the first time. How exactly the cooperation came about is not known.
The vinyl version of the album was split into two parts. Instead of Book A , the first half, which includes the first eight tracks, was called Black Side and the second half, which includes songs nine to sixteen, was called Dark Side .
Texts
The lyrics on the album do not necessarily differ from those on 2Pacalypse Now , but they are more multifaceted and, in addition to the harsh reality in American ghettos, also include several personal stories from Tupac and typical rap music representative tracks. The American police are particularly often hounded on the album and black people are advised to stand up against police violence and racism . E.g. on the track Souljah's Revenge , on which Tupac plays a person named Souljah next to himself , who encourages him to take action against police violence in America. Tupac's father, who left the family when Tupac was only a few months old, is mentioned particularly often on the album. Swipes are dealt against him on several tracks (e.g. Last Wordz , Guess Who's Back ), while Papa'z Song even deals with him completely. The solo song The Streets R Deathrow should also be emphasized .
Track list
- 1. Holler If You Hear Me
- 2. Pac's Theme (Interlude)
- 3. Point The Finga
- 4. Something 2 The 4 (Interlude)
- 5. Last Wordz (feat. Ice-T and Ice Cube )
- 6. Souljah's Revenge
- 7. Peep Game (feat. Deadly Threat)
- 8. Strugglin '(feat. Live Squad)
- 9. Guess Who's Back
- 10. Representin '93
- 11. Keep Ya Head Up (feat. Dave Hollister)
- 12. Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ (feat. Pacific Heights)
- 13. The Streetz R Deathrow (feat. Ice Cube )
- 14. I Get Around (feat. Shock G and Money-B)
- 15. Papa'z Song (feat. Wycked and Poppi)
- 16. Deadly Venomz (feat. Treach, Apache and Live Squad)
reception
| source | rating |
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| Allmusic |
  
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| Los Angeles Times |
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| The Source |
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| RateYourMusic | 3.29 / 5 |
| AOTY (critic) | 85/100 |
| AOTY (user) | 79/100 |
| Rolling Stone |
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| SputnikMusic |
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The album was able to sell around one million times in America and two million times around the world by 2011, which is why it was awarded double platinum. It reached number 24 on the Billboard Hot 100. Overall, the album stayed in the charts for over 60 weeks. The singles for the album were also successful; I Get Around and Keep Ya Head Up both made it to # 12 on the charts, while Papa'z Song made it to # 27. I Get Around and Keep Ya Head Up were both sold 500,000 times each and were therefore awarded gold.
The album was received differently by critics. While Strictly 4 My Niggaz is described as a classic by some critics, other well-known magazines such as B. the Los Angeles Times the "... lack of variety in beats ..." and the "... lack of big hits." From other magazines such as B. the source , the album was largely positively received and above all praised that "... [Tupac] says what comes into his head and does not mince words." Jordan Sargent from SPIN magazine calls it "... hard enough for the gangsters, thoughtful enough for everyone else ... Pac proved he could go pop ... "
Web links
- DJ Kitsune: 2Pac - Strictly 4 my NIGGAZ (1993) // Review. In: Juice Magazine. September 12, 2016. Retrieved January 28, 2017 .
- "Butta": SoulBounce's Class Of 1993: 2Pac 'Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ' In: Soulbounce. September 4, 2013, accessed January 28, 2017 .
Individual evidence
- ↑ 2Pac Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ in the US-American charts Billboard 200
- ↑ Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ at Allmusic (English). Retrieved October 27, 2016.
- ↑ Cheo Hodari Coker: Making a list? Checking it twice? Here are some guidelines to keep befuddled spouses, parents of teenagers and others on the right track. In: Los Angeles Times . December 8, 1996, accessed October 1, 2011 .
- ↑ Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ In: RateYourMusic.com. Retrieved January 28, 2017 .
- ↑ a b Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ on AlbumOfTheYear.com (AOTY)
- ↑ Tupac Shakur. Album Guide. In: Rolling Stone . Archived from the original on February 25, 2011 ; accessed on January 28, 2017 .
- ↑ 2Pac. Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ In: SputnikMusic. October 11, 2012, accessed January 28, 2017 .
- ↑ Jordan Sargent: 2Pac, Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ (Interscope). In: SPIN. November 18, 2013, accessed January 28, 2017 .