Me Against the World is released

Why it matters

Me Against the World came out on Interscope on March 14, 1995, while Tupac was in prison at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York. He recorded the album in late 1994, mostly after the Quad Studios shooting and mostly before the sexual-assault conviction sent him to Rikers. He is the first artist in Billboard history to have a #1 album while incarcerated. This is the album where Tupac's writing turned reflective. "Dear Mama," the lead single. "So Many Tears." "Lord Knows." "If I Die 2Nite." The autobiographical, mortality-aware register that Tupac became famous for is most concentrated here. The album sold three million copies in the United States and went double platinum quickly. It is sometimes lost in the discography between All Eyez on Me (the louder follow-up) and the deeper post-death catalog, but most serious-people lists of Tupac's albums put Me Against the World near the top. You should listen to it in order. The arc of a young man preparing to die is the album's structure. He had no idea, then, how soon he would be right.