Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...

Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. is the second studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur. It was released on February 16, 1993 via the Interscope Records label. It contains hit songs such as I Get Around and Keep Ya Head Up and is considered Tupac's breakthrough album in America (however, Tupac did not achieve worldwide success until two years later with the album Me Against the World).

Background

The album was originally supposed to be called Troublesome 21, since Tupac was 21 years old at the time of the recording. The reason for the name change is just that Tupac didn't like the name anymore shortly before the album's release. The "N.I.G.G.A.Z." from Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. stands for Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished, according to Tupac.

Similar to its predecessor, the album contains many personal and political songs. For example, Papa'z Song is about Tupac's antipathy towards his father, while Keep Ya Head Up deals with misogyny. According to his own statements, the album originally consisted only of representer 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, although Tupac's companions such as Stretch and Bobby Ervin also contributed several productions.

Special to the album is the high number of guest appearances. For example, only five songs are actual solo songs by Tupac, while two others are skits and nine were recorded along with guest appearances. The guest appearances consisted almost entirely of companions of Tupac such as Deathly Threath, Stretch, Mopreme Shakur, and Money B, though Ice Cube and Ice-T were the first time more prominent representatives were featured on a Tupac album. It is not known how exactly the collaboration came about.

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 through sixteen, was called Dark Side.

Texts

The album's lyrics are not necessarily different from those on 2Pacalypse Now, but are more multifaceted and include the harsh realities of American ghettos as well as several of Tupac's personal stories and rep tracks common to rap music. Particularly often on the album, Tupac rails against American police and advises black people to stand up against police violence and racism, such as on the track Souljah's Revenge, where Tupac plays a person named Souljah alongside himself, encouraging him to take action against police violence in America. Particularly often addressed on the album is Tupac's father, who abandoned the family when Tupac was only a few months old. Several tracks take side swipes at him (e.g. Last Wordz, Guess Who's Back), while Papa'z Song even deals with him in full. The solo song The Streets R Deathrow is also worth mentioning.

Title List

1. holler if you hear me
2. Pac's Theme (Interlude)
3. point the finga
Something 2 Die 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 N.I.G.G.A.Z. (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)