Me Against The Word: 30 Years Later

When I checked out TAFKA Twitter this morning, one of the things I came across was a lot of people noting that yesterday was the thirtieth anniversary of a 2Pac album.

Me Against The World was released when Tupac Shakur was serving time in prison. It is one of his most iconic albums featuring classics like Dear Mama and Temptations - which appeared on 2Pac's greatest hits album a few years after he died.

I've written in the past about how some of the songs on Me Against The World could be used as a soundtrack to my life back then.

I recall watching the videos of the aforementioned songs on MTV during the daytimes shortly after I had left school to revise for my GCSEs. 

2Pac had entered my life almost a year earlier via two songs he recorded for the Warren G and Nate Dogg Regulate single. I loved Loyal To The Game and Pain so much that I would always stop to catch the videos for those two songs from Me Against The World whenever they aired on the music channel.

But - that's not all.

The most significant memory I have of the album also involves my GCSEs. 

A few of us walked up to the school on results day to find out our grades. As we were leaving, with our grades in hands, a lad from our year was being driven into the school grounds with the title track booming out of the speakers.

It was the first time I had heard Me Against The World. I vividly recall thinking to myself 'ahh, that must be from that 2Pac album'. Back then, my friends didn't know 2Pac. They were going to soon enough, though.

I ended up buying the album. Eventually. It must have been over a year later, though. That's because the first 2Pac album I owned was All Eyez On Me, which came out in early1996. 

I'm sure I'll write about that one when it celebrates its 30th next year. For now, I'm going to pop in my earbuds and listen to Me Against The World.