All Eyez on Me [Clean] [Edited]

Performer: 2Pac
Artist: Puff Johnson; Snoop Dogg; Nate Dogg; Tha Dogg Pound; George Clinton; Dr. Dre; Method Man; Redman; C-Bo; Michel'le; Roger Troutman; E-40
Distributor: E1 Distribution (USA)

Notes: This is an Enhanced audio CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files including the video for "California Love." Personnel: 2Pac, Syke, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Dru Down, Dat Nigga Daz, Kurupt, Redman, Method Man, Rappin' 4-Tay, Dramacydal, C-Bo, Storm, Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, Danny Boy, George Clinton, Outlaw Immortalz, Jewell, CPO, Michel'le, KC, JoJo, Mutah, E-40, B-Legit, Richie Rich (vocals); Roger Troutman, David Blake (talkbox); Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas (keyboards); Carl "Butch" Small (percussion); Barbara Wilson, Danette Williams, Dorothy Coleman, Natasha Walker, Puff Johnson, Ebony (background vocals). Producers include: Dat Nigga Daz, Johnny "J," 2Pac, DeVante, David Blake. Engineers include: Dave Aron, Rick Clifford, Tommy D. Recorded at Can-Am Studios, Tarzana, California. All tracks have been digitally remastered. ALL EYEZ ON ME was nominated for a 1997 Grammy Award for Best Rap Album. "California Love," featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman, and "How Do U Want It," featuring KC and JoJo, were both nominated for the 1997 Grammy for Best Rap Performance By A Duo Or Group. This is an enhanced audio CD which contains regular audio tracks and multimedia computer files. Personnel includes: 2 Pac, Snoop Doggy Dog, Dr. Dre, Nate Dogg, Redman, Method Man, Rappin' 4-Tay, Outlawz, B-Legit, Richie Rich, Big Syke, C-Bo, Storm (rap vocals); KC, Jo Jo, George Clinton, (vocals); Sean "Barney Rubble" Thomas (keyboards); Roger Troutman, David Blake (voice synthesizer); Carl "Butch" Small (percussion); Barbara Wilson, Stacey Smallie, Dorothy Coleman, Natasha Walker, Puff Johnson, Ebony, Danny Boy (background vocals). Producers include: Dat Nigga Daz, Johnny J, 2 Pac, DeVante, David Blake. Engineers include: Dave Aron, Rick Clifford, Tommy D. All tracks have been digitally remastered. Personnel: 2Pac (rap vocals); Nate Dogg, Snoop Dogg (rap vocals); Danny Boy, George Clinton , Puff Johnson (background vocals). Maybe it was his time in prison, or maybe it was simply his signing with Suge Knight's Death Row label. Whatever the case, 2Pac re-emerged hardened and hungry with All Eyez on Me, the first double-disc album of original material in hip-hop history. With all the controversy surrounding him, 2Pac seemingly wanted to throw down a monumental epic whose sheer scope would make it an achievement of itself. But more than that, it's also an unabashed embrace of the gangsta lifestyle, backing off the sober self-recognition of Me Against the World. Sure, there are a few reflective numbers and dead-homiez tributes, but they're much more romanticized this time around. All Eyez on Me is 2Pac the thug icon in all his brazen excess, throwing off all self-control and letting it all hang out -- even if some of it would have been better kept to himself. In that sense, it's an accurate depiction of what made him such a volatile and compelling personality, despite some undeniable filler. On the plus side, this is easily the best production he's ever had on record, handled mostly by Johnny J (notably on the smash "How Do U Want It") and Dat Nigga Daz; Dr. Dre also contributes another surefire single in "California Love" (which, unfortunately, is present only as a remix, not the original hit version). Both hits are on the front-loaded first disc, which would be a gangsta classic in itself; other highlights include the anthemic Snoop Dogg duet "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted," "All About U" (with the required Nate Dogg-sung hook), and "I Ain't Mad at Cha," a tribute to old friends who've gotten off the streets. Despite some good moments, the second disc is slowed by filler and countless guest appearances, plus a few too many thug-lovin' divas crooning their loyalty. Erratic though it may be, All Eyez on Me is nonetheless carried off with the assurance of a legend in his own time, and it stands as 2Pac's magnum opus. ~ Steve Huey The first double-CD of original material by a rap artist, ALL EYEZ ON ME marks 2Pac's return from incarceration to the recording grind. And though Tupac Shakur may have spent the better part of 1995 locked up and battling the system, the album makes it obvious that, rather than degenerating his artistic abilities, the struggles have only elevated his skills. Now, with the backing of West Coast hip-hop's first family, Death Row Records, 2Pac gathers together many of the rap ruling class to celebrate his comeback and give the finger to those who've scrutinized his music and aggravated his existence. While California has always been his base of operations (he began his career as a member of Oakland's Digital Underground), 2Pac is one of the few '90s rappers to earn props on both coasts. ALL EYEZ ON ME reciprocates the respect by toasting the west ("California Love," a duet with Dr. Dre), the east ("Got My Mind Made Up" features NYC strong-men, Redman and Method Man), and the old-school funkateers (George Clinton shows up on "Can't C Me"). The consistently fierce production by a diverse army of beat-fiends keeps the album pumping, seemingly diverting the mainstream consumers' attention away from the rapper's volatile stance. But 2Pac does not shy away from speaking his mind; he's simply learning which confrontations are truly worth it ("Only God Can Judge Me"). Because peace is that much harder to find when so many eyez are on ya.

Rolling Stone (5/13/99, p.74) - Included in Rolling Stone's "Essential Recordings of the 90's." Rolling Stone (4/4/96, p.60) - 3 Stars (out of 5) - "...Even as garden-variety thug, 2Pac shows more skill than most. He deserves to have all eyes--and ears--on him." Spin (5/96, p.106) - 7 (out of 10) - "...As long as you don't expect philanthropy from him, you'll find honesty and some pleasurably twisted scenarios..." Entertainment Weekly (12/27/96-1/3/97, p.146) - Ranked #3 on Entertainment Weekly's list of the `Top 10 Albums And Singles Of 1996.' Entertainment Weekly (3/8/96, p.64) - "...On ALL EYEZ ON ME, 2Pac is clearly thrilled to host his own bustin'-out party. But even on this booty-shaking album, he's watching his back throughout the entire bash." Q (12/99, p.90) - Included in Q Magazine's "90 Best Albums Of The 1990s." Q (7/01, p.130) - 4 stars out of 5 - "...One of the few occasions where 2Pac's music matches his kinetic personality....he really was the peerless embodiment of gangsta rap, a strutting provocateur staking out turf, calling out enemies and consoling peers..." Musician (6/96, p.90) - "...gangsta rappers pretty much share the values of their Republican detractors: the emphasis on making money, the righteousness of bearing arms, the wonderfulness of consumption, respect for hierarchy and loyalty to one's own as overriding principles..." Rap Pages (5/96, p.30) - 7 (out of 10) - "...Backed by `everything we push goes platinum' Death Row Records and a new crew of comrades...the lyrical Jesse James is back to expound on his lengthy dogmas within the infrastructure of his music....[T]his album conveys sudden gleams of brilliance and thick and chunky hits, radio-friendly or not..." NME (Magazine) (3/2/96, p.47) - 9 (out of 10) - "...ALL EYEZ is his angry, end-of-tether, couldn't-give-a-shit meditation....an immense spewing of indignation and provocation, set to a brilliantly varied range of G-funk grooves....Tupac blasts out his non-PC opinions...with a competition-eliminating relentlessness..."

Beginning his career in the early 1990s as a member of the Oakland rap-funksters Digital Underground, 2Pac rose to become perhaps the single most controversial figure in rap music, easily equal in popularity and notoriety to Snoop Dogg on the West Coast and sometime rival Notorious B.I.G. out East. Taking his moniker from a South American revolutionary, 2Pac managed to embrace themes of black self-determination and social conscience without dulling the edge of his thug image. Achieving almost unrivalled popularity while alive, 2Pac had a penchant for religious and iconic motifs, ensuring his status as a rap martyr after his murder in 1996.

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