Tupac’s ‘All Eyez On Me’ At 25: A Look Back

By JC Villamere. 13 Feb 2021 6:29 AM

Although Tupac Shakur’s career was cut short, he still managed to become one of the bestselling music stars of all time. Shakur’s double-album opus, All Eyez On Me, is now as old as he ever was, and, like him, it’s as essential as ever.

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'All Eyez' Is Beloved

On February 13, 1996, Shakur dropped his fourth album, 'All Eyez On Me'. Critics loved it. Fans loved it. Shakur's 27-song collection debuted at #1 and Pitchfork graded it a 9.4. It sold 566,000 copies in its first week. His highest-selling album charted on the Billboard 200 for an astounding 105 weeks (that's, like, more than two years, you guys).
The Suge Surge

Like all great epics, this album has a heck of an origin story. It starts in prison. In the fall of 1995, Shakur was in jail on charges of sexual abuse. In exchange for bail, he signed a record contract with shady Suge Knight's Death Row Records. It was a three-album deal. As a double album (mainstream hip hop's first), 'All Eyez On Me' counted as two albums.
Back At The Top

'All Eyez On Me' was Shakur's second #1 album, following 'Me Against the World', which he had released the previous year while in prison. 'Me Against the World' stayed at the top of the chart for four weeks, and the lead single "Dear Mama" was a top-10 hit.
Euthanasia Was Not To Be

In a 1995 interview with MTV's Bill Bellamy, Shakur explained that the album's working title was 'Euthanasia' but was changed during the recording process. "It's called 'All Eyez on Me', that's how I feel it is," Tupac told Bellamy. "I got the police watching me, the Feds. I got the females that want to charge me with false charges and sue me and all that. I got the females that like me. I got the jealous homeboys and I got the homies that roll with me. Everybody's looking to see what I'mma do now, so 'All Eyez on Me'."
Had People Been Watching?

Yep. All eyes were on Tupac. Then-U.S. vice--president Dan Quayle had his eyes all over Tupac after his debut record, 1995's '2Pacalypse Now', was brought up in court. A defence lawyer claimed his client, who was accused of murdering a state trooper, was inspired by the album's police brutality themes. Quayle stated, "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society."
All You Need Is Love

The lead single from 'All All Eyez On Me' was "California Love" featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman. With a Mad Max-inspired video and a Joe Cocker sample, it stayed in the #1 spot for eight weeks after it was released in December 1995.
'California Love'

"California Love" was nominated for a Grammy Award as a Best Rap Solo Performance and Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group in 1997. Shakur has been nominated for six Grammys, but he never took home the hardware. What he has instead, though, is an exhibit at the Grammy Museum. "All Eyez On Me: The Writings Of Tupac Shakur" (pictured) opened in 2015 in L.A.
Hologram Tupac Has Entered The Game

Fans had to wait until May '96 for the followup single to "California Love", "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" featuring rapper Snoop Dogg. In 2012, the famed Hologram Tupac (pictured) reprised this song on stage with Snoop Dog at the Coachella Festival.
'How Do U Want It'

The third single, "How Do U Want It" with R&B duo K-Ci & JoJo was featured in the 1997 film "Gang Related" (pictured). "Gang Related" also became Shakur's last film appearance. The #1 hit song was nominated at the 1997 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Performance by a Duo or Group. You may also know it as the one that samples Quincy Jones' "Body Heat" and/or the one with the renaissance costume wild sex party video.
You Tell Me It's Trouble

When Shakur was sprung from prison in 1995, he started working on 'All Eyez On Me' immediately. In fact, the track "I Ain't Mad at Cha" was recorded on the same day he was released. "When I talk about money all you see is the struggle / When I tell you I'm livin' large you tell me it's trouble", he raps in the song, which samples "A Dream" by DeBarge. Shakur wouldn't live to see it released as the album's fourth single, however. At age 25, he was the fatal victim of a drive-by shooting and died on September 13, 1996. His murder has never been solved. "I Ain't Mad at Cha" was released two days later.
Is The Vice-President Still Watching?

Yes. But she's done a 180-degree turn since the days of Dan Quale. In 2020, Vice-President Kamala Harris called Shakur the "best rapper alive." This slip-up only fuelled conspiracy theories that he was still alive. Since 1996, there has been speculation that instead of succumbing to his injuries, he was flown to Cuba by helicopter. Was he switched with a body double in this scenario? Obviously. The 2020 documentary "2Pac: The Great Escape from UMC", claims Tupac is actually hiding out in New Mexico. More reliable narratives are presented in the Oscar-nominated 2003 documentary "Tupac: Resurrection" and in the 2017 bio-drama, "All Eyez on Me".
You Feel Pac

Since his passing, five albums of Shakur's recordings have been released, and each one has sold over a million copies. Today's biggest rappers praise his influence. In his 2009 book, 'How to Rap', 50 Cent wrote, "Every rapper who grew up in the '90s owes something to Tupac. He didn't sound like anyone who came before him." Eminem wrote in 'Paper' magazine that Shakur "was taking things further than a lot of rappers at the time -- pushing it to the next level as far as giving feeling to his words and his music. A lot of people say, 'You feel Pac,' and it's absolutely true."

Tupac’s ‘All Eyez On Me’ At 25: A Look Back

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