All Eyez on Me

This article is about the 2Pac album. For other uses, see All Eyez on Me (disambiguation).
All Eyez on Me
Studio album by 2Pac
Released February 13, 1996
Recorded October 1995; Can-Am Studios (Los Angeles)
Genre Gangsta rap, G-funk
Length 132:18
Label Death Row Records, Interscope Records
Producer Suge Knight (exec.)
DJ Quik, Dat Nigga Daz, DeVanté, DJ Pooh, Dr. Dre, Lawlay, Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin, Johnny "J", Mike Mosley, Doug Rasheed, Rick Rock, QD3, 2Pac
2Pac chronology
Me Against the World
(1995)		 All Eyez on Me
(1996)		 The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
(1996)
Singles from All Eyez on Me
  1. "California Love"
    Released: December 28, 1995
  2. "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted"
    Released: May 7, 1996
  3. "How Do U Want It"
    Released: June 4, 1996
  4. "All About U"
    Released: August 13, 1996
  5. "Life Goes On"
    Released: September 11, 1996
  6. "I Ain't Mad at Cha"
    Released: September 15, 1996
Professional ratings
Review scores
SourceRating
Allmusic[1]
Entertainment WeeklyB+[2]
NME9/10[3]
Q[3]
The Source[4]
Spin7/10[5]
USA Today[6]
XXL[7]

All Eyez on Me is the fourth studio album by American rapper 2Pac, released on February 13, 1996 under Death Row Records and distributed by Interscope Records.

The album is frequently recognized as one of the crowning achievements of 1990s rap music.[8] The album featured the Billboard Hot 100 number one singles "How Do U Want It" and "California Love". It featured five singles in all, the most of any of Shakur's albums. Moreover, All Eyez On Me (which was the only Death Row release to be distributed through PolyGram by way of Island Records) made history as the first double-full-length hip-hop solo studio album released for mass consumption. It was issued on two compact discs and four LPs.

All Eyez on Me was the second album from 2Pac to hit number-one on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.[9] The album won the 1997 Soul Train R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year Award.[10][11] Shakur also won the Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist at the 24th Annual American Music Awards and is also commonly referred to as one of the greatest hip hop/rap albums of all time.[12] The album was certified Diamond by the RIAA on July 23, 2014.[13][14]

Recording

In October 1995, Suge Knight and Jimmy Iovine paid the $1.4 million bail necessary to get Shakur released from jail on charges of sexual abuse. At the time, Shakur was broke and thus unable to make bail himself. All Eyez On Me was released following an agreement between Knight and Shakur which stated Shakur would make three albums under Death Row Records in return for them paying his bail. Fulfilling part of Shakur's brand new contract, this double-album served as the first two albums of his three album contract.

The songs on All Eyez on Me are, in general, unapologetic celebrations of living the "Thug Lifestyle". Though there is the occasional reminiscence about past and present friends, it is a definite move away from the social and political consciousness of 2Pacalypse Now and Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..

The album features occasional guest spots from 2Pac's regulars, such as former-Thug Life members and The Outlawz, as well as Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Tha Dogg Pound, Nate Dogg, and George Clinton, Rappin' 4-Tay, The Click, Method Man, and Redman among others. The song "Heartz of Men" samples a portion of Richard Pryor's comedy album That Nigger's Crazy. Most of the album was produced by Johnny "J" and Daz Dillinger, with help from Dr. Dre on the songs "California Love", which he himself appeared in also as an album guest spot, and "Can't C Me", which was Clinton's appearance.

Critical reception

All Eyez on Me received critical acclaim from a number of sources. The album was included in Rolling Stone's essential recordings of the 1990s.[15] Spin magazine gave it a 10 out of 10, writing that, "As long as you don't expect philanthropy from Tupac, you'll find honesty and some pleasurably twisted scenarios."[16] The record ranked No. 3 on Entertainment Weekly's list of Top 10 albums of 1996.[17] A number of other sources celebrated or reacted to the album.[18] AMG stated that "despite some undeniable filler, it is easily the best production 2Pac's ever had on record".[19]

On MTV's Greatest Rappers of All Time list, All Eyez On Me was listed as one of 2Pac's "certified classic" albums, along with 2Pacalypse Now, Me Against the World, and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.[20]

Accolades

Publication Country Accolade Year Rank
FNAC France The 1000 Best Albums of All Time 2008 461
Rock & Folk The Best Albums from 1963 to 1999 1999 *
Babylon Greece The 50 Best Albums of the 1990s 48
Hip-Hop Connection United Kingdom The 100 Greatest Rap Albums 1995-2005 2005 35
The New Nation Top 100 Albums by Black Artists 64
Q The Ultimate Music Collection *
90 Albums of the 90s 1999 *
rap.About.com United States 100 Greatest Hip Hop Albums[22] 2008 80
Best Rap Albums of 1996[23] 1
Tom Moon 1000 Recordings to Hear Before You Die *
Entertainment Weekly The 100 Best Albums from 1983 to 2008 87
Ego Trip Hip Hop's 25 Greatest Albums by Year 1980-98 1999 14
Rolling Stone The Essential Recordings of the 90s *
100 Best Albums of the Nineties[24] 2010 50
Complex (magazine) The 90 Best Rap Albums of the '90s 2014 10
Soulja Boy's 25 Favorite Albums Of All Time[25] 2010 1
Kendrick Lamar's 25 Favorite Albums[26] 2012 *
Vibe The 50 Greatest Albums Since '93 2013 51
RollingOut The 20 Greatest West Coast Hip-Hop Albums Of All Time[27] 6
News Ltd. Australia 100 Albums You Must Have in Your Collection[28] *
Giannis Petridis Greece Albums of the Century[29] 2003 *

Commercial success

All Eyez on Me has shipped 5,000,000 copies in the United States as of July 23, 2014 and has been certified Diamond by the RIAA (because a double album worth 2 copies), which makes it one of the best-selling albums in the U.S.[30][31] The album was certified for 300,000 sales in the UK by BPI by 1 January 1997.[32] It has charted on Billboard 200 for 105 weeks in total.

All Eyez on Me is 2Pac's best selling album.[31] It was re-released in 2001 as enhanced CDs containing the "California Love" music video. Both discs contained the same data track. It was also re-released as a Dual-Disc in 2005.

Track listing

Disc 1: Book 1
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Ambitionz Az a Ridah"  
Dat Nigga Daz 4:39
2. "All About U" (featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg, Nate Dogg, Dru Down, Yaki Kadafi & Hussein Fatal)
 4:37
3. "Skandalouz" (featuring Nate Dogg)
  • Shakur
  • Arnaud
Daz 4:09
4. "Got My Mind Made Up" (featuring Daz Dillinger, Kurupt, Method Man & Redman)
Daz 5:14
5. "How Do U Want It" (featuring K-Ci & JoJo)
  • Shakur
  • Jackson
Johnny "J" 4:47
6. "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" (featuring Snoop Doggy Dogg)
Daz 4:07
7. "No More Pain"  
DeVanté 4HISDAMNSELF ENT. 6:14
8. "Heartz of Men"  
David Blake (DJ Quik) 4:43
9. "Life Goes On"  
  • Shakur
  • Jackson
  • Stacey Smallie
Johnny "J" 5:02
10. "Only God Can Judge Me" (featuring Rappin' 4-Tay)
  • Shakur
  • Doug Rasheed
  • Rasheed
  • Harold Scrap Freddie
 4:57
11. "Tradin' War Stories" (featuring Dramacydal, C-Bo & Storm)
  • Shakur
  • Mike Mosley
 5:29
12. "California Love" (Remix; featuring Dr. Dre & Roger Troutman)
Dr. Dre 6:25
13. "I Ain't Mad at Cha" (featuring Danny Boy)
  • Shakur
  • Arnaud
Daz 4:53
14. "What'z Ya Phone #" (featuring Danny Boy)
  • Shakur
  • Jackson
  • Johnny "J"
  • 2Pac
 5:10
Disc 2: Book 2
No. TitleWriter(s)Producer(s) Length
1. "Can't C Me" (featuring George Clinton)
  • Shakur
  • Dr. Dre
Dr. Dre 5:30
2. "Shorty Wanna Be a Thug"  
  • Shakur
  • Jackson
Johnny "J" 3:51
3. "Holla at Me"  
Bobby "Bobcat" Ervin 4:55
4. "Wonda Why They Call U Bitch"  
  • Shakur
  • Jackson
  • Johnny "J"
  • 2Pac
 4:19
5. "When We Ride" (featuring Outlaw Immortalz)
  • DJ Pooh
  • 2Pac
 5:09
6. "Thug Passion" (featuring Jewell, Dramacydal & Storm)
  • Johnny "J"
  • 2Pac
 5:08
7. "Picture Me Rollin'" (featuring Danny Boy, CPO & Big Syke)
Johnny "J" 5:15
8. "Check Out Time" (featuring Kurupt & Big Syke)
  • Shakur
  • Jackson
  • Himes
  • Brown
  • Johnny "J"
  • 2Pac
 4:39
9. "Ratha Be Ya Nigga" (featuring Richie Rich)
  • Shakur
  • Rasheed
Rasheed 4:14
10. "All Eyez on Me" (featuring Big Syke)
Johnny "J" 5:08
11. "Run tha Streetz" (featuring Michel'le, Napoleon & Storm)
  • Shakur
  • Jackson
  • Johnny "J"
  • 2Pac
 5:16
12. "Ain't Hard 2 Find" (featuring E-40, B-Legit, D-Shot, C-Bo & Richie Rich)
  • Shakur
  • Mosley
Mike Mosley and Rick Rock 4:30
13. "Heaven Ain't Hard 2 Find" (featuring Danny Boy)
QD3 3:58

Notes

Sample credits

Personnel

Credits for All Eyez on Me adapted from Allmusic and CD booklet.[35][36]

  • 2Pac — associate producer, composer, primary artist, producer
  • Suge Knight — executive producer
  • Norris Anderson — production manager
  • Delmar "Daz" Arnaud — composer
  • Dave Aron — engineer, mixing
  • Big Syke — featured artist
  • Larry Blackmon — composer
  • David Blake — composer, mixing, producer, talk box
  • B-Legit — featured artist
  • Bobcat — composer
  • Calvin Broadus — composer
  • R. Brown — composer
  • C-BO — featured artist
  • Larry Chatman — associate producer
  • Rick Clifford — engineer
  • G. Clinton, Jr. — composer
  • George Clinton — composer, featured artist, vocals
  • Nanci Fletcher - featured artist, vocals
  • Dorothy Coleman — background vocals
  • W. Collins — composer
  • Kenn Cox — composer
  • CPO — featured artist
  • Woody Cunningham — composer
  • Tommy D. Daugherty — engineer
  • Danny Boy — featured artist
  • Dat Nigga Daz — featured artist, producer
  • Robert Diggs — composer
  • DJ Pooh — composer, mixing, producer
  • Dr. Dre — composer, featured artist, mixing, producer
  • Tha Dogg Pound — featured artist
  • Nate Dogg — featured artist, vocals
  • Dramacydal — featured artist
  • Dru Down — featured artist
  • Norman Durham — composer
  • E-40 — featured artist
  • Ebony — background vocals
  • Bobby Ervin — composer, producer
  • Fatal — featured artist
  • Brian Gardner — mastering
  • Michael Geiser — associate engineer
  • Yaki Kadafi — featured artist
  • Nathaniel Hale — composer
  • C. Haskins — composer
  • Johnny Jackson — composer
  • Jewell — featured artist
  • Johnny "J" — mixing, producer
  • Puff Johnson — background vocals
  • Jojo the Elf — featured artist
  • E. Jordan — composer
  • Kurupt — featured artist
  • Alvin McGill — associate engineer, engineer
  • Method Man — featured artist
  • Michel'le — featured artist
  • Mike Mosley — assistant engineer, composer, mixing, producer
  • Nanci Fletcher - featured artist
  • Shirley Murdock — composer
  • Ken Nahoum — photography
  • Outlawz — featured artist
  • J.P. Pennington — composer
  • Prince — composer
  • George Pryce — art direction, design
  • QD3 — composer
  • Rappin' 4-Tay — featured artist
  • Doug Rasheed — composer, producer
  • Danny Ray — background vocals
  • Redman — featured artist
  • Richie Rich — featured artist
  • Rick Rock — producer
  • Patrick Shevelin — associate engineer
  • Carl "Butch" Small — percussion
  • Stacey Smallie — background vocals
  • C. Smith — composer
  • Henry "Hendogg" Smith — illustrations
  • Snoop Doggy Dogg — featured artist, vocals
  • Troy Staton — engineer
  • D. Stevens — composer
  • E. Stevens — composer
  • D. Stewart - composer
  • The Storm — featured artist
  • DeVanté Swing — composer, mixing, producer
  • Roy Tesfay — production co-ordination
  • Rahiem Prince Thomas — composer
  • S. Thomas — composer
  • Sean "Barney" Thomas — keyboards
  • Larry Troutman — composer
  • Roger Troutman — composer, featured artist, talk box, unknown contributor role
  • Natasha Walker — background vocals
  • Carlos Warlick — engineer, mixing
  • Barbara Warren — stylist, unknown contributor role
  • Bruce Washington — composer
  • Danette Williams — background vocals
  • Barbara Wilson — background vocals
  • Nanci Fletcher - background vocals
  • Keston Wright — engineer

Charts

Weekly charts

Chart (1996) Peak
position
Australian Albums Chart[37] 19
Belgium Charts (Flanders)[38] 44
Belgium Charts (Wallonia)[39] 34
Dutch Albums Chart[40] 11
French Albums Chart[41] 15
German Albums Chart[42] 16
New Zealand Albums Chart[43] 15
Norwegian Albums Chart[44] 14
Swedish Albums Chart[45] 5
Switzerland Albums Chart[46] 15
UK Albums Chart[47][48] 32
US Billboard 200[49] 1
US Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums (Billboard)[49] 1
Chart (1999) Peak
position
French Albums Chart[50] 99
Chart (2002) Peak
position
UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[51] 65
Chart (2003) Peak
position
Irish Albums Chart[52] 62
UK Albums (Official Charts Company)[51] 74

End of decade charts

Chart (1990–1999) Position
U.S. Billboard 200[53] 97
Preceded by
Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette		 Billboard 200 number-one album
March 2, 1996 – March 15, 1996 		Succeeded by
Jagged Little Pill by Alanis Morissette

Certifications

Region Certification Sales/shipments
Australia (ARIA)[54] Gold 35,000
Canada (Music Canada)[55] Platinum 100,000
United Kingdom (BPI)[56] Platinum 300,000
United States (RIAA)[57] 10× Platinum 5,000,000

^shipments figures based on certification alone

See also

References

  1. ↑ Huey, Steve (1996-02-13). "All Eyez on Me - 2Pac | Songs, Reviews, Credits, Awards". AllMusic. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  2. ↑ Browne, David (1996-03-08). "All Eyez on Me Review | Music Reviews and News". EW.com. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  3. 1 2 "Tupac - All Eyez On Me CD Album". Cduniverse.com. 2005-03-29. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  4. ↑ Kazeem (August 4, 2010). "The Complete List Of 5 Mic Hip-Hop Classics". The Source. Retrieved on December 23, 2010.
  5. ↑ SPIN - Google Boeken. Books.google.com. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  6. ↑ "2Pac keeps controversial `Eyez' on the ball". Pqasb.pqarchiver.com. 1996-02-12. Retrieved 2014-05-21.
  7. ↑ XXL (December 2007). "Retrospective: XXL Albums". XXL Magazine.
  8. ↑ XXLMagazine October 2004, Page 104
  9. ↑ "All Eyez On Me - 2Pac". AllMusic. February 13, 1996. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  10. ↑ "Maxwell, Tupac Top Soul Train Awards". E! Online. March 7, 1997. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  11. ↑ YouTube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6qVYWMuHII. Retrieved August 20, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  12. ↑ DJ Booth http://www.djbooth.net/index/news/entry/classic-album-tupac-all-eyez-on-me. Retrieved August 20, 2015. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  13. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  14. ↑ "Gold & Platinum". RIAA. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  15. ↑ Rolling Stone (May 13, 1999, p. 74) – Included in Rolling Stone 's Essential Recordings of the 90s.
  16. ↑ Spin (5/96, p. 106) – 10 (out of 10)
  17. ↑ 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.
  18. ↑ Q magazine (12/99, p. 90) – Included in Q magazine's 90 Best Albums Of The 1990s. 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) – 10 (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 (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."
  19. ↑ All Eyez on MeAMG review
  20. ↑ "Archived copy". Archived from the original on January 6, 2012. Retrieved January 7, 2012.
  21. ↑ "All Eyez on Me". Acclaimed Music. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  22. ↑ Adaso, Henry. The Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of all Time. about.com. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  23. ↑ Adaso, Henry. Best Rap Albums of 1996. about.com. Retrieved September 6, 2010.
  24. ↑ Hudak, Joseph. "2Pac, 'All Eyez on Me' - 100 Best Albums of the Nineties". Rolling Stone. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  25. ↑ "Soulja Boy's 25 Favorite Albums Of All Time". Complex. Retrieved May 26, 2013.
  26. ↑ Drake, David. "Kendrick Lamar's 25 Favorite Albums". Complex. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  27. ↑ "The 20 greatest west coast hip-hop albums of all time". Rollingout.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  28. ↑ "News Ltd. 100 Albums You Must Have in Your Collection - Acclaimed Music Forums". Acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  29. ↑ "Giannis Petridis: Albums of the Century - Acclaimed Music Forums". Acclaimedmusic.net. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  30. ↑ *Please enter your name. "Tupac’s ‘All Eyez On Me’ Goes Diamond - XXL". Xxlmag.com. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  31. 1 2 "Tupac Month: 2Pac’s Discography". Retrieved May 27, 2013.
  32. ↑ http://www.bpi.co.uk/certified-awards/search.aspx
  33. ↑ All Eyes On Me CD booklet.
  34. ↑ All Eyez On Me track list adapted from AllMusic.
  35. ↑ "allmusic ((( All Eyez on Me - Credits )))". Allmusic. Retrieved May 22, 2009.
  36. ↑ "Tupac All Eyez on Me CD". CD Universe. 1996–2006. Retrieved November 7, 2012.
  37. ↑ "australian-charts.com - 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me". Australian-Charts.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  38. ↑ "www.ultratop.be - 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me". ultratop.be. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  39. ↑ "www.ultratop.be - 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me". ultratop.be. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  40. ↑ "dutchcharts.nl - 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me". dutchcharts.nl. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  41. ↑ "Les albums classés par artistes". Dominic DURAND / InfoDisc. Retrieved August 20, 2015.
  42. ↑ "musicline.de - 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me". musicline.de. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  43. ↑ "charts.org.nz - 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me". charts.org.nz. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  44. ↑ "norwegiancharts.com - 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me". NorwegianCharts.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  45. ↑ "swedishcharts.com - 2Pac - All Eyez on Me". SwedishCharts.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  46. ↑ "2 Pac - All Eyez on Me - hitparade.ch". hitparade.ch. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  47. ↑ "Search Results -- Albums". chartstats.com. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  48. ↑ "2PAC | Artist". Official Charts. Retrieved December 10, 2011.
  49. 1 2 "allmusic ((( All Eyez on Me - Charts & Awards - Billboard Albums )))". Allmusic. Retrieved May 24, 2009.
  50. ↑ "lescharts.com - 2 Pac - All Eyez on Me". LesCharts.com. Retrieved May 30, 2009.
  51. 1 2 "Chart Log UK: Numerals". Zobbel.de. Retrieved December 8, 2011.
  52. ↑ "GFK Chart-Track". Chart-track.co.uk. Retrieved 2016-04-14.
  53. ↑ Mayfield, Geoff (December 25, 1999). 1999 The Year in Music Totally '90s: Diary of a Decade - The listing of Top Pop Albums of the '90s & Hot 100 Singles of the '90s. Billboard. Retrieved October 15, 2010.
  54. ↑ "ARIA Charts – Accreditations – 1997 Albums". Australian Recording Industry Association.
  55. ↑ "Canadian album certifications – 2 Pac – All Eyez on Me". Music Canada.
  56. ↑ "British album certifications – 2 Pac – All Eyez on Me". British Phonographic Industry. Enter All Eyez on Me in the field Keywords. Select Title in the field Search by. Select album in the field By Format. Select Platinum in the field By Award. Click Search
  57. ↑ "American album certifications – 2_Pac – All Eyez on Me". Recording Industry Association of America. If necessary, click Advanced, then click Format, then select Album, then click SEARCH

External links

All Eyez On Me at AllMusic

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