Today, we’ll take little different turn than our usual vinyl art deconstruction, we’re gonna look into the story behind 2Pac’s debut album: “2pacalypse Now” along with divulging into the cover art.

Hip-hop has come a long way and developed from its modest roots in the South Bronx into a billion-dollar industry, but the culture's core will always be associated with activism and civil rights.

The late Tupac Amaru Shakur, whose 1991 debut album, ‘2Pacalypse Now’, was one of the few musicians who most epitomised revolutionary warfare.

In 2Pac lingo, NI**A stands for Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished which describes him aptly. His mother was pregnant with him when she was arrested on charges of plotting to blow up the New York Botanical Gardens. 2Pac claims, "Even as a foetus, I was in jail." He therefore has no sympathy for the system. But what ultimately motivated him to write and perform his debut rap after learning that a high school classmate had been shot and killed while he was playing with guns.

He touches on topics like police brutality, poverty, unemployment, inadequate education, disunity, violence, black-on-black crime, adolescent pregnancy, and crack addiction in this album. This album is debatably his most political and contentious musical achievement throughout his all-too-short career.

He highlights the oppression, anger, and reality of a world that, regrettably, doesn't feel all that different even now in 2023 with the Black Lives Matter movement.

2Pac has also tried to capture this essence in the cover art of his album. With the first glance of the cover, Tupac can be seen standing with his arms crossed in front of the American flag. The picture represents Tupac's opposition to the state and societal injustice as well as his resolve to speak out against oppression and inequity.

The illustration on the cover also alludes to the famous photograph of Malcolm X crossing his arms in front of the American flag to represent his own defiance of the persecution and discrimination of African Americans.

This album is available on vinyl at @drocer.record.

Rating: *****

Release date: 12^th November, 1991

Label: Interscope and Jive Records. 

Genres: Hip Hop, Political Hip hop

Length: 55:07

Reviewed by Kinjal Gosar

Kinjal Gosar is the Founder of Drocer Record, an online Vinyl Record Store based in Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. She is a Rock head and a vinyl collector herself. They also have their Demo set up at Adagio, Bandra. Drocer Record is your one-stop shop for all your vinyl record needs. Our aim is to spread the joy of listening to music by transporting you to another world. We sell records of all genres – new and pre-loved, speakers, amps and audio solutions, cleaning solutions, Hi Fi Audio Solutions, Vinyl Accessories, and a lot more. www.drocerrecord.com