''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' is the second studio album by American rapper

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur ( ; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known as 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. Shakur is among the b ...

, released on February 16, 1993, by Interscope and Jive Records. N.I.G.G.A. in the title is punctuated to refer to 2Pac's

backronym A backronym is an acronym formed from an already existing word by expanding its letters into the words of a phrase. Backronyms may be invented with either serious or humorous intent, or they may be a type of false etymology or folk etymology. The ...

"Never Ignorant in Getting Goals Accomplished". The album features guest appearances from the group Live Squad, 2Pac's stepbrother the Wycked (later known as " Mopreme", later a member of 2Pac's groups Thug Life and the Outlawz), Ice-T, Ice Cube,

Treach Anthony Criss (born December 2, 1970), better known by his stage name Treach, is an American rapper and actor. He is perhaps best known as the lead rapper of the hip hop group Naughty by Nature. Career With Naughty by Nature, Treach worked ...

, Apache, Poppi, Deadly Threat, R&B singer

Dave Hollister David Le Chaine Hollister (born August 17, 1968) is an American R&B singer who found fame during the 1990s as one quarter of the R&B quartet Blackstreet, before going on to have a solo career. Hollister is best known for his 2000 gold-certifie ...

and

Digital Underground Digital Underground was an American alternative hip hop group from Oakland, California. Their personnel changed and rotated with each album and tour. Digital Underground's leader and mainstay was Gregory " Shock G" Jacobs (also known as Humpty H ...

. Similar to his debut, '' 2Pacalypse Now'', the album contains many tracks emphasizing 2Pac's political and social views. The original album was going to be named "Troublesome 21" and released in September 1992, but it was scrapped due to being rejected by

Time Warner Warner Media, LLC ( traded as WarnerMedia) was an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate. It was headquartered at the 30 Hudson Yards complex in New York City, United States. It was originally established in 1972 by ...

. Many of these tracks still remained unreleased while "Keep Ya Head Up", "I Get Around", "Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.", "The Streetz R Deathrow" and "Souljah's Revenge" were utilized for the new track listing. Debuting at number 24 on the ''Billboard'' 200, this album saw more commercial success than its predecessor, and there are many noticeable differences in production. While 2Pac's first effort included a more

underground Underground most commonly refers to: * Subterranea (geography), the regions beneath the surface of the Earth Underground may also refer to: Places * The Underground (Boston), a music club in the Allston neighborhood of Boston * The Underground ...

or indie rap-oriented sound, this album was considered his "breakout" album. It spawned the hits "

Keep Ya Head Up "Keep Ya Head Up" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his second studio album, '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...''(1993). It was released on October 28, 1993 as the album's third single. The song features R&B singer Dave Hollister and is dedicat ...

" and " I Get Around". As of 2011, ''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' has sold 1,639,584 units in the United States. In commemoration of its twenty-fifth anniversary, it was released on vinyl on February 16, 2018.

Critical reception

''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'' received generally positive reviews from critics. '' Melody Maker'' called the album "an adventure into life on the streets of America", delivered through raps that "drip with the sweat of hardcore funk". ''

The Source ''The Source'' is an American hip hop and entertainment website, and a magazine that publishes annually or . It is the world's longest-running rap periodical, being founded as a newsletter in 1988 by Jonathan Shecter. David Mays was the ma ...

'' said: "A combination of '60s black political thought and '90s urban reality, 2Pac is not afraid to speak his mind ... alancingthe gangsta tendencies of street life with insightful revelations". ''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...'', wrote Ian McCann in '' Q'', "found 2Pac feted by Hollywood and Ice Cube no longer an influence but a guest. Bitter, more distant, it offers the legendary 5 Deadly Venomz, Keep Ya Head Up and, ominously, Something 2 Die 4, on which 2Pac's ma warns him if he can't find something to live for, he should find something worth dying for. Gulp." In a less enthusiastic review for the ''

Los Angeles Times The ''Los Angeles Times'' (abbreviated as ''LA Times'') is a daily newspaper that started publishing in Los Angeles in 1881. Based in the LA-adjacent suburb of El Segundo since 2018, it is the sixth-largest newspaper by circulation in the U ...

'',

Jonathan Gold Jonathan Gold (July 28, 1960 – July 21, 2018) was an American food critic and music critic. He was for many years the chief food critic for the ''Los Angeles Times'' and also wrote for '' LA Weekly'' and ''Gourmet'', in addition to serving as a ...

found the production accomplished and 2Pac's raps "sort of entertaining" but regarded him as "a gifted mimic" with "no discernible style of his own" and "not an especially deep thinker". Robert Christgau singled out "Keep Ya Head Up" as the record's only worthy track.

Commercial performance

''Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.'' debuted at number 24 on the US ''Billboard'' 200 and number four on the US

Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums is a music chart published weekly by '' Billboard'' magazine that ranks R&B and hip hop albums based on sales in the United States and is compiled by Nielsen SoundScan. The chart debuted as Hot R&B LPs in the issue dated ...

, selling 38,000 units in its first week. On April 19, 1995, the album was certified

platinum Platinum is a chemical element with the symbol Pt and atomic number 78. It is a dense, malleable, ductile, highly unreactive, precious, silverish-white transition metal. Its name originates from Spanish , a diminutive of "silver". Pla ...

by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) for sales of over one million copies in the United States. As of September 2011, the album has sold 1,639,584 copies in the United States.

Track listing

All tracks co-produced by

. Notes *"Holler If Ya Hear Me" features vocals by Live Squad *"Keep Ya Head Up" features vocals by

credited as "The Black Angel" *Background vocals on "Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..." performed by Pacific Heights *Digital Underground members present on "I Get Around" are

Money-B Ronald Brooks, better known by his stage name Money-B, is an American rapper, best known for being a member of the funk and rap group Digital Underground. He is a member of Raw Fusion with DJ Fuze whom they had two albums, ''Live From the Style ...

and

Shock G Gregory Edward Jacobs (August 25, 1963 – April 22, 2021), known professionally as Shock G and by his alter ego Humpty Hump, was an American rapper and musician who was best known as the lead vocalist of the hip hop group Digital Underground. ...

Samples

Holler If Ya Hear Me *"

Atomic Dog "Atomic Dog" is a song by George Clinton from his 1982 album ''Computer Games''. The track was released as a single in December 1982 and became the P-Funk collective's last to reach #1 on the U.S. R&B Chart. The single failed to chart on the ...

" by George Clinton *" Do It Any Way You Wanna" by The People's Choice *" Get Off Your Ass and Jam" by

Funkadelic Funkadelic was an American funk rock band formed in Plainfield, New Jersey in 1968 and active until 1982. The band and its sister act Parliament, both led by George Clinton, pioneered the funk music culture of the 1970s.John, Bush. Funkade ...

Rebel Without a Pause "Rebel Without a Pause" is a song by hip hop group Public Enemy and the first single from their 1988 album, '' It Takes a Nation of Millions to Hold Us Back''. The title is a reference to the 1955 film ''Rebel Without a Cause''. History "Rebel Wi ...

" by

Public Enemy "Public enemy" is a term which was first widely used in the United States in the 1930s to describe individuals whose activities were seen as criminal and extremely damaging to society, though the phrase had been used for centuries to describe ...

*" So Fine" by Howard Johnson Pac's Theme (Interlude) *"Tennessee" by

Arrested Development The term "arrested development" has had multiple meanings for over 200 years. In the field of medicine, the term "arrested development" was first used, ''circa'' 1835–1836, to mean a stoppage of physical development; the term continues to be use ...

*"Snatch It Back and Hold It" by

Junior Wells Junior Wells (born Amos Wells Blakemore Jr., December 9, 1934January 15, 1998) was an American singer, harmonica player, and recording artist. He is best known for his signature song " Messin' with the Kid" and his 1965 album '' Hoodoo Man Blues ...

' Chicago Blues Band *"Bouncy Lady" by Pleasure *"Another Nigga in the Morgue" by

The Geto Boys Geto Boys (originally spelled Ghetto Boys) was an American hip-hop group originally formed in Houston, Texas. The Geto Boys enjoyed success in the 1990s with the group's classic lineup consisting of Bushwick Bill, Scarface and Willie D, earnin ...

Point the Finga *"Bop Gun (Endangered Species)" by

Parliament In modern politics, and history, a parliament is a legislative body of government. Generally, a modern parliament has three functions: representing the electorate, making laws, and overseeing the government via hearings and inquiries. Th ...

*"Warm It Up" by

Kris Kross Kris Kross was an American hip hop duo that consisted of Chris "Mac Daddy" Kelly and Chris "Daddy Mac" Smith. Kris Kross was the youngest hip-hop duo to gain success, with gold and platinum albums at 12 and 13 years old. The duo was discover ...

*"One Man Band (Plays All Alone)" by

Monk Higgins Milton Bland (October 3, 1930 – July 3, 1986) better known as Monk Higgins, was an American musician and saxophonist who was born in Menifee, Arkansas. Biography Higgins's biggest hits were the instrumental tracks "Who Dun It" (which reached ...

and the Specialities *"Gota Let Your Nuts Hang" by The Geto Boys Something 2 Die 4 (Interlude) *"

(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go "(Don't Worry) If There's a Hell Below, We're All Going to Go" is a funk/ soul song originally recorded by Curtis Mayfield for his album '' Curtis'' (1970). The song was meant to serve as a warning regarding the state of race relations and the ...

" by

Curtis Mayfield Curtis Lee Mayfield (June 3, 1942 – December 26, 1999) was an American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and record producer, and one of the most influential musicians behind soul and politically conscious African-American music.

*"Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers Last Wordz *"Better Off Dead" by "The Nigga Ya Love to Hate" by Ice Cube *"I Gotta Say What Up!!!" by Ice Cube *"Dog'n the Wax" by Ice-T *"Holy Ghost" by

The Bar-Kays The Bar-Kays are an American funk band formed in 1964. The band had dozens of charting singles from the 1960s to the 1980s, including "Soul Finger" (US ''Billboard'' Hot 100 number 17, R&B number 3) in 1967, "Son of Shaft" (R&B number 10) i ...

Flash Light A flashlight ( US, Canada) or torch ( UK, Australia) is a portable hand-held electric lamp. Formerly, the light source typically was a miniature incandescent light bulb, but these have been displaced by light-emitting diodes (LEDs) since the ...

" by Parliament *"The Grunt" by The J.B.'s *"Blind Alley" by

The Emotions ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

*"Tha Lunatic" by 2Pac Souljah's Revenge *" Sing a Simple Song" by

Sly and the Family Stone Sly and the Family Stone was an American band from San Francisco. Active from 1966 to 1983, it was pivotal in the development of funk, soul, rock, and psychedelic music. Its core line-up was led by singer-songwriter, record producer, and multi ...

*" The Payback" by James Brown *"

Hallelujah, I Love Her So "Hallelujah I Love Her So" is a single by American musician Ray Charles. The rhythm and blues song was written and released by Charles in 1956 on the Atlantic label, and in 1957 it was included on his self-titled debut LP, also released on Atla ...

" by

Ray Charles Ray Charles Robinson Sr. (September 23, 1930 – June 10, 2004) was an American singer, songwriter, and pianist. He is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential singers in history, and was often referred to by contemporaries as "The Ge ...

*"Soulja's Story" by 2Pac Peep Game *"Sing a Simple Song" by Sly and the Family Stone *"Caught, Can We Get a Witness?" by Public Enemy *" Bring the Noise" by Public Enemy *"

Synthetic Substitution "Synthetic Substitution" is a 1973 song by Melvin Bliss. Originally starting life as a throwaway B-side, with "Reward" as the A-Side, the song failed to chart anywhere on its initial release because of the collapse of Opal Productions, the parent ...

" by

Melvin Bliss Melvin McClelland (June 1, 1945-July 26, 2010) was a rhythm and blues singer known for his 1973 song " Reward/Synthetic Substitution", the B-side of which was heavily sampled

*"Don't Change Your Love" by

The Five Stairsteps The Five Stairsteps, known as "The First Family of Soul" and later "The Invisible Man's Band", was an American Chicago soul group made up of five of Betty and Clarence Burke Sr.'s six children: Alohe Jean, Clarence Jr., James, Dennis, and Kenn ...

*"UFO" by ESG *" Planet Rock" by Afrika Bambaataa and the Soulsonic Force *" Heartbeat" by

Taana Gardner Taana Gardner (born September 3, 1960) is an American disco and post-disco singer who found her success through West End Records since 1979. She is also a former member of the Aural Exciters. Early life Born in Newark, New Jersey (where sh ...

Think (About It) "Think (About It)" is a funk song recorded by Lyn Collins and released as a single on James Brown's People Records in 1972. The recording was produced by Brown (who also wrote the song) and features instrumental backing from his band The J.B.'s ...

" by

Lyn Collins Gloria Lavern Collins (June 12, 1948 – March 13, 2005), better known as Lyn Collins, was an American soul singer best known for working with James Brown in the 1970s and for the influential 1972 funk single, " Think (About It)". A favorite ...

Funky President (People It's Bad) "Funky President (People It's Bad)" is a funk song by James Brown. Released as a single in 1974, it charted No. 4 R&B. It also appeared on the album ''Reality''. According to Brown the "funky president" of the song's title was meant to refer to ...

" by James Brown *"JD's Gafflin' (Part 2)" by Ice Cube *"Our Most Requested Record (Long Version)" by Ice-T *"Different Strokes" by

Syl Johnson Sylvester Johnson (born Sylvester Thompson; July 1, 1936 – February 6, 2022) was an American blues and soul singer, musician, songwriter and record producer. His most successful records included "Different Strokes" (1967), " Is It Because I' ...

*"Mind Blowin by

The D.O.C. Tracy Lynn Curry (born June 10, 1968), better known as The D.O.C., is an American rapper, songwriter, and record producer. In addition to a solo career, he was a member of the Southern hip hop group Fila Fresh Crew and later collaborated with ga ...

*"Anarquia" by

Ronnie Von Ronaldo Lindenberg Von Schilgem Cintra Nogueira (born July 17, 1944), better known as Ronnie Von, is a Brazilian singer, businessman and TV show host. Ronnie became known in the 1960s associated with Brazilian rock, and between 2004 until 2019 ...

*" If My Homie Calls" by 2Pac Strugglin' *" Ashley's Roachclip" by

The Soul Searchers Charles Louis Brown (August 22, 1936 – May 16, 2012) was an American guitarist, bandleader and singer known as " The Godfather of Go-Go". Go-go is a subgenre of funk music developed around the Washington, D.C. metropolitan area in the mid-197 ...

*" Paid in Full" by Eric B. & Rakim *"I'm Gonna Get You" by Sir John Quarterman & Free Soul Guess Who's Back *"Looking Out My Window" by Tom Jones *" Ironside" by

Quincy Jones Quincy Delight Jones Jr. (born March 14, 1933) is an American record producer, musician, songwriter, composer, arranger, and film and television producer. His career spans 70 years in the entertainment industry with a record of 80 Grammy Award n ...

*"I'm Special Ed" by Special Ed Representin' 93 *"Diary of a Madman" by Scarface *"The Payback" by James Brown *"This One's for You" by Joe Public *"

Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine "Get Up (I Feel Like Being a) Sex Machine" is a song recorded by James Brown with Bobby Byrd on backing vocals. Released as a two-part single in 1970, it was a no. 2 R&B hit and reached no. 15 on the ''Billboard'' Hot 100. In 2004, "Sex Machi ...

" by James Brown *"Funky President (People It's Bad)" by James Brown Keep Ya Head Up *" Be Alright" by Zapp *"O-o-h Child" by The Five Stairsteps Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... *"

Miss Broadway ''Miss Broadway'' is the first album of the female trio Belle Epoque, released in 1977. The album includes a disco version of Los Bravos' 1966 hit "Black Is Black". The second side of the album is a disco medley, in which "Black Is Black" itself ...

" by

Belle Epoque Belle may refer to: * Belle (''Beauty and the Beast'') * Belle (given name), a list of people and fictional characters * Belle (surname), a list of people Brands and enterprises * Belle Air, a former airline with headquarters in Tirana, Albania ...

*"UFO" by ESG *"Good Old Music" by Funkadelic The Streetz R Deathrow *"You're the One I Need" by

Barry White Barry Eugene Carter (September 12, 1944 – July 4, 2003), better known by his stage name Barry White, was an American singer and songwriter. A two-time Grammy Award winner known for his bass voice and romantic image, his greatest success came ...

*"Synthetic Substitution" by Melvin Bliss *"Us" by Ice Cube I Get Around *" Computer Love" by Zapp *"I Can Make You Dance" by Zapp *"The Ladder" by Prince and the Revolution *"Impeach the President" by The Honey Drippers *"Step in the Arena" by

Gang Starr Gang Starr was an American hip hop duo, consisting of Texas record producer DJ Premier and Massachusetts rapper Guru. For the entirety of their association, they were based out of Brooklyn, New York. Gang Starr was at its height from 1989 to 2 ...

*" New York, New York" by

Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five were an American hip hop group formed in the South Bronx of New York City in 1978. The group's members were Grandmaster Flash, Melle Mel, Kidd Creole (not to be confused with Kid Creole), Keef Cowboy, S ...

Papa'z Song *"Soul Shadows" by The Crusaders and

Bill Withers William Harrison Withers Jr. (July 4, 1938 – March 30, 2020) was an American singer-songwriter and musician. He had several hits over a career spanning 18 years, including " Ain't No Sunshine" (1971), " Grandma's Hands" (1971), " Use Me" (197 ...

*"Fool Yourself" by Little Feat 5 Deadly Venomz *"The Chokin' Kind" by Joe Simon *"Roots and Culture" by

Shabba Ranks Shabba Ranks (born Rexton Rawlston Fernando Gordon; 17 January 1966) is a Jamaican dancehall musician. In the late 1980s and early 1990s, he was one of the most popular Jamaican musicians in the world. Throughout his prominence in his home cou ...

Charts

Weekly charts

Year-end charts

Certifications

References

{{Authority control 1993 albums Tupac Shakur albums Political hip hop albums Interscope Records albums Jive Records albums Albums produced by Laylaw Political music albums by American artists