Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... is the second solo studio album by American rapper 2Pac. It was released on February 16, 1993, via TNT Recordings and Interscope Records and distributed by Atlantic Records (CD edition) and Restless Records (LP). The recording sessions took place at Starlight Sound Studio in Richmond, Echo Sound Studio in Los Angeles and Unique Recording Studios in New York. The album was produced by the Underground Railroad and D-Flow Production Squad, as well as Live Squad, DJ Bobcat, DJ Daryl, Akshun, Laylaw, Special Ed, and Truman Jefferson. It features contributions from Live Squad, Apache, Dave Hollister, Deadly Threat, Digital Underground, Ice Cube, Ice-T, Poppi, Treach, and 2Pac's stepbrother Wycked among others.
Similar to 2Pacalypse Now, the album contains many tracks emphasising 2Pac's political and social views.[1] Peaking 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 or indie rap-oriented sound, this album was considered his breakout.
In 1998 and 2003, the album was reissued through Amaru/Jive Records. In 2023, Interscope Records digitally reissued the album with six additional tracks subtitled 'Expanded Edition'.
Background
In early 1992, 2Pac started working on a 2Pacalypse Now follow-up album originally entitled Black Starry Night, which was renamed into Troublesome 21 during the recording process. The project was set to be released in September 1992, however, it was rejected by Time Warner due to media outcry and political legislatures over the lyrics. Several songs recorded for Troublesome 21, including "Keep Ya Head Up", "I Get Around", "Strictly fo' My Niggas" and "The Streetz R Deathrow" were utilised for the new track listing.
The punctuated abbreviation of the word "nigga" in the album's title stands for "Never Ignorant in Getting Goals Accomplished", a backronym fabled by 2Pac.[2]
Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... received generally positive reviews from music critics. In The New Rolling Stone Album Guide book, Greg Tate saw 2Pac "comes with a sense of drive, and eruptive, dissident, dissonant fervour worthy of Fear of a Black Planet and AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted", and called it Shakur's "best constructed and most coherent album, and it's also his most militantly political".[7]AllMusic's Marisa Brown concluded: "though the production sometimes suffers, especially in the middle of the album, where it's utterly forgettable, the record shows a continually developing MC, with increasingly complex lyrical themes, well on his way to becoming nearly unstoppable".[3]
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". Eric Berman of The Source wrote: "a combination of '60s black political thought and '90s urban reality, 2Pac is not afraid to speak his mind ... [balancing] the gangsta tendencies of street life with insightful revelations".[8]Jonathan Gold of Los Angeles Times 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".[5] Ian McCann of Q wrote that the album "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".[6]
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, selling 38,000 units in its first week.[10] On September 24, 1993, the album was certified gold by the Recording Industry Association of America for sales of over 500,000 copies in the United States, and on April 19, 1995, it received the RIAA platinum certification for sales of over one million copies in the US alone.[11] On April 14, 2007, the album achieved silver certification by the British Phonographic Industry for sales of over 60,000 units in the United Kingdom.
The second single off of the album, "I Get Around", which features his D.U. band-mates Shock G and Money-B, peaked at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's third single, "Keep Ya Head Up", which features Dave Hollister, made it to number 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. Both "I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up" were certified platinum by the RIAA on March 31, 2021. The fourth and final single from Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..., "Papa'z Song", which features Mopreme Shakur, reached number 87 on the Billboard Hot 100.
After 2Pac's death in 1996, the album made it to the US Catalog Albums, peaking at number two.
^Sandiford-Waller, Theda (March 2, 1996). "Rhythm Section". Billboard. Vol. 108, no. 9. Nielsen Business Media, Inc. p. 21. ISSN0006-2510. Retrieved August 11, 2024 – via Google Books.
