Mar 5, 2020

2Pac -1991- 2Pacalypse Now (TNT / Interscope)

  • November the 12th, 1991 
  • Recorded between end of 1990 and August of 1991 with TNT Recordings

 

Tracklist :

1. Young Black Male
2. Trapped feat. Shock G (chorus)
3. Soulja's Story
4. I Don't Give A Fuck feat. Pee-Wee (Gold Money)
5. Violent
6. Words of Wisdom
7. Something Wicked
8. Crooked Ass Nigga feat. Stretch
9. If My Homie Calls
10. Brenda's Got A Baby feat. Roniece & Dave Hollister (chorus)
11. Tha' Lunatic feat. Stretch
12. Rebel of the Underground
13. Part Time Mutha feat. Angelique Yonnie Stokes & Poppi (chorus)

Produced by The Underground Railroad :
  • Big D The Impossible (1, 3, 9, 10, 13)
  • Shock G (6, 11, 12)
  • Pee-Wee (2, 4)
  • Jeremy JZ Poppi (7)
  • Raw Fusion (5)
  • Live Squad (8) 
 
Backing Vocals : Shock G, Money B, DJ Fuze, Mac Mone, Pee-Wee, Ray Luv, Yonni, Playa-Playa...

Vinyl LP back cover


An explosive title

The title of the album is of course inspired by the title of the famous movie Apocalypse Now from 1979, directed by Francis Ford Coppola. The movie itself was inspired by the novella Heart of Darkness, published by Joseph Conrad in 1899. Both tell a progressive entry in a world of darkness. So the title could be interpretated as if 2Pac was kind of guide to lead listeners into the heart of the american ghetto, into the darkness or the blackness of that ghetto.
 
That title was also an alias of 2Pac at that time but also a remain of an unreleased and unleaked (maybe even unrecorded) song of the same name supposed to begin the album in some early tracklists, eventually produced by Sir Jinx (Dr. Dre's cousin, rapper and well known producer for Ice Cube, Kool G Rap, WC & The Maad Circle, Yo-Yo...). But Sir Jinx denied to have ever produced for 2Pac. Another handwritten paper mentions Big D as a possible producer but it is not confirmed yet by anybody. 

Early works to a whole new thing : The Undergroud Railroad

"underground railroad" is a reference to the famous network of clandestine routes and safe houses for runaway slaves to escape towards free states or Canada.
 
You can see in the early tracklists (cf. Tales of The 90's N.I.G.G.A.) how the album turned from a collection of early years songs (especially from Jungle Posse and Strictly Dope sessions) to a whole new album. The Underground Railroad is credited as the people who produced the album. It is a kind of collective mainly formed around Shock G and Digital Underground. Raw Fusion is the side group by Money B & DJ Fuze. Pee-Wee of Gold Money and Stretch of Live Squad also appear in Digital Underground second album. Jeremy JZ and Big D will also produce for Pac's second album. Big D remains as the main sound identity for 2Pac in 1991-1992. 

We could also consider the Underground Railroad as the Atron Gregory's TNT Recording team. Because the label released the albums of Digital Underground, Pee-Wee's Gold Money and Funky Aztecs, and Julian Brook's The Mod Squad (reggae voice as Wicked J giving a verse in original "Static", backing in unreleased "Fade Away" and "Neva Surrender"). TNT will be the label for 2Pac's second album, MC Smooth in 94 or Big Syke when he left Death Row in 96.


DETAILED TRACKLIST
(Special thanks to Bomb1st members Filla and Dominator for samples credits)

01. Young Black Male / Big D The Impossible
02. Trapped feat. Shock G (chorus) / Pee-Wee
  • 1990/10 (~) - 1991/04-05 (~) (new mix). Appears in early tracklist for the album in Oct. 90 (cf. Tales of a 90's N.I.G.G.A.). Partially written by Ray "Luv" Tyson, Tupac's partner in Stricty Dope group (cf. The Lost Tapes) and at the backing vocals of "Rebel of the Underground". Banned of Bomb1st forum says there are various alternate mixes - not very different - and a very first take maybe with a Ray Luv's verse. As the first single taken from the album, it was supposed to have a remix version (by Shock G), maybe the same song than "Trapped '92" that was supposed to be included in Troublesome 21 (cf. Ghetto Gospel).
  • Samples : 
03. Soulja's Story / Big D The Impossible
  • 1991/06-08 (~). One of the last songs added to the album with "Part Time Mutha". First chapter of Pac's alter ego named "Soulja", a dark-criminal-minded young black male. Tupac recorded many follow-up for this song : "When I Get Free", "Revenge of a Souljah" and "Souljah's Revenge" in Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. This altered voice appeared again in many other songs recorded in 93 for Thug Life projects like in "Death Around Each Corner (TL Original)" (cf. Thug Life Original) or in "Where Do We Go From Here" (cf. Honor Among Thugz + Exodus). Tupac will lastly refer to his dark minded avatar in "Ballad of a Dead Soulja" (cf. All New Heat / 100% Black Gold).
  • Samples : 
04. I Don't Give A Fuck feat. Pee-Wee / Pee-Wee
  • 1991/06-08 (~). Pee-Wee is credited as "Pogo" but it is clearly his voice (can be compared to his album with Gold Money, A Day in The Life of a Player).
05. Violent / Raw Fusion
  • 1991/01-02 (~). The concept of the song appears early in the 2Pacalypse Now album timeline. 
  • Samples : 
06. Words of Wisdom / Shock G
07. Something Wicked feat. Pee Wee (backing) / Jeremy "JZ" Jackson
  • 1991/06 (~). Jeremy JZ Jackson appeared as an engineer in Digital Underground's second album Son of a the P. He will also produce the famous "Troublesome" for Pac's shelved second album (cf. Troublesome 21) in late 1991 and could have produced songs for 2Pac/The Kidz early project (cf. 2Pacalypse II). Then he will mainly produce Boxcar Sessions, the first album of Saafir (who was like 2Pac a side member of Digital Underground in 1991-1993).
  • Samples :
08. Crooked Ass Nigga feat. Stretch / Stretch
  • 1991/05-06 (~). The song will have a part 2 as "Crooked Nigga Too" recorded after Tupac was beaten by the Oakland police the 17th of Oct. 91 which was supposed to be included in all tracklists from is second album (cf. 2Pacalypse II / Troublesome 21). It is rumoured there could also be an alternate song from the serie titled "Crooked Cop Killer"... (but it could be the same "Crooked Nigga Too" which has )
  • Samples : 
    • Idriss Muhammad - "Crab Apple" (melody, bassline, drumline)
    • N.W.A. - "Gangsta Gangsta" (gunshots, vocals : "I got em", "suddenly i see some niggas i don't like")
    • N.W.A. - "Fuck Tha Police" (vocals : "criminal behavior")
09. If My Homie Calls / Big D The Impossible
10. Brenda's Got A Baby feat. Roniece & Dave Hollister (chorus) / Big D The Impossible
  • 1991/04-05 (~). The song is said to re-use the concept of one of his first song called "Babies Having Babies" with Mouse Man (cf. The Early Years). As second single from the album, the song has a Radio version with alternate vocals and mixdown (cf. Singles & Soundtracks).
11. Tha' Lunatic feat. Stretch / Shock G
  • 1991/06-08 (~). This song replaced an early "Revenge of the Lunatic" 7' song and re-used some lyrics of it (cf. Tales of a 90's N.I.G.G.A.), a song which was supposed to be a single with a still unleaked Shock G remixed version. After the release of the album, 2Pac thought to make from this early version a follow up for his next album (cf. 2Pacalypse II)
  • Samples : 
12. Rebel of the Underground feat. Ray Luv (speaking), Shock G (chorus) & Yonni Angelique (?) (chorus) / Shock G
  • 1990/12 - 08 (new mix ?). One of the earliest recorded track from the album with "Trapped", the song was as early scrapped from the album and was picked up again at the last minute. Credits of the album indicate "backing vocals" by Ray Luv (Pac's partner in Strictly Dope), Shock G and Yonni. Yonnie Stokes is a girl 2Pac already wanted to promote by giving her a song for his early project Dayz of a Criminal EP in mid 90 (probably shelved because 2Pac signing to Interscope - cf. Early Years, in one tracklist it is "Yonnie", in another it's "Sista"). She will also be half of the unfinished project Ghetto Gospel / 4 Colored Girlz Only, with The Kidz, under the nickname of Mysta maybe with a group called "The G'z / The Bitch'z" (cf. 2Pacalypse II / Ghetto Gospel). She will be even recalled by 2Pac during the Thug Life recording times in late 93 - early 94 ; she will be with the group for the official Mike Miller photoset (used for the Volume 1 artwork but it seems she only recorded one song for it (cf. Honor Among Thugz). But there's a problem... there is only a woman's voice  light singing here... Very strange for a girl who defined herself as "a sista named mister" and was more likely a rapper... Is it another mistake (with Pee Wee rap vocals credits forgotten in "I Don't Give A Fuck") ?
  • Samples : 
13. Part Time Mutha feat. Angelique Yonnie Stokes (?) & Poppi (chorus) / Big D The Impossible
  • 1991/06-08 (~). Poppi will also be the singer of "Pappa'z Song" and of the original version of "Changes" (cf. 2Pacalypse II). I read somewhere that it could be a pseudonym for the producer Jeremy JZ Jackson... Who knows ? A girl named Angelique is here credited for "background vocals" but there are none ! only rap vocals... Banned from Bomb1st said Angelique is also having the singing parts in "It Ain't Necessarily So"... So she could be more likely the background voice of "Rebel of the Underground", and the female rapping here could be Yonnie. Except if Angelique is really Angie like said in Discogs, a woman rapper from Richmond/Oakland (like Yonnie), who give verses for Bay Area rappers Seagram, Psycho Gangsta, Pizzo, Y-D in 95-96 and had the group Badd Grlzs with another girl named Nika who she released the EP Deadly Ground with in 1994 (a group name that sounds like "Tha G'z", the Yonnie's group in early Ghetto Gospel / 4 Colored Girlz Only, cf. 2Pacalypse II).
  • Sample : 











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