MARIEL (QUIK RTW)
New York City, 1980s

Stetsasonic
New York City, 1988
Credit: Janette Beckman

Tony Rome & Black
Brooklyn, New York City, 1982
Credit: Jamel Shabazz

Smif-N-Wessun, 1994
Credit: Gary Spector

Wine149' by Lask
Staten Island, 1985
Credit: Henry Chalfant

BUS129 (DONDI CIA) - BOY5 (NOC167)
Tragic Magic. OTB crew car.
New York City, 1980s

Jeru the Damaja
New York City, 1994
Credit: Danny Hastings

Dezzy Dez aka DJ Kay Slay
Manhattan's 3 Yard, 1982
Credit: Martha Cooper

More than just a lead single, "...Upside" is a declaration of how far Snoop had become isolated at the label, signaling an impending departure by his next album. I wonder if he'd have left regardless of 2Pac's death.

"Shippin' records overseas, I'm makin' G's
With who you may call enemies
But I see nothing funny about makin' money"

Snoop won't be dictated to by Suge or 2Pac on who he makes records with. Even if the former consider them an 'enemy.' Snoop had previously talked about doing a song with Puff and Big

"Niggas in the game be doin' way too much
Actin' tough with this east-west coast stuff
See me, I'm all about my money, mane"

Snoop doubling down on his Angie Martinez radio appearance distancing himself from the Coastal war, which infuriated 2Pac. By his death they weren't even on speaking terms.

"Put me up on game, tellin' me who gon' jack me
But ever since I was a puppy 'til I was full grown
I never had no other dog pullin' on my bone"

This is directly about 2Pac joining the label and becoming its lead star, and Suge's homie. Snoop is ready for the competition.

"The homie just got paroled
And he got more stories than the Highway Patrol
Tellin' me about the money Suge Knight stole"

Dre telling Snoop that Suge is stealing from him, which he was. It's interesting Aftermath never made a play for Snoop, but I guess Dre wanted nothing more with Suge.

"Some niggas think they know they shit, but they don't
Some inmates escape, some won't."

Referring to Death Row artists leaving the label, specifically Dre, who likely advised Snoop to get out too.

But on "...Upside" he goes deeper...

"So If you plan on comin' out, nigga, hold up
This a stick up, Dick up
They got yo' shit on the shelf, oh, mine is too
And guess who they gon' pick up?"

referring to he and Dre's next albums releasing within 2 weeks of each other in November '96.

Throughout the LP Snoop responds to criticisms. Like on the Freestyle Conversation intro when a homie remarks "word is on the streets your beats gon' be delicate since Dre done shook the spizzot." Snoop replies "man, I don't give a fuck about no beat." And he's right. Because the beats were mid.

Snoop Dogg - Snoop's Upside Ya Head (feat. Charlie Wilson)

𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗼𝘄 𝟭𝟬𝟬 /𝟱𝟮. 𝗦𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗽 𝗗𝗼𝗴𝗴 - 𝗦𝗻𝗼𝗼𝗽'𝘀 𝗨𝗽𝘀𝗶𝗱𝗲 𝗬𝗮 𝗛𝗲𝗮𝗱

Snoop taps into his Gap Band bag for Doggfather's lead single, released just one day after the death of labelmate 2Pac. Ironic as the song is Snoop's riposte to tensions and rumors surrounding their relationship.

Biggie Smalls
Brooklyn, 1994
Credit: Manuel Acevedo

BEAM (KASE2 TFP)
New York City, 1980s

The Genius aka GZA, 1991

Black Sheep
New York City, 1992
Credit: Al Pereira

Organized Konfusion, 1991
Credit: Sue Kwon

CRASH - NOD80
New York City, 1980s
Credit: Henry Chalfant

Subway Rush Hour
New York City, 1988
Credit: Jamel Shabazz

Nas in the studio, 1996
Credit: Sue Kwon

"Flatline....
I hear the doctor standin' over me, screamin' I can make it
Got a body full of bullet holes, layin' here naked.
[...]
I call the nurse 'cause it hurts to reminisce
How did it come to this? I wish they didn't miss."

Incredible. This is why 2Pac is a GOAT lyricist.

"As a matter of fact, Suge Knight was looking for us. There was an APB out on Rappin’ 4-Tay and Tupac Shakur. So to calm Suge Knight down, when we did get in the studio, when we finally made it back, we put together a song, ‘Only God Can Judge Me,’ and history was made."

Rappin 4-Tay on how the collabo happened: "We seen each other at the Beverly Center and painted the whole town…Los Angeles…day and night, having fun, supermodels, bottles. Goin’ full throttle, in the droptop Rolls Royce, just having fun. You couldn’t separate us."

"Perhaps I was blind to the facts, stabbed in the back
I couldn't trust my own homies, just a bunch of dirty rats."

Such a powerful opening, oozing with paranoia. Pac had went through a few different titles, as per the copy of his rhyme sheet. He chose the right one. Wonder who Rah Rah is.

Only God Can Judge Me Provided to YouTube by Universal Music Group Only God Can Judge Me · 2Pac · Rappin' 4-Tay All Eyez On Me ℗ 1996 Amaru Entertainment, Inc., under exclusive license to Interscope Records Released on: 1996-02-13 Producer: Doug Rasheed Producer: Harold Scrap Freddie Studio Personnel, Engineer: Rick Clifford Studio Personnel, Engineer: Alvin McGill Studio Personnel, Mixer: Carlos Warlick Studio Personnel, Mixer: David Blake Composer Lyricist: Tupac Shakur Composer Lyricist: Douglas Rasheed Auto-generated by YouTube.

𝗗𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗵 𝗥𝗼𝘄 𝟭𝟬𝟬 /𝟱𝟯. 𝟮𝗣𝗮𝗰 - 𝗢𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗚𝗼𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗻 𝗝𝘂𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗠𝗲

The re-telling of a nightmare turned real, 2Pac deconstructs the why for his '94 shooting at Quad studios, and the how of his first night in hospital.