The cliche is that rap albums are 60 minutes about shooting people, bitches, hos and flashing money and one song tacked on about how the rapper loves his mom. When listening to 2Pac's Greatest Hits, I can't help but feel that way when "Dear Mama" comes on. Here, it fares better among the soulful productions while Pac waxes insightful about the thug life. He puts his sensitivity on full display here, with the songs celebrating nostalgia ("Old School") or wondering if there is a better way of living ("Me Against the World"). Arguably, it's on this album that the 2Pac legend hinges; without the soul-baring moments like this album, the braggadocio of All Eyez on Me would be bone-headed. That fact alone would make it a quintessential 2Pac album. The fact that it's musically accomplished (not a bad song in the bunch) makes it one of the great 90s hip-hop albums.
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