The gruesome details surrounding Tupac's third solo offering are enough to give any music fan the willies. Released when Tupac was in jail serving time for a rape conviction and just after his recovery from being shot-up gangland-style at a recording studio, this was his most introspective piece of work to date. The heavy-hearted album opens up with a radio commentary describing the circumstances surrounding his shooting, and then plunges headfirst into Pac's infatuation with death. "So Many Tears," "Death Around the Corner," and "If I Die 2Nite" are all dark, eerily prophetic tunes that lend credence to widespread theories which suggest that Pac anticipated his impending death. The perpetually thugged-out wonder reveals a more benevolent side when it comes to gender and family issues. On "Dear Mama"--a fitting tribute to his mother recorded in the "Keep Ya Head Up" vein--Pac takes listeners into the loving recesses of his heart, while on "Can U Get Away," he echoes similar respectful sentiments to black womynkind. This is probably Pac's most progressive issues-oriented release before he signed to Death Row and became a full-blown thug. --Dalton Higgins