Rocky Bucano, President And CEO Of The Hip Hop Museum, Reflects On Tupac’s ‘Me Against The World’ On Its 30th Anniversary

Tupac Shakur’s third studio album, Me Against The World, was released on March 14, 1995.

Tupac Shakur’s third studio album, Me Against The World, was released on March 14, 1995, and serves as a potent reminder of the complexity of the Black male experience. The late Shakur, who will always be regarded as one of rap’s most poetic lyricists, used his discography to address societal ills, including racism, mass incarceration, and poverty.

Me Against The World debuted at No. 1 on the U.S. Billboard 200 and was ultimately certified double platinum. Reflecting on the project’s 30th anniversary, The Hip Hop Museum CEO and President Rocky Bucano insists that Shakur’s artistry transcended sales: he gave a voice to the voiceless.

“Tupac is one of those rare creatives whose legacy is marked by so many accomplishments across music, film, activism, and art–he was more than just a recording artist,” Bucano tells Black Enterprise. “Me Against The World is really tied to the plight of what he would call ‘oppressed people.’ He was standing on top of a hill that many people would not be able to stand on.”

Shakur’s worldview was shaped by his mother, Afeni. As a proud member of the Black Panther Party, Afeni Shakur understood the inherently political nature of Blackness. This outlook indelibly rubbed off on Tupac, who often examined themes of identity in his work. According to Bucano, Shakur’s range of emotions on Me Against The World illustrated just how much he grappled with his existence.

“The depth and the vulnerability and the honest exploration of social issues are all things that we will all remember Tupac for…his style, his messaging,” Bucano explains. “On ‘Dear Mama,’ he really showed his understanding of womanhood and what it’s like to be nourished by a strong Black woman.”

There was also the side of Shakur, who interrogated his own ultramasculine exterior. “Songs like ‘Temptations’ and ‘F The World’ remind us that he was somebody that struggled with his own internal demons–he was a very complex person,” Bucano continues. Other songs on the album, like “So Many Tears,” revealed a mournful Shakur honoring the friends he lost to senseless gun violence.

The track could be considered a sad precursor to the rapper’s own demise. Despite being a music visionary, Bucano claims he isn’t fully convinced that the newest generation of emcees truly understands the impact of Shakur’s catalog. Educating the masses is why he is helming the Museum, which is set to open in the Bronx next year.

“I think an artist like Kendrick Lamar would say that Tupac meant the world to him. But to be quite frank, I’m not sure if many new artists even know what Tupac’s contribution is because today’s social media is really about the last 10 seconds–not about the last 10 years,” he states.

“We live in a period of time where people have very short attention spans. That’s the purpose of the Museum: to make sure that both young and old [people] are able to understand the contributions of people like Tupac. They would not get that from any other cultural institution.”

Bucano expresses wonderment at the way hip-hop has expanded beyond the streets of New York City to influence fans on a global level. From innovation to entrepreneurship, creativity to education, he says that the genre has become synonymous with hustle culture. Bucano also believes that a variety of narratives will keep pushing it forward.

“Whether it’s through the graffiti writers or the dancers, the B-boy, the B girls, the poets or the turntablists, they each have their own story that they can tell…and it’s a quite fascinating story,” he remarks. “That’s one of the most important parts of our job: to make sure that their stories are accurately told with the highest level of excellence and scholarship.”