- Dear Mama
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"Dear Mama" 
Single by 2Pac from the album Me Against the World Released February 21, 1995 Format 12" single, Cassette, CD, Maxi Recorded 1994 Genre Rap, hip hop, R&B Length 4:39 Label Interscope Writer(s) T. Shakur, J. Sample, T. Pizarro Producer Tony Pizarro, DF Master Tee (co-producer), Moses (co-producer) Certification Platinum (RIAA) 2Pac singles chronology "Papa'z Song"
(1994)"Dear Mama"
(1995)"So Many Tears"
(1995)"Dear Mama" is a hip hop song by American hip hop artist 2Pac. The track was produced by Tony Pizarro for 2Pac's third solo album, Me Against the World, which was released in 1995. The song was written by 2Pac as an ode to his own mother, Afeni Shakur.
"Dear Mama" was released on February 21, 1995 as the first single for the album. The single was the most successful of all the singles released from the album. The song is considered by critics, fans, and purists as one of the greatest hip hop songs of all-time, and one of 2Pac's best songs in particular, being ranked number four on About.com's "Top 100 Rap Songs" list.[1] It was announced on June 23, 2010, that the Library of Congress was preserving Dear Mama, along with 24 other songs, in the National Recording Registry for their cultural significance.[2]
"Dear Mama" samples the songs "Sadie" (1974) by The Spinners, and "In All My Wildest Dreams" (1978) by Joe Sample.[3]
Contents
Background
"Dear Mama" was written in homage to his mother, Afeni Shakur. Record producer Tony Pizarro, explained that
“ Pac used to make references to 'Dear Mama' in a lot of different songs and I'd always be like 'You know thats a songs in itself.' And one day he was like 'I got somethin' for that.' And he was like 'Man, you have In My Wildest Dreams by the Crusaders and I was like 'Yeah.' He was like 'Yeah, I got something for that.' So I got the track ready. Pac just came through and just dropped it and blessed it with them vocals.[4] ” Critical and commercial success
The song topped the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart for five weeks, the R&B/Hip-Hop Singles for one week, and peaked at #9 on the Hot 100. It also topped the Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles sales chart for 4 weeks. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on July 13, 1995.[5]
It is considered by many to be 2Pac's most emotional and most respected song, and is praised by many artists (Eminem mentions it as his favorite song)[6], even by many artists who are not involved in the hip-hop business. It was selected as one of many songs you must hear & download in the musical reference book, 1001 Songs You Must Hear Before You Die: And 10,001 You Must Download. In 1998, the song appeared on 2Pac's Greatest Hits. The official remix is produced by Nitty and features Anthony Hamilton on the 2006 release Pac's Life.
Snoop Dogg said in an interview that this song displayed an introspective side of 2Pac, which made him different from other rappers, because "he went inside", something other rappers were hesitant or unable to do.
The song appeared on FOX Series New York Undercover episode Manchild.
Music video
The "Dear Mama" music video was directed by Lionel C Martin while 2Pac was incarcerated; thus, a Tupac look-alike had to be used for certain moments in the video. Afeni Shakur was also featured, shown flipping through pages of a photo album containing pictures of a younger Tupac. The video also shows snippets of articles relating to the Black Panthers, alluding to her past history as a member of this political organization.
Track listing
- 12", Cassette, CD, Maxi[7]
- "Dear Mama" (LP Version) — 4:41
- "Dear Mama" (Instrumental) — 5:21
- "Bury Me a G" — 4:59
- "Dear Mama" (Moe Z. Mix) — 5:09
- "Dear Mama" (Instrumental Moe Z. Mix) — 5:09
- "Old School" (LP Version) — 4:59
Credits and personnel
- Background vocals: "Sweet Franklin," Reggie Green
- Co-Producers: DF Master Tee, Moses
- Engineer: Tony Pizarro
- Mix engineers: Paul Arnold, Jeff Griffin
- Producer: Tony Pizarro
- Vocals: 2Pac
Charts
Peak positions
Charts (1995) - Charts (1999) Peak
positionAustralia (ARIA)[8] 37 Germany (Media Control AG)[9] 81 Netherlands (Mega Single Top 100)[10] 31 New Zealand (RIANZ)[11] 4 Sweden (Sverigetopplistan)[12] 43 Switzerland (Schweizer Hitparade)[13] 43 UK Singles Chart 27 US Billboard Hot 100[14] 9 US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[15] 3 U.S. Billboard Hot Rap Singles 1 End of year charts
End of year chart (1995) Position U.S. Billboard Hot 100[16] 51 References
- ^ Adaso, Henry. "About.com: Rap/Hip-Hop: 100 Greatest Rap Songs". About.com. http://rap.about.com/od/top10songs/ss/Top100RapSongs_10.htm. Retrieved 2008-02-17.
- ^ US Library to save recordings for 2Pac, Cosby, yahoo.com, Accessed July 23, 2010
- ^ "2Pac's Sample-Based Music". WhoSampled. http://www.whosampled.com/artist/2Pac/?sp=3. Retrieved 2010-11-14.
- ^ Jake Brown (2005). Tupac Shakur: 2Pac in the Studio (The Studio Years (1989-1996). Amber Books. p. 31. ISBN 0976773503.
- ^ RIAA Gold & Platinum Searchable Database - Platinum Singles, riaa.com, Accessed July 3, 2009
- ^ Tupac: Resurrection
- ^ "Dear Mama (US Single #1) at Allmusic". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r225253. Retrieved 2009-04-17.
- ^ "Australian-charts.com – 2 Pac – Dear Mama". ARIA Top 50 Singles. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Die ganze Musik im Internet: Charts, News, Neuerscheinungen, Tickets, Genres, Genresuche, Genrelexikon, Künstler-Suche, Musik-Suche, Track-Suche, Ticket-Suche - musicline.de" (in German). Media Control Charts. PhonoNet GmbH.
- ^ "Dutchcharts.nl – 2 Pac – Dear Mama" (in Dutch). Mega Single Top 100. Hung Medien / hitparade.ch.
- ^ "Charts.org.nz – 2 Pac – Dear Mama". Top 40 Singles. Hung Medien.
- ^ "Swedishcharts.com – 2 Pac – Dear Mama". Singles Top 60. Hung Medien.
- ^ "2 Pac – Dear Mama – swisscharts.com". Swiss Singles Chart. Hung Medien.
- ^ "2Pac Album & Song Chart History" Billboard Hot 100 for 2Pac. Prometheus Global Media.
- ^ "2Pac Album & Song Chart History" Billboard R&B/Hip-Hop Songs for 2Pac. Prometheus Global Media.
- ^ "Billboard Top 100 - 1995". http://longboredsurfer.com/charts.php?year=1995. Retrieved 2010-08-27.
External links
Categories:- 1995 singles
- Tupac Shakur songs
- Rhythm and blues ballads
- Singles certified platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America
- United States National Recording Registry recordings
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