The year was 1993; an unsullied time in the annals of Hip-Hop history. The notorious and well-documented East Coast/West Coast feud was barely in its infancy, hardly the unfortunate bloodletting it would mature into. Today’s throwback harks back to those guitless days.
Tupac Shakur, over his tragically brief career, amassed countless number one hits spanning eleven studio albums [seven being released posthumously], so you can imagine the difficulty in choosing just one. But it’s almost May, which means the Sunny Season is right around the corner, and I can’t think of a better cut to get me in that frame of mind than the summertime jam “I Get Around.”
Off of Pac’s second studio album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., the laid-back track is classic West Coast debauchery, recounting Shakur’s partying-lifestyle and numerous sexual scores. Reminding us just how big a player he was, the iconic delivery of “You don’t know me? You just met me? You won’t let me? Well if I couldn’t have it (silly rabbit), why you sweating me?” says it all.
And when you add a couple fly verses from Digital Underground mainstay Money-B and the legend that is Humpty Hump it’s easy to see why this midsummer-blowout essential would become the first of many Top 20 singles for the biggest-selling rapper of all-time.
So relive those million-dollar pool parties of yesteryear below, and if you’re like me, gear up for the $9.99 variety you’ll likely be throwing this year: