Stevie Stone, like many rappers, says he has been greatly influenced by Tupac. He names the double disc classic All Eyez On Me as “one of the greatest hip-hop records that will ever be done” in an episode of Best Albums.
“Tupac was my favorite artist and I don’t remember anybody coming out with double disc back then,” the Strange Music artist says. “I remember I was in junior high school or something like that, so he was like one of those and everything was a smash. He had so many dope records on there.”
He says the lead single, “California Love,” with Roger Troutman and Dr. Dre involved, help set the tone for the project.
“It was like all the stars was aligned and it was a music masterpiece,” Stone explains.
Comparing to Tupac’s other albums, All Eyez On Me stands out to Stone because of the burden that the West Coast legend seemed to carry.
“He was just in a different mind frame,” he says. “…All Eyez On Me was more rage. He was to the point, some controversial. Me Against the World, we didn’t see anything off the top of my head, really controversial at all. He wasn’t going through the whole controversial media mumbo jumbo either. So it’s just a whole different phase of his life. When he did All Eyez On Me, it was like a whole region on his back, with California riding with him, so it stuck more.”