Me Against the World features guest appearances from rap group Dramacydal and rapper Richie Rich.

Me Against the World was eventually certified double platinum by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA).

In 2008, the National Association of Recording Merchandisers (NARM), in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, included Me Against the World in its list of the Definitive 200 Albums of All Time.

From incidents in 1993, Shakur was sentenced to 15 days in jail for assaulting director Allen Hughes while filming Menace II Society, pled guilty to the attempted assault on a rival rapper and saw the charges dropped after he shot two off-duty police officers.

In the ensuing trial, Shakur was acquitted of seven felonies, including rape, sodomy and gun charges, but was convicted of two counts of sexual abuse for unwanted touching and was subsequently sentenced to 18 months to 4.5 years in prison.

On November 30, 1994, one day before the jury reached their verdict, Shakur was shot and robbed at gunpoint at the lobby of a New York recording studio.

He believed the shooting was set up by East Coast associates and collaborators, such as The Notorious B.I.G., Andre Harrell and Sean "Puffy" Combs.

Steve "Flash" Juon of RapReviews, assigning the album a perfect 10 of 10, particularly praised "So Many Tears" and "Temptations".

[8] Jon Pareles of The New York Times called the production a "fatalistic calm, in a commercial mold", and added that "while 2Pac doesn't sing, other voices do, providing smooth melody".

[9] Yet James Bernard of Entertainment Weekly, dissenting, complained that Shakur's "vocals are buried deep in the mix.

[6]Often depicting the travails of male survival in the ghetto,[11] prominent sentiments include anguish, despair, hopelessness, paranoia, and self-loathing.

Nostalgic jubilance distinguishes "Old School"—a roster his favorite rap songs, with associated joys, predating his adulthood—while bittersweet optimism occurs in "It Ain't Easy".

It was reported that "Can U Get Away" was intended to be released as the next single with a music video directed by Shakur's longtime friend Jada Pinkett.

In a contemporary review, Cheo H. Coker at Rolling Stone called the album Shakur's best and said it was "by and large a work of pain, anger and burning desperation — [it] is the first time 2Pac has taken the conflicting forces tugging at his psyche head-on".

[9] In his review for The Source, the leading hip-hop magazine in the United States, Allen Gordon hailed Shakur as an elite lyricist on display on the album, called it "his best work by far" and noted that "any complaints critics and fans alike had about Tupac's last two albums can be put to rest".

"Not so much in the music, although the harp blasts owe more to Howlin' Wolf than Tupac's previous two solo efforts, but more with Shakur's vocals, which are at once rebellious and resigned ... Me Against the World is a statement of intent, a note from the depths of America, and a fine, thoughtful LP.

Desperation follows raw anger on "Fuck the World" and "It Ain't Easy," but most tracks confess frailties beneath the rapper's tough exterior.

"Dear Mama" is a tear-jerking tribute to his mother, "Lord Knows" discloses desperate considerations of suicide, and "So Many Tears" ponders a merciless world that wrecks young lives.

2Pac even includes a sorrowful "shout-out" to Robert Sandifer, the Chicago youth whose brief life ended in a brutal shooting.

After earlier releases that lacked focus and consistency, 2Pac finally presents a polished project of self-examination and social commentary.

"[10] Robert Christgau of The Village Voice said Shakur witlessly exploited fundamental hip hop themes such as persecution while exhibiting an offensive level of self-pity: "His I-love-Mom rings true because Mom was no saint, and his respect for old G's seems genuine, probably because they told him how smart he was.

[35] • (*) signifies unordered lists Me Against the World debuted at number one on the US Billboard 200, selling 240,000 copies in the first week.

On December 6, 1995, the album was certified double platinum for sales of over two million copies in the United States.