1. Micky Hamid
DigipakAnalysis
2Pac – All EyezOn Me
There are imagesof 2Pac on eachpart of the album, and he isreallythe onlythingbeingshownas
the backgroundisjust plainblack.The albumitself usesthe word‘eyez’asopposedtothe actual
word,‘eyes’.This istoemphasise his ‘gangster’image asrapperssooftentryand change the English
language andmanipulate themintoa more gangsterand typicallyblackway. Intermsof mise en
scene,onthe front cover,2Pac isdepictinga‘Westside’gang sign,whichagain isshowingthe
gangsternature he is tryingto portray. He isalsowearingsome chainsanda goldwatch,whichisa
typical signof wealthandpoweramongstblackpeople,soagainrepresentinghisethnicitydue to
thisracial stereotype thatblackpeople are gangstersandthugs.The fact that he has the word
‘outlaw’tattooedontohisarmagain hasconnotationsof criminality,whichisamajor stereotype of
blackpeople.He isalsoclutchingonto a chainwitha cross on it.The cross isobviouslyiconic
amongstChristians,whichiswhatmanyblackpeople are soit isrepresentinghisethnicityaswell as
2. hisreligion.Religionisextremelyimportanttoblackpeople andthisisalsoshownona picture on
the inside of the digipakwhere he isseenwithhishandstogetherandlookinguptothe skyas if in
prayer. The back cover shows2Pac witha smugand cocky look,whichepitomisesthe arrogance that
isshownby blackrappers.On the CD coveritself, there isanextreme close upof hiseye whichisa
directreference tothe albumtitle.The title itself ‘AllEyezOnMe’is obviouslysayingthat‘all eyes
are on 2Pac’,whichis againshowinghisarrogance andthat he isperceivinghimself tobeing
extremelypopular,andall the attentionisonhim.
The digipakusesa mixture of sansserif andserif fonts.Forexample,the artistname ‘2Pac’ isin a
serif font.The fontitself lookslike somethingthatwouldbe usedinahorror movie,especially
because itisin white.Thishasconnotationsof deathandfear,whichare topicsthat 2Pac oftenraps
about.Thisis alsoemphasisedwiththe darkcoloursusedthroughoutthe digipak,forexamplethe
mixture of blackandred. Hisrecord label hasthe word‘death’init,and the logois enlargedand
splatteredacrossvariouspartsof the digipaktoemphasise thatbrutal wordandthe meaningithas
to him. However,sansserif fontisusedinotherparts,forexample onthe actual albumtitle.In
termsof narrative, itcouldbe saidthere isperhapsa storyof 2Pac’s rise to fame.Thisisbecause he
goesfromshowinga gang sign,whichisindicatinghisgangsterandcriminal past.Itthengoestohim
praying,as perhapshe isprayingforsuccessand a betterlife.Finally,2Pacislookingsmugasif to
say ‘I’ve made it’andis therefore proof of hissuccess.Hissongsoftenrefertohissocalled‘hustle’
to getto where he is.
