On February 13, 1996 two prolific albums were released: The Score & All Eyez on Me.
The Fugees was a trio made up of Pras Michael, Wyclef Jean, and Lauryn Hill. The Score featured 17 tracks and included hits: ‘Fu-gee-la,’ ‘Ready or Not,’ and the Roberta Flack sample, ‘Killing Me Softly.’
The album awarded the trio with two Grammys at the 38th Annual Award show for Best Performance by Duo or Group (‘Killing Me Softly’) and Best Rap Album.
Across the coast, 2Pac released his 4th studio album, All Eyez on Me through Interscope/Death Row Records. It made history as the first solo dual-disc hip hop album being releaed as 2 CDs and 4 LPs. It became his second album to top both the Billboard 200 and Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts.
The album sold 528,000 in its first week and within two months the album was certified 5x platinum by the RIAA. By 1998 it was certified 19x platinum and in 2011 album sales had surpassed 5.8 million in the U.S. The first half of the album featured 14 tracks with hits ‘2 of Americaz Most Wanted’ (w/ Snoop Dogg) and ‘I Ain’t Mad at Cha’ (w/ Danny Boy) & ‘How Do U Want It’ (w/ K-Ci & JoJo). The second half featured 13 tracks.
Although his life and career were cut short in the fall of 1996, 2Pac has sold over 75 million records and made a name for himself not only as an artist, but as an actor and noted public figure.
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