At around 43 seconds the beat drops out as Tupac comes to a poignant moment in the lyrics with “It was hell/huggin on my momma from jail cell” and then at 45 seconds the beat returns with a snap and drops back in to its familiar rhythm. The guitar takes over the melodic center as the song slowly builds. This is in allusion to the song “Sadie” which is not only sampled in this song but is also in a lot of ways the template for this piece. At 23 seconds the introduction of guitar to the melodic layers with a very blues/funk timbre. The beat is slightly swung as it hangs near the back of the beat, however it sounds very tight on the beat by comparison to Tupac’s sense of syncopation and backbeat delay. A bright cymbal crash brings in the beat consisting of not only the snaps (now more prevalent) but also ride cymbal, snare, and bass in a standard 2-4 accent pattern with an eighth note pattern on the cymbals. We hear some hints at the rhythm through reverberated snaps as she finishes her monologue the melody crescendos as Tupac enters with lyrics. She talks about being in jail pregnant and getting released just before Tupac’s birth. A spoken intro from Tupac’s mother comes over the top. The introduction opens with subtle harmonic tones with an almost ghostly resonance fading in from the background as an electronic organ plays a simple rhythmic melody. These things combine with Tupac’s lyrics to form not only a tribute song to his mother, but also a song she could be proud of and feel comfortable listening to. This is reinforced with 70’s sounding backup singers filling in the background of the chorus as well as the light male tenor voice characterized in the chorus. The choice of a 70’s sounding blues/funk guitar and an electronic organ speaks to a time gone by and the classic sound of music that his mother would have listened to, possibly this sound represents memories of songs from Tupac’s youth, and his mother’s musical influences on him.
The subtle harmonies and melodies and delicate rhythmic choices allude to the softer touch Tupac is trying to present in this, one of his lighter, more delicate works. This song is a tribute song to Tupac’s mother, and in a lot of ways to women and mothers coming up in difficult neighborhoods everywhere.
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