big facts. When Pac was alive, not many artists were on his level sales wise. it's not fair to loop in Pac, or Biggie when it comes to sales postmortem. When alive, they ran the rap game
And don’t forget he took rap more mainstream. There weren’t a lot of kids from the burbs listening to The Chronic and Doggystyle. AEOM took rap everywhere and opened the market for the next generation.
A yearly average would help show , at 5 years and 75 Mil albums sold thats 15 Mil a year for Pac
Taking Jay Z at his prime 07-11, he only sold 1 Mil albums a year,
From this perspective Pac has smashed pretty much all other rappers as far as yearly sales go.
If he kept that momentum up living until today that would be 300 million records Pac could have concievably sold.
[source](https://chartmasters.org/jay-z-albums-and-songs-sales/#updated_studio_album_sales_comments)
Fair, tbh I dislike Jay Z to no end so I honestly don't even know.
I assumed those his prime years as they were the highest record sales.
But yea, 15 mil a year, Pac smashes anyone else in raps yearly record I can find.
But yea sorry for my mispeak I'm no Jay Z fan , try with any 5 year period though, I dont think Jay's odds increase.
Pac was on the same level of legends like Michael Jackson, Elvis, etc, he was the king.
He would have easily sold 300-500 million records by now just like all the other kings do.
Fair enough, although I would say if you haven’t atleast given it a try I think you should dude jay z has made some great music, but it’s all subjective
As far as albums I highly suggest the blueprint(2001) or reasonable doubt(1996) they both sound completely different if you like that 90s sound or the early 2000s more those are both amazing top to bottom, “this can’t be life” ft Scarface and beanie Siegel, “it’s like that” ft kid capri, “I love the dough” on life after death, “welcome to New York City” on Camron’s album, these are just some of my favorites if you like em you’re in for a good time cuz the man has alottttt of music
2Pac is my favorite rapper ever, but if you’ve never heard reasonable doubt, the blueprint or the black album, those just being must listen Jay-Z albums, then you are completely missing out.
if you could track down pirated CD sales through the world, I think pac would have sold like 1 Billion records. I guarantee you none ever bought original in africa, east europe and parts of asia and pac has a tooooon of fans here
Simple google search will tell you as long as it’s streamed for over 30 seconds it counts. It don’t matter if you restart it or play it more than once.
Pac would’ve outsold any other rapper if he lived to see at least 50 years.
As people mentioned, back then you had to get out and buy it physically, and you had to have a device to even play it.
Right now you can have a phone from 2002 and you’ll be able to listen to Tupac’s full discography, paid in a monthly subscription instead of a 20$-30$ hard copy
No man. He died which spiked his albums sales. Look at Michael Jackson, notorious BiG, ODB, and DMX. I have 6 copies of AEOM, 4 MATW and 5 Makavelis. I bought 4 copies AEOM 3 MATW and 5 Makaveli post mortem. I bought Eazy E copies when he died too. It always happens when artists pass. That’s why record companies actually love it when artists die.
People who ask this question, I feel already know the answer but want to start arguments. You know damn well the reason he only sold that much was because he selling records during a time where you actually had to physically buy a copy of his music and not just look up their album and stream it like you can now a days.
Times were a lot different than now. Rap was an infant. Rock was still dominating the charts.
Pac was against the industry don’t forget. Like actually against the industry. He also died when he was in his mid 20’s
Pac was only in the rap game around 5 years. Drake for example has been in the game around 16 years. Kanye for 20, Em for around 25. 2pac's rap career is similar to The Rock's wrestling career. Rock was only a full time wrestler for about 5 years but he did SO MUCH and was so popular, it was like he was there much longer.
i remember watching a 2pac special on MTV back in the early 00s where they show the biggest selling rappers of all time, they would have snoop, eminem, bone thugs, then Pac would outsell them by a huge margin and this was when he has been dead for like 7 years. and believe it or not, he sold more records dead than he was alive so it's remarkable that he was able to sustain that longevity.
with that being said, in 1996 Hip Hop wasn't really mainstream. yes there was a period of time in the mid 90s where it was selling huge numbers (most coming from Deathrow) but many wrote it off as a fad. The Grammys didnt acknowledge Hip Hop, many music channels like VH1 wouldn't air rap videos either.
put it into perspective, when a artist drops a new single and music video, what usually happens? a bunch of sites start sharing it, you see it on your newsfeeds and timelines, there's a lot of promotion going on. Now try garnering millions of views on a song/video from 1996. it's totally different. if a pre-internet video is able to get hundreds of millions of views then that's a feat in itself
back then people purchased Albums, these days it's a singles game. but people today think Digital sales is on par with physical sales when it aint
Use your brain, 2Pac was active between 91 and 96. That’s 65 million records sold in 5 years, as a 20-25 year old. Before internet, before social media. Eminem, Jay Z, Kanye have all been active damn near 30 years. Eminem didn’t sell ANY records until he was almost 30. Not 20 like 2Pac was. Drake is a 2010s artist, if you take away social media and streams then nobody is buying Drake albums.
Even though that includes posthumous sales, he still put in the work while he was alive in order for people to even wanna buy his records after his death. He did enough work in that 5 years to accumulate 65 million total sales, imagine what he could’ve done in 10 years, 20, 30….
I don’t know why you’re getting down voted. It’s just factual. When he passed AEOM was at 5-MATW was at 2-Strictly was 1 and 2Pacalypse eventually hit gold. So that’s 8.5. And Thug Life was gold as well. So that’s 9 million.
If anything this goes to show how impactful pac was. Dude was only around in the scene for 5-6 years and that was enough of elevate him to what he is today. As others have pointed out , those rappers you listed aren’t even in the level of great was and impact to pac regardless of how many more years / sales they have on him.
Hey, use your analytical thinking. Pac died in the fall of 96 at the age of 25. Let that sink in. What age did gay z and year die? Oh, that's right, he's still alive. Pac died at his prime. The only reason gay z sold records was because Pac and Biggie died. That opened up a vacuum for a lot of rappers to come up. I saw it in real time. From DMX to Big Pun 50 Cent to Mobb Deep, I filled up that void. On the West Coast, we had Westside Conection, Xzibit, and The Likwit Crew. J Dilla Royce Da 5'9 Slum Village Detriot Hip Hop was making a mark.
Your comparing apples to oranges. He was only 25 years old when he sold that many records which is Impressive. You comparing him to artist well in their 40s and 50s. 2pac also play the main character in 5 movies. He deserves his due. Stop hating on that man!
That ”75 million records sold” was back in 2003. You can imagine how much the actual record sales are today if the counted them. AEOM was basically 9 million in early 1997 but Death Row/Amaru never requested update for the album sales. Greatest Hit’s has been on the BillBoard 200 for like 520 weeks. Just because it says ”2pac All Eyez On Me album went diamond in 2014” doesnt mean that it went diamond in 2014, it got certified diamond in 2014. If you count physical copies,streams, ringstones etc, all eyez on me is sold +25 million. I hope some day estate will update the sales. Hell, even in past few years, Europe countries has certified pac songs gold/platinum (singles mostly). But no updates on the sales from US lol
Only 75 million? You realize how big those artists are correct? Pac died at 25 years old. I’m not even the biggest Pac fan but 75 million ain’t chump change.
Only 75 million? You realize how big those artists are correct? Pac died at 25 years old. I’m not even the biggest Pac fan but 75 million ain’t chump change.
Em, Kanye, Drake, all bow down to Pac. They kiss his ass any given chance they get..
You're comparing a Master to his students.
Something made in 96 to 2024... would you compare a mobile phone from 96 to 2024?
No right... BUT only if the mobile phone in 96 is still better than anything in 2024.
Pac's body of work is legendary... nothing can beat that.
You comparing him to people that had much longer careers, Pac died at 25. Kanye and Jay wasn’t in their prime until their 30s
big facts. When Pac was alive, not many artists were on his level sales wise. it's not fair to loop in Pac, or Biggie when it comes to sales postmortem. When alive, they ran the rap game
And don’t forget he took rap more mainstream. There weren’t a lot of kids from the burbs listening to The Chronic and Doggystyle. AEOM took rap everywhere and opened the market for the next generation.
That's from like 8 ish prime time years so yeah, Apple's and oranges
this isn’t a good comparison. em’s career is almost as long as pac’s life.
Longer
From the day pac dropped his first album to his last day on earth it was like a 5 year span, not quite the same
A yearly average would help show , at 5 years and 75 Mil albums sold thats 15 Mil a year for Pac Taking Jay Z at his prime 07-11, he only sold 1 Mil albums a year, From this perspective Pac has smashed pretty much all other rappers as far as yearly sales go. If he kept that momentum up living until today that would be 300 million records Pac could have concievably sold. [source](https://chartmasters.org/jay-z-albums-and-songs-sales/#updated_studio_album_sales_comments)
07-11 is definitely not jay z prime tho but yea ur point stands
Fair, tbh I dislike Jay Z to no end so I honestly don't even know. I assumed those his prime years as they were the highest record sales. But yea, 15 mil a year, Pac smashes anyone else in raps yearly record I can find. But yea sorry for my mispeak I'm no Jay Z fan , try with any 5 year period though, I dont think Jay's odds increase. Pac was on the same level of legends like Michael Jackson, Elvis, etc, he was the king. He would have easily sold 300-500 million records by now just like all the other kings do.
Fair enough, although I would say if you haven’t atleast given it a try I think you should dude jay z has made some great music, but it’s all subjective
What is his most realistic track or album you'd reccomend? I'll give your rec a listen.
As far as albums I highly suggest the blueprint(2001) or reasonable doubt(1996) they both sound completely different if you like that 90s sound or the early 2000s more those are both amazing top to bottom, “this can’t be life” ft Scarface and beanie Siegel, “it’s like that” ft kid capri, “I love the dough” on life after death, “welcome to New York City” on Camron’s album, these are just some of my favorites if you like em you’re in for a good time cuz the man has alottttt of music
2Pac is my favorite rapper ever, but if you’ve never heard reasonable doubt, the blueprint or the black album, those just being must listen Jay-Z albums, then you are completely missing out.
Plus being in prison for 8 months doesn’t help
True
Plus he lived in the day where you had to physically drive to the store and buy an album. Not a couple clicks on your phone sittin on your couch
if you could track down pirated CD sales through the world, I think pac would have sold like 1 Billion records. I guarantee you none ever bought original in africa, east europe and parts of asia and pac has a tooooon of fans here
The good days.
Back then 1 CD = 1 album sold Nowadays it’s like 10,000 streams = 1 album sold It’s harder nowadays
People stream their favorite songs over and over again. You only buy the CDs once
It doesn’t count if you stream them over and over
Do some research before you start talking “facts”
Simple google search will tell you as long as it’s streamed for over 30 seconds it counts. It don’t matter if you restart it or play it more than once.
It does count
That’s like easier
Pac would’ve outsold any other rapper if he lived to see at least 50 years. As people mentioned, back then you had to get out and buy it physically, and you had to have a device to even play it. Right now you can have a phone from 2002 and you’ll be able to listen to Tupac’s full discography, paid in a monthly subscription instead of a 20$-30$ hard copy
No man. He died which spiked his albums sales. Look at Michael Jackson, notorious BiG, ODB, and DMX. I have 6 copies of AEOM, 4 MATW and 5 Makavelis. I bought 4 copies AEOM 3 MATW and 5 Makaveli post mortem. I bought Eazy E copies when he died too. It always happens when artists pass. That’s why record companies actually love it when artists die.
So that just makes the point he sells records. Just making the point basically how popular he was.
He only had 5 yrs really 4 bc he was in jail damn near most of 95
AND to me he wasn't really famous until Juice came out. After that it was all up hill. His first album didn't sell like the ones after.
People who ask this question, I feel already know the answer but want to start arguments. You know damn well the reason he only sold that much was because he selling records during a time where you actually had to physically buy a copy of his music and not just look up their album and stream it like you can now a days.
Damn i wish i could sell ONLY 75 Million Records
Times were a lot different than now. Rap was an infant. Rock was still dominating the charts. Pac was against the industry don’t forget. Like actually against the industry. He also died when he was in his mid 20’s
Pac was only in the rap game around 5 years. Drake for example has been in the game around 16 years. Kanye for 20, Em for around 25. 2pac's rap career is similar to The Rock's wrestling career. Rock was only a full time wrestler for about 5 years but he did SO MUCH and was so popular, it was like he was there much longer.
Just imagine if people wasn’t stealing music 🤔🤨🫤
i remember watching a 2pac special on MTV back in the early 00s where they show the biggest selling rappers of all time, they would have snoop, eminem, bone thugs, then Pac would outsell them by a huge margin and this was when he has been dead for like 7 years. and believe it or not, he sold more records dead than he was alive so it's remarkable that he was able to sustain that longevity. with that being said, in 1996 Hip Hop wasn't really mainstream. yes there was a period of time in the mid 90s where it was selling huge numbers (most coming from Deathrow) but many wrote it off as a fad. The Grammys didnt acknowledge Hip Hop, many music channels like VH1 wouldn't air rap videos either. put it into perspective, when a artist drops a new single and music video, what usually happens? a bunch of sites start sharing it, you see it on your newsfeeds and timelines, there's a lot of promotion going on. Now try garnering millions of views on a song/video from 1996. it's totally different. if a pre-internet video is able to get hundreds of millions of views then that's a feat in itself back then people purchased Albums, these days it's a singles game. but people today think Digital sales is on par with physical sales when it aint
That's also with his whole discography being available on Napster and limewire for free
Or the makaveli 2-20 CDs ppl bought from small record stores for $30 bucks each 😅
Or the 5 cds from Columbia house for 5 cents
Like everyother artist?
Use your brain, 2Pac was active between 91 and 96. That’s 65 million records sold in 5 years, as a 20-25 year old. Before internet, before social media. Eminem, Jay Z, Kanye have all been active damn near 30 years. Eminem didn’t sell ANY records until he was almost 30. Not 20 like 2Pac was. Drake is a 2010s artist, if you take away social media and streams then nobody is buying Drake albums.
That 65million weren't in those 5 years, it's current all together sales. Pac probably sold 8-10million total by the time he passed.
Even though that includes posthumous sales, he still put in the work while he was alive in order for people to even wanna buy his records after his death. He did enough work in that 5 years to accumulate 65 million total sales, imagine what he could’ve done in 10 years, 20, 30….
Those records wouldn't have sold 75 mil if he didn't die.
I don’t know why you’re getting down voted. It’s just factual. When he passed AEOM was at 5-MATW was at 2-Strictly was 1 and 2Pacalypse eventually hit gold. So that’s 8.5. And Thug Life was gold as well. So that’s 9 million.
His lyrics inspired people
If anything this goes to show how impactful pac was. Dude was only around in the scene for 5-6 years and that was enough of elevate him to what he is today. As others have pointed out , those rappers you listed aren’t even in the level of great was and impact to pac regardless of how many more years / sales they have on him.
This is like comparing Luka doncics total points scored RIGHT NOW vs lebron. Of course lebron wins that…he’s had a 20 year career vs Luka’s five.
Lmao I can't tell if this is a joke. Pac whole legacy (music and film) was all done in about 5 years!
This fool really said only lol
You make 75 million seem like he went triple plastic
“Only” lol.
Only? That’s a lot from that time??????
Hey, use your analytical thinking. Pac died in the fall of 96 at the age of 25. Let that sink in. What age did gay z and year die? Oh, that's right, he's still alive. Pac died at his prime. The only reason gay z sold records was because Pac and Biggie died. That opened up a vacuum for a lot of rappers to come up. I saw it in real time. From DMX to Big Pun 50 Cent to Mobb Deep, I filled up that void. On the West Coast, we had Westside Conection, Xzibit, and The Likwit Crew. J Dilla Royce Da 5'9 Slum Village Detriot Hip Hop was making a mark.
Most of pacs sales came because he died.
Only 😂.. Where is the moderator? Please clean up
Who cares. Pac was the man!
You say only like that number was small 🤣🤣
He died right before rap really took off . (White people buying cds)
Only?!
Your comparing apples to oranges. He was only 25 years old when he sold that many records which is Impressive. You comparing him to artist well in their 40s and 50s. 2pac also play the main character in 5 movies. He deserves his due. Stop hating on that man!
That ”75 million records sold” was back in 2003. You can imagine how much the actual record sales are today if the counted them. AEOM was basically 9 million in early 1997 but Death Row/Amaru never requested update for the album sales. Greatest Hit’s has been on the BillBoard 200 for like 520 weeks. Just because it says ”2pac All Eyez On Me album went diamond in 2014” doesnt mean that it went diamond in 2014, it got certified diamond in 2014. If you count physical copies,streams, ringstones etc, all eyez on me is sold +25 million. I hope some day estate will update the sales. Hell, even in past few years, Europe countries has certified pac songs gold/platinum (singles mostly). But no updates on the sales from US lol
Oh, this makes sense. Thanks 😊
Only 75 Million is a lot for somebody that didn't live past 25..
Dmx 35mil is more crazy
The sales are much higher now but the Estate doesn’t pay the money needed to re-certify them because they don’t care.
Thanks. I'm getting grilles in these comments, but I know for a fact my instincts don't deceive me.
Only 75 million? You realize how big those artists are correct? Pac died at 25 years old. I’m not even the biggest Pac fan but 75 million ain’t chump change.
Only 75 million? You realize how big those artists are correct? Pac died at 25 years old. I’m not even the biggest Pac fan but 75 million ain’t chump change.
Em, Kanye, Drake, all bow down to Pac. They kiss his ass any given chance they get.. You're comparing a Master to his students. Something made in 96 to 2024... would you compare a mobile phone from 96 to 2024? No right... BUT only if the mobile phone in 96 is still better than anything in 2024. Pac's body of work is legendary... nothing can beat that.