A Tuesday That Changed Everything: 30 Years of ‘All Eyez on Me’ and ‘The Score’

Thirty Years Ago Today

On February 13, 1996, the world received two albums that didn’t just dominate the charts; they redefined the scope, ambition, and global reach of Hip Hop. In the middle of the East Coast vs. West Coast era’s most intense moment, All Eyez on Me and The Score arrived as parallel masterpieces—different in sound, perspective, and energy, yet equally transformative.

From the West Coast came 2Pac’s All Eyez on Me, raw, cinematic, confrontational, vulnerable, and unapologetically ambitious. It was more than an album—it was a statement of scale, proving Hip Hop could be larger than life without losing its soul.

From the East came The Fugees’ The Score, soulful, socially conscious, Caribbean-infused, and globally resonant, bridging cultures and expanding the genre’s emotional and musical vocabulary.

At Firestar Records, we often point to 1996 as the year Hip Hop fully stepped into its power as a mainstream, worldwide force. These weren’t just successful releases—they were cultural blueprints. Whether it was the G-funk urgency of “California Love” or the stripped-down intimacy of “Killing Me Softly,” these records showed the world that Hip Hop wasn’t a moment or a movement—it was the future.

Thirty years later, their impact still echoes in everything we hear today.