I think ppl misinterpret Tupac's real agenda and get caught up in the strategy he used to gain his position. He wasn't a thug or gangsta in the context of what the media portrayed him as. He merely used that style of rap to gain the attention of those communities that he ultimately wanted to help organize and in that industry you don't gain your position through positive messages, but he knew that once he got them on-board, he'd be able to say what he really wanted. He was murdered bcuz he was a threat to the establishment (the dumb them down establishment) and he gained fame too fast. You can compare him to the Malcolm X of rap and no one man should have that much power. He had been pursued by the Feds since he was a child based on his family's association with the Black Panthers, so it only makes sense that they would keep an eye on him as a rising star. Tupac was not about that life, yet he knew that he could only gain their respect if he spoke their language, but his plan was to organize those communities and educate them with the same tactics that the Black Panthers used...teaching them to help and serve themselves. Why do you think the Black Panthers were infiltrated? They don't want those communities unifying. So to those ppl who look down on what Tupac really wanted to do...I guess you got caught up in his facade, but the man was much smarter and much deeper than the media would ever allow us to really know. He came with a voice that moved ppl and even though he wasn't perfect (like many of us who have self-righteous opinions) and he struggled with carrying out his agenda, he at least tried to do something that no other rappers in the game have done. At heart, Tupac loved the struggle and he was passionate about those who struggled as he did, but when you're in that arena rolling with wolves in sheep's clothing, it's merely a matter of time before they silence you. Tupac was Loud and he didn't Fear them, he knew death was following him. Just Like all of the other Great Motivators & Speakers of our time that used both positive and negative messages to help change the ways of the world....THEY ALL HAVE BEEN MURDERED FOR WHAT THEY STOOD FOR! So don't disrespect the DEAD, honor THEM...bcuz at lease they tried. Peace, Love & Light ♥
Only after he died, do people say that tupac's thug persona was just a strategy to get to the top. I think that's hardly accurate considering what he did in his private and public life. The last album he made, Makaveli, further fanned the flames of East vs West. Not only was he continuing the beef with Biggie, Bad Boy, and Mobb Deep, he was starting beefs with other black rap artists like Jay-Z, De La Soul, Da Brat, Xzibit, King Sun, LL Cool J, and probably more. He was murdered by Orlando Johnson according to Suge Knight. Just prior he was on video stomping Orlando with Blood gang members. Suge's from Mob Piru and towards the end 2pac got M.O.B tatted on him. His former producer said that the song "MOB" was meant for the Mob Piru Gang. Tupac wasn't a unifier. He was a divider as evidenced by the whole East Vs West era of rap music. "East coast nigga rusher..." -Tupac Shakur.
Benjamin K We will simply beg to differ on this subject because you are comfortable quoting comments made by Suge and whomever else that is involved in the cover-up designed to provide misleading information. Why are you comfortable and willing to blindly accept something that Suge said without questioning the entire motive of events that led up to the shooting in Vegas? And I mean starting with Reggie Wright! (if you know the story) Regarding the coastal beef, once again...it was advertised that way, not declared by the artists that got caught up in it. The dispute was between Biggie, Puff and Pac, but others began to align themselves in the beef, so it became an "us versus them"...simple math! But the media spun it in that direction, if you are capable of shifting the facts correctly, although it seems like you really want to hold 2Pac responsible for everything. Lol As for the contradictions, many artists contradict themselves in that industry, after all, they are simply human beings, not Gods, so they can easily change their minds from one extreme to the other. It happens everyday by average people without money or endorsements. 2Pac simply lived it in the manner and yet remained real about his life til his death which is predicted. Regarding Dre, many thing went on behind the scenes at Death Row...as many things do in that industry. Apparently if he wasn't fucking with Dre, something went down. Various sources have spoken about what occurred ranging from jealousy to favoritism, but the bottom line is that an issue occurred and that's between Pac & Dre, not us! At the end of the day, Pac didn't need Dre to make hit records when he had Johnny J and others. The bottom line is that I'm not going to waste time on speaking negatively on dead artists. I wouldn't do that to 2Pac, Biggie, Left Eye, Aaliyah, Jam Master Jay or any others. I choose to celebrate their lives and their contributions. No one is absent of flaws, so shed light on the positive and let the dead rest in peace!
I only hold 2pac responsible for his actions, not for the entirety of it all. The east coast/west coast rivalry had been going on for awhile. I remember an old DJ Quik line on PPC that went "the east coast in the enemy." I don't have a problem speaking objectively about anyone that's deceased, and that goes for musicians, celebrities, actors, politicians, religious leaders, etc. You keep saying it was the media that advertised it as coastal beef while ignoring 2pac's own words! Suge is not the most trustworthy person but he was a witness to the shooting, as he was right next to Tupac when the car was getting lit up. He refused to talk to cops but revealed to Monster Kody, when they were both locked up, who was the shooter, not knowing that Kody would later write about the encounter for a hip-hop publication. According to Dr. Dre and others, he left because of the increasingly gang infested environment at Deathrow Records. People were getting beat down all the time, and even the artists at the time recount this. According to Suge and Tupac, Dr. Dre was gay, refused to perjure himself on the stand for Snoop, took credit for other's beats, and took to long to produce. Tellingly, most if not all the criticisms from Deathrow in the music, are about alleging that Dre is gay. So again, 2pac was not above slander and making homophobic comments. "Faggots go home, Dre not gonna be here!" -2pac Please tell me, what do you think "really happened" to 2pac, and who was behind it. I'm open to your thoughts on it.
Regarding the coastal beef. I hold firm to my position of it being orchestrated by the media. None of the artists that got involved in it were forced to take a side, they all chose to. Even if you want to believe that Pac started the beef, everyone had the choice to ignore his rhetoric, but they chose to hop on the agenda. Pac was merely pissed surrounding the story of the Quad Studio shooting, it became a coastal beef because ppl ran with it. Pac didn't have me hating either coast and I'm a huge Pac fan, but feeble minds got sucked into it and the media did what they always do = exploit it and make it bigger than what it simply was, a lyrical beef! Regarding Dre, he knew that gang involvement was part of Death Row when he signed on in the first place, everyone in LA knew Suge's resume and Snoop's resume, so it was no shock to him that gang activity went down on the daily at Death Row..that's a Dre cop out from my perspective. Dre left because he had to, either peacefully or by force...it was a done deal for him. Mishel'le (Dre's baby mama) started the rumor about Dre being bi-sexual, not Pac...it just got back to the members in Death Row and Pac aired him out. I'm not saying that Pac wasn't in the wrong, I'm just saying that he didn't create the rumor. Many things went on at Death Row, Dre claimed that he felt like he had lost his creative control there and there was a lot of tension brewing so he left. Last, Pac was far from a perfect person clearly, but ppl get caught up in this "blame 2Pac for everything that went wrong" Lol. I don't hear you taking that position against Biggie when he made his slick jabs, Jay Z when he did it, or Mobb Deep when they did it, but when it's Pac...he's guilty hands down. Let's be real for once...Biggie started the lyrical beef with "Who Shot Ya" with all of the slick lyrical jabs and it all spiraled out of control. Let's also mention how LL Cool J hopped into the lyrical beef with "I Shot Ya" which featured various artists taking jabs as well. Pac was not the action, he was the reaction to what was being done and said. Yes, he took it there lyrically and I'm sure that you can find many more verse to quote when Pac went at a lot of East Coast rappers, but he nor Biggie created a coastal war, though I doubt that you'll be able to comprehend the illusion that you bought into. Pac was good at being the scapegoat whether he knew it or not, but dig deeper and the picture will become clearer...you're still scraping the surface!
I believe god sparked tupac to make the type of music that will spark the brain that will change the world! Even in tupacs hardest core songs that wants you dead I know god inspired them songs too because the person who gets inspired to change the world needed to hear every angle of tupacs music to understand what the next person needs to do with the boton! Like tupac said someone needs to risk it all and lay the tracks for the next person!
i have never once heard these rappers admonish these street kids to stay in school, get an education, make something of yourself. but on the contrary, they teach them to carry guns, smoke weed, sell drugs, get money illegally. through up your set, be down for yours......etc. its got to stop my brotha.
+HybridCultures Also, retroactive glorification of someone is by necessity utopistic, tapping into our own projections and hopes instead of cold facts. And facts are that 2Pac, however talented, was rambling about stuff he knew little about.
really, more good than bad.............. i fail to understand how personifying a gangster "thuglife" mentality and dehumanizing women is something that urban children can look to as premiere role model. i came from "the hood" and i know what it is like. there was a time when pac was a role model for me also, but when i began to understand the message that was being sent out i had to re-think things, this type of lifestyle is not what i want for my life, and its not all there is for black folks
brandon, there are plenty of kids that grew up in the ghetto and became something, i understand that there are character flaws, everyone has them, all im saying is that pac sends the wrong message to our black youth, along with all these other rappers, they see them, the money, cars and the fast life and thats what they aspire to be like. that my brotha is a shame, that is also big contributor to young black males locked up in record breaking numbers....
im disappointed Dr.dyson. your a hell of a debater, but im disappointed that you feel so connected to tupac, and jay-z and all these rappers who are less than premiere role models for our children. there is no way i would allow any of my kids to listen to anything that any of these rappers are talking about.