Hip Hop and Tupac Pt 1

Today marks the 15^th anniversary of the death of Tupac Shakur. From the time I heard my first Tupac song, to the day I got my first album, to today – Tupac has played a “big brother” role throughout my life and I’m sure the lives of many others in my generation. When Pac died I was 7 years old. I didn’t have much exposure to rap at the time, but I had heard a few songs (California Love, 2 of Amerikas Most Wanted, and How Do You Want It) at different times that burned his name and sound into my mind.

I was in the 7^th or 8^th grade when I got “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” (everybody called it “Mackavelli”). I had already built an interest in reading up on Black history, and eventually researching the artists that I listened to became a part of my self-education. I had heard the names of the Black Panther Party, Huey P. Newton, Malcolm X, and Black Power, but I didn’t know much about any of them in detail. Listening to Tupac’s more socially conscious music led me to study those names and more as a teen. Those studies and the messages in Tupac’s, as well as the lessons that can be learned from examining his life are what led me to my current understanding of Black Power. And without that world view this blog probably would never have been created.

Despite the events that took place in Tupac’s life that would raise eyebrows for many about Tupac as a man, and Hip Hop itself, few can argue against his artisic genius. From the feelings of sympathy, sadness, and desperation in songs like “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and “Lord Knows”, to the hyped, partying mood in “How Do U Want It”, to a pissed off but empowered feeling from “Letter 2 the President”, “White Man’s World”, “Panther Power”, and “Soulja’s Story”, to moments of introspection and hope with “Who Do U Believe In”, “Better Dayz”, and “Thug’s Mansion” – Tupac’s music is mood altering.

The brother’s lyricism and symbology have led to thousands of web sites, books, and YouTube videos analyzing his words. Fans looking to understand references he made to past and (at his time) present personalities, events, and concepts to drawing connections between opinions Pac stated when he was alive to things going on today. One thing I always try to remind people of when they get too caught up in the “illuminati killed Tupac” and “Pac being alive” hype is that it doesn’t really matter if Tupac is dad or alive. He put the messages in his music and tailored his persona and sound the way he did for a reason. From experience, I’ve seen that when you go too deep for too long on sociality or politically conscious issues, you can quickly lose the interest of groups ranging from preps to jocks, to thugs and wanabe’s. Tupac tailored his music so that the conscious message was still present in most of his songs, but it didn’t turn off the average listener who wasn’t interested in such subjects.

Whether you understood or agreed with his message or no, you still heard the message; the seed was still planted. Whether those seeds take root through conversation, experience, or your own study is up to you and chance. Regardless, Pac put the messages in his music not for us t argue whether he was dead or not. He wanted us to feel the way he felt about the issues he spoke about and act on those feelings. Tupac said “I may not change the world, but I guarantee you I will spark the mind that is going to change the world.” I would like to think that I am one of those minds. R.I.P. and Thank You, Tupac.

Avoiding the Cult of Personality

Many have done it with MLK, Malcolm X, Tupac, Biggie, Jesus/Yeshua, and many others. They have fallen for a cult of personality, the overzealous praise, even to the point of worship in some cases, of an individual. This can give an individual an alarming amount of power over a large group of people, and if used the wrong way can cause a world of trouble. We did it, to a degree, during the Civil Rights/Black Power movements, and still do it today.

Tupac for example. Tupac was a conscious rapper (before going to prison or getting shot, and to a degree afterwards), but conscious or not he is seen as the "Greatest Rapper" in the history of rap (as far back as people of my generation, and a couple before that know or are concerned with when it comes to the history of rap). But for the most part his music was about addressing problems within the Black community and exposing the corruption of the government. Also, if you look for his work outside of what the mainstream media hows you he had many other books about/by him that have many of his poems and other things. 

Pac mentioned himself how he saw how much influence he had over a lot of people, and sadly he wasnt ready to take on that big of a responsibility. And it still holds true today, but not necessarily in a positive way. Instead of dissecting his songs and poems to get a better understanding of his message and what he was trying to say, people would rather dissect his songs to prove or disprove whether he is dead or alive. His being dead or alive doesn't change his message, so why bother trying to prove somethign that has no affect on what he said while he was here? Tupac served his purpose, which is why he is no longer with us. Neither Tupac or any other revolutionary could free us. We have to free ourselves. The purpose of the revolutionary or leader is to teach the people that we can free ourselves. Which is why they end up dying; so we can DO what they said we should do and could do, OURSELVES. The revolutionary is something like a mentor. He shows the people by example how to get the resources they need and the knowledge they need to have to take control of their lives. Likewise, a mentor is someone who shows a person how to identify their talents and capitalize on them, as well as the knowledge they need to do it. Without a mentor, people have to learn how to produce results the hard way. They may make costly mistakes, or pick up habits, methods, and ideas that are counter productive or destructive.

We all to often get caught up in the PERSON rather than the MESSAGE that the person was trying to spread. It's ok to love a person and remember people who have passed on, but don't forget what their purpose/message was while they were here. The memory of our mentors in the struggle live on through the actions that we take according to what they said, more so than any memorial, posthumous birthday celebration, or holiday can express.