He had something for everyone, from the bougiest conscious rap stan to the cat that only likes songs about hoes and Alizé. And he did it from several different perspectives. The thing about Tupac, the reason why he was a legend before and after he died, is that he rhymed about life. Tupac is generally referred to as a gangsta rapper, but that’s not right at all. I prefer the original, honestly, because the third verse is much better on the album. “Motherfucker” to “young brother,” “get fucked down” to “loved down.” Food for thought.
It’s sorta funny how the radio edit makes the song more uplifiting. The album version sounds fuller, obviously isn’t censored, and Tupac’s delivery is different. It’s “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” off that All Eyez On Me album, and it’s my favorite Pac song for a number of reasons. And the only way to live in it is to know your worth, be honest with yourself, and make your own way. We made this world, or our parents did, and now we have to live in it. One vein that runs throughout Tupac’s work is the idea that we didn’t get here by accident. People can be a lot of things at once without being inconsistent, I think, and Tupac definitely walks that line. For others, it’s “The hate you give little infants fucks everyone.” Tupac expanded “nigga” to mean “Never ignorant, getting goals accomplished.” Contradictions that aren’t contradictions, really. For some, it’s an indicator of a fetishized attachment to the darker side of black culture. You can see it in “THUG LIFE,” the word he had tattooed across his belly. He walked on both sides of the street, so to speak. He’s contradictory, or inconsistent, maybe. They held out their hand and said, “You don’t get to go past this point.” What the three have in common is that each of them pushed back in their own ways. I love Pryor because he demonstrated how corny and stupid racism is, how to laugh at it, and when to stop and say, “Y’all probably done forgot about me… but I ain’t gon’ never forget.” I love Malcolm because he showed the importance of being plain spoken, of being a regular guy, but being razor sharp enough to slice strips off anyone who tests you intellectually. I love Ali because he showed that you can stand unbowed in the face of racism and let your confidence do the talking for you. The three most significant men for me were Malcolm X, Muhammad Ali, and Richard Pryor. In-between, he represented Oakland, Los Angeles, and young black men (and to a lesser, but still present, extent, women) everywhere.Ī lotta heroes came out of the civil rights movement in the ’60s and the period shortly after, when the movement flamed out and was replaced with… something else. Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on Jin New York and died on Septemin Las Vegas.
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