What's With The Fascination With Tupac?

[skinsfan07]

It's like everything else in life. We've all had that friend who died. That friend, in reality, was an *******. But once dead, holy ****. There were 40 BEST friends lining up the casket and boo hooing the entire time for attention.

Same **** here. He sucked. Just another dead rapper. Big ****ing deal. Whoever compared him to the ****ing Beatles and God Damned Elvis is completely ****ing insane!! haha holy ****, get a grip.

rappers are a dime a dozen. quit acting like he's the second coming of malcolm x or some ****....geeezus people.

perspective here.....perspective. He's just another dead rapper. Big deal.

And Elvis is just another dead performer who didn't write his own songs and outside of his "flashy" clothes (sounds very rapper-esque to me) wasn't very original at all.

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

I'm sure people will try and come up with negatives somewhere in this interview....but its certainly one of my favorites. You can't just say he was "just another rapper" in my opinion.

Thought it was a good vid to post on this thread.

[Captain Wiggles]

I'm sure people will try and come up with negatives somewhere in this interview....but its certainly one of my favorites. You can't just say he was "just another rapper" in my opinion.

Thought it was a good vid to post on this thread.

Thanks, I'd never seen that before.

[SkinsTerps26]

This is possibly the worst thread ever started.

[blue collar]

This is possibly the worst thread ever started.

Why? Because not everyone views Tupac as the second coming?

[Spaceman Spiff]

I'm sure people will try and come up with negatives somewhere in this interview....but its certainly one of my favorites. You can't just say he was "just another rapper" in my opinion.

Thought it was a good vid to post on this thread.

That was a good interview, though I don't agree with much of what he's saying.

I think part of the fascination with him is that he was an incredibly complex individual. He could talk about social things like he does in that video, record a song like Brenda's Got a Baby and Keep Your Head Up and then turn around and make gangsta rap that puts women down. It's almost as if his complexities have complexities.

He was a smart dude. You might not agree with what he says or how he says it, but he was a smart dude.

He was a black man with a really big voice, a really big presence. In the African American community that goes a long, long way and will never be discounted. That's why Maya Angelou was talking about him in such a positive manner on that 30 for 30 documentary...he had the attention of black youth and was making outsiders aware of social issues. Yes, there was a rough/thug side to him, but even Maya Angelou understood that there was good in his soul.

I honestly think he was bi-polar with the way he acted and rapped...incredibly positive and inspiring at times, and the next moment showing a completely different side.

[blue collar]

I'm sure people will try and come up with negatives somewhere in this interview....but its certainly one of my favorites. You can't just say he was "just another rapper" in my opinion.

Thought it was a good vid to post on this thread.

I actually agree with a lot he was saying, but I wonder was he singing the same tune when HE got rich. I remember a video of him throwing money around as if it was nothing. I'm sure all those poor people he talked about in this video probably said, "we don't have food but he he can throw money around like that?"

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

Why? Because not everyone views Tupac as the second coming?

You make a thread asking people a question.....yet people try and give you answer about why so many people are fascinated with the man...and you just shoot them down....I agree this thread should be closed.

You didn't want an answer you just wanted to hate on tupac.

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

I actually agree with a lot he was saying, but I wonder was he singing the same tune when HE got rich. I remember a video of him throwing money around as if it was nothing. I'm sure all those poor people he talked about in this video probably said, "we don't have food but he he can throw money around like that?"

I think him always flaunting his money around was just him being proud of himself from where he came....and still being able to succeed the way he did. He talked about that alot. I understand what you're saying though.

[blue collar]

You make a thread asking people a question.....yet people try and give you answer about why so many people are fascinated with the man...and you just shoot them down....I agree this thread should be closed.

You didn't want an answer you just wanted to hate on tupac.

I'm not about to kiss up to dude. You can take it for what it is. You can go right ahead and put him next to Malcolm X or MLK. I won't. I totally understand why some are facsinated with him after reading all the post, I just don't agree that he should be glorified anymore than anyone else who's done some of what he has done.

[Captain Wiggles]

I actually agree with a lot he was saying, but I wonder was he singing the same tune when HE got rich. I remember a video of him throwing money around as if it was nothing. I'm sure all those poor people he talked about in this video probably said, "we don't have food but he he can throw money around like that?"

Once again. All the more reason for some to be fascinated by him. Nobody's asking you to proclaim him the GOAT. You wanted to know why the fascination right? I think that question has been answered in detail by plenty of people. But let me guess your still not getting this?

[blue collar]

Once again. All the more reason for some to be fascinated by him. Nobody's asking you to proclaim him the GOAT. You wanted to know why the fascination right? I think that question has been answered in detail by plenty of people. But let me guess your still not getting this?

Again, you're the one not getting it. I understand from reading post why each individial is fascinated with him. It still doesn't convince me that he's someone to be fascinated with.

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

I'm not about to kiss up to dude. You can take it for what it is. You can go right ahead and put him next to Malcolm X or MLK. I won't. I totally understand why some are facsinated with him after reading all the post, I just don't agree that he should be glorified anymore than anyone else who's done some of what he has done.

I'll say this.

I'm not going to put him next to those type of people....but at the same time he was murdered when he was 25 yrs old.

I think if he had the chance to grow older and mature I think he would have been quite a man. But his own mistakes and immaturity at that point in his life is what killed him, and he knew it...thats why he always talked about knowing he was going to die young.

You talk about the things he did, I don't think he did anything so wrong...yeah he got into trouble and did some dumb things....but you have to look at the way he was raised.....you're not going to find a human being who can grow up in that type of situation and be perfect.

And I think thats why so many people love him...across the world...because they saw a man who wasn't perfect...made mistakes....and still succeeded....and it gives those type of kids hope.

Just because you are born in a bad situation and all the odds are against you....you can still succeed. That's what he lived for. And that's what he always talked about...he wanted to give hope to the hopeless.

[blue collar]

I'll say this.

I'm not going to put him next to those type of people....but at the same time he was murdered when he was 25 yrs old.

I think if he had the chance to grow older and mature I think he would have been quite a man. But his own mistakes and immaturity at that point in his life is what killed him, and he knew it...thats why he always talked about knowing he was going to die young.

You talk about the things he did, I don't think he did anything so wrong...yeah he got into trouble and did some dumb things....but you have to look at the way he was raised.....you're not going to find a human being who can grow up in that type of situation and be perfect.

And I think thats why so many people love him...across the world...because they saw a man who wasn't perfect...made mistakes....and still succeeded....and it gives those type of kids hope.

Just because you are born in a bad situation and all the odds are against you....you can still succeed. That's what he lived for. And that's what he always talked about...he wanted to give hope to the hopeless.

I agree with some of what you said. But one thing does stick out. You said, "I don't think he did anything so wrong." Now if you know anything about Tupac, you should know he was involved in some very bad things. Again, we're not talking about smoking pot here. He was once involved in a shootout that killed a little kid. Granted, he wasn't charged, but he was indirectly involved.

[blue collar]

I agree with some of what you said. But one thing does stick out. You said, "I don't think he did anything so wrong." Now if you know anything about Tupac, you should know he was involved in some very bad things. Again, we're not talking about smoking pot here. He was once involved in a shootout that killed a little kid. Granted, he wasn't charged, but he was indirectly involved.

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

I agree with some of what you said. But one thing does stick out. You said, "I don't think he did anything so wrong." Now if you know anything about Tupac, you should know he was involved in some very bad things. Again, we're not talking about smoking pot here. He was once involved in a shootout that killed a little kid. Granted, he wasn't charged, but he was indirectly involved.

Yeah...and when I say dumb things thats the kind of stuff I mean.

It was him being stupid and young...but it wasn't him being a bad person. He put himself in bad situations that got him in trouble.

The little boy thing you brought up....he got himself in that situation but he had no intentions of harming a little boy that was accidentally shot by someone else.

And the rape case....he was dumb enough to have a woman who he had no idea was, and have her in his hotel room....he couldn't trust her...thats his fault....but it has nothing to do with him intentionally trying to hurt innocent people or anything of that nature.

He was stupid and immature and he talked about that in several interviews in his life. I'm not saying you should totally disregard those things he was involved with, but to act like people should not look up to him and love him the way so many people do, because of those type of things would be wrong in my opinion.

[blue collar]

The little boy thing you brought up....he got himself in that situation but he had no intentions of harming a little boy that was accidentally shot by someone else.

He might not have had any intentions to hurt that kid, but he is partially to blame for his death. If you and your boys get into a gunfight and an innocent person gets hurt/killed, whether the bullet came from your gun or not, you're partially responsible.

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

He might not have had any intentions to hurt that kid, but he is partially to blame for his death. If you and your boys get into a gunfight and an innocent person gets hurt/killed, whether the bullet came from your gun or not, you're partially responsible.

Totally agree with that.

But i'm saying you can't put it all on 2pac and make him out to be a BAD person because of him being immature at that time in his life. he definitely had to take some of that responsibility for the kids death...and i'm sure it made pac sad as hell when he found out.

But to say oh well he was involved in this instance so you shouldn't look up to him and think of him as a good person....that I totally disagree with.

Nothing that pac was involved with makes him a bad person....just young and dumb.

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

Here's one more video of pac that might give you a better idea of who he was.

I'm done trying to defend the man now, my fingers hurt haha.

All i know is that I believe he was a special man. not meaning he was jesus....just meaning he was different....and I respect the hell out of him for that...because it isn't easy to be that way is this world.

[Thinking Skins]

This is from the other thread, comparing Tupac to Biggie.

Record Sales DON'T make emcees. But having albums rated number 1 by the Source, Vibe, AllHipHop, XXL, etc are good indicators of talent.

But if you want to discuss pure abilities, Tupac had the entire spectrum of emotions - something that uniquely charactizes him amongst the emcees of his day and those after him.

Look at Biggie, and what do you see? A great storyteller, with a nice flow. But the only time he ever talked about having a hard life was "Suicidal Thoughts". "Super Nintendo Sega Genesis" doesn't count cause he's talking about how he had finally made it.

Tupac on the other hand:

"With all this extra stressin,

the question I wonder is after death, after my last breath,

when will I finally get to rest through this oppression.

They punish the people that's askin questions.

And those that possess steal from the ones without posessions.

The message I stress - to make ya stop, study ya lesson, don't settle for less.

Even the genuises ask his questions

Be greatful for blessings.

Don't ever change, keep ya essence

The power is in the people and politics we address.

Always do ya best.

Don't let the pressure make ya panick and when you get stranded

And things don't go the way you planned it

Dreamin of riches, in a position of making a difference

Politicians are hypocrites, they don't wanna listen.

If I'm insane, its the fame made a brotha change.

It wasn't nothin like the game

Its just me against the world!"

Do you see that vision in those lyrics? The dude had the ability to see things through ANYBODY's eyes and then relate stuff to everybody else.

Then he could make his songs inspiring "Keep Ya head up", or remorseful, "Life Goes On".

Dude could be braggin about women "I Get Around" or talkin about helpin women "White Man's World".

He could make one of the greatest diss songs ever "Hit 'em Up" or a song about respect "I Ain't Mad at Ya".

He could spark your imagination "I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto" and "Thugs Mansion" and "Ghetto Gospel" and "Who do You believe in"

He could talk about the hardships of street life "Brenda Got a Baby", "16 on Death Row", "Tatoo Tears"

I mean, I can go on and on.

With Biggie, you knew what you were getting. A nice story about his life as a gangsta. Pac could take you to church, make you want to turn your life around, expose the conspiracies of society, and make you want to go and shoot up a club.

It shouldn't even be a question.

Nah, I'm comparing what they had out at the same times.

Ready to Die came out in August of 1994.

Me Against the World came out in March of 1995.

Then on Feb of 1996, All Eyez on Me came out.

Then in Sept of 1996, Makaveli came out.

Then in March of 1997, Life After Death came out.

So these are the albums that Pac released while Biggie was out.

You talk about going song for song. But Pac put out songs that are classics. I mean I can't go to a funeral in the Ghetto and not hear a song like "Life Goes on". Biggie's albums were nice. scratch that. Ready to Die was a great album, but I didn't want to memorize too many of the songs. On the other hand. I memorized almost every track off of Me Against the World. Who didn't sing "Dear Mama" for their mother that Mothers day?

Life After Death showed he could work with other artists and stuff, and Biggie's verse with bone is real nice, but not too many of the tracks are things that I've got to hear over and over again. But I can't tell you the number of times I've had to play "I ain't mad at ya", "Only God Can Judge Me", "Shorty Wanna Be a Thug", and the other classics from Pac's albums.

Then Makaveli is just on another level. He took it to the industry, he had classics like "Me and My Girlfriend", something Biggie couldn't touch, "To Live and Die in LA", "White Man's World", "Hail Mary", "Hold ya Head", "Hit em Up"....just about every song on there is a classic!

I'll put it like this. I listen to Biggie's songs when there's nothing bothering me and I just want to hear a nice story. I listen to Pac when I need to know that I ain't alone and there are other people going through the same stresses as me - or when I just want to hear a nice story.

[Thinking Skins]

Man this brings back memories. I realize that some people are not gonna want to think of Pac as anything more than a rapper, and to some, just an overrated rapper. But to some of us, he's so much more.

The Rose that Grew from Concrete

- by Tupac Shakur

Did you hear about the rose that grew

from a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature's law is wrong it

learned to walk with out having feet.

Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,

it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concrete

when no one else ever cared.

I mean, this guy's lyrics touched me. I tell other people that he could tell my life story without ever having met me. That doesn't mean I've live an overly simple life, it means that Tupac has an ability to think about things that connect people and make the things they're going through similar. I just remember everybody getting hyped about this stuff, and this is his poetry. Part of it had to do with his death, but a lot of it had to do with us having these same thoughts growing up. Especially, the above poem. I remember being the smart kid in class and all the negative attention I'd get from teachers and stuff. when I saw this poem, I thought it described me perfectly.

In the Event of My Demise

- by Tupac Shakur

In the event of my Demise

when my heart can beat no more

I Hope I Die For A Principle

or A Belief that I had Lived 4

I will die Before My Time

Because I feel the shadow's Depth

so much I wanted 2 accomplish

before I reached my Death

I have come 2 grips with the possibility

and wiped the last tear from My eyes

I Loved All who were Positive

In the event of my Demise

And I can't count the number of people I've known (including myself) who thought they wouldn't live past 25. Not because we were doing anything that would get us killed, just because we grew up in an area where being a Black man who lives past 25 is not the norm. This just takes me down memory lane.

[TV aka TeeVeli aka BAMBAM30]

Couldn't agree more with Thinking Skins' quotes above.

[skinsfan07]

cue the Blue Collar "but he was just a thug, who cares?" post.

Very well said Thinking Skins. I agree 100%.