Ok, I know this may sound odd but I never really knew anything about him before. I just knew he was a rapper/actor from the west coast and that he'd been murdered.

Last night I watched Tupac: resurection and it was really interesting and he definitely was a quite a character. I still don't think he's the best rapper who ever lived that would be Grandmaster Melle Mel in my opinion.

What do you guys think of Tupac?

dancerella said:

Hugely talented, a gifted actor and one of hip-hop's greatest rappers. Me Against The world is one of the finest hip hop albums ever made. He could have been so much more than the cartoon villain he'd become by the time of his death.

He bored me to death. His music was too slow and that "thug" look and attitude was a complete turnoff.

Shapeshifter said:

i agree....he seemed alot deeper than the thug life image.im sure if he survived he would've had excellent film roles and imagine him on a timberland or neptunes beat..woulda been cool.

and -all eyez on me- was better i thought.

Loved the guy.

His music can appear very contradictory (or should that be HUMAN). I think you really needed to listen and 'get into it' before you fully understood his message. Many critics are fooled by the simplicity of some of his lyrics.

However, it wasn't about that, it was about the passion and raw intensity of his voice. His honesty, his anger, his life.

The film is very illuminating. Worth a watch even if you claim not to 'like' 2PAC. You may feel differently after watching.

Albums I'd recommend are 'Me Against The World' and 'Makaveli: The 7 Day Theory'. Although the 'thug' persona is evident on both, so are some very inspiring and thought provoking songs. Check out 'Temptations', 'So Many Tears', 'Dear Mama', 'Hold Ya Head', 'White Manz World', 'Krazy' ... man, the list goes on.

There is a reason for his enduring popularity and it is not because he was 'just' a 'thug'.

vainandy said:

I think those are the same reasons I could never get into him before.

By the way, in the film he said he used to go to the studio everyday and record songs. I guess that explains why so many album shave been released. Sounds like he knew he was going to die.

[snip-sos]

He may not have been the best, but he will forever be mine. Behind all the thug bullshit, he was a poet.

"So Many Tears"

I shall not fear no man but God
Though I walk through the valley of death
I shed so many tears (if I should die before I wake)
Please God walk with me (grab a nigga and take me to Heaven)

Back in elementary, I thrived on misery
Left me alone I grew up amongst a dyin breed
Inside my mind couldn't find a place to rest
until I got that Thug Life tatted on my chest
Tell me can you feel me? I'm not livin in the past, you wanna last
Be tha first to blast, remember Kato
No longer with us he's deceased
Call on the sirens, seen him murdered in the streets
Now rest in peace
Is there heaven for a G? Remember me
So many homies in the cemetery, shed so many tears

Ahh, I suffered through the years, and shed so many tears..
Lord, I lost so many peers, and shed so many tears

Now that I'm strugglin in this business, by any means
Label me greedy gettin green, but seldom seen
And fuck the world cause I'm cursed, I'm havin visions
of leavin here in a hearse, God can you feel me?
Take me away from all the pressure, and all the pain
Show me some happiness again, I'm goin blind
I spend my time in this cell, ain't livin well
I know my destiny is Hell, where did I fail?
My life is in denial, and when I die,
baptized in eternal fire I'll shed so many tears

Lord, I suffered through the years, and shed so many tears..
Lord, I lost so many peers, and shed so many tears

Now I'm lost and I'm weary, so many tears
I'm suicidal, so don't stand near me
My every move is a calculated step, to bring me closer
to embrace an early death, now there's nothin left
There was no mercy on the streets, I couldn't rest
I'm barely standin, bout to go to pieces, screamin peace
And though my soul was deleted, I couldn't see it
I had my mind full of demons tryin to break free
They planted seeds and they hatched, sparkin the flame
inside my brain like a match, such a dirty game
No memories, just a misery
Paintin a picture of my enemies killin me, in my sleep
Will I survive til the mo'nin, to see the sun
Please Lord forgive me for my sins, cause here I come...

Lord, I suffered through the years (God) and shed so many tears..
God, I lost so many peers, and shed so many tears

Lord knows I.. tried, been a witness to homicide
Seen drivebys takin lives, little kids die
Wonder why as I walk by
Broken-hearted as I glance at the chalk line, gettin high
This ain't the life for me, I wanna change
But ain't no future right for me, I'm stuck in the game
I'm trapped inside a maze
See this Tanqueray influenced me to gettin crazy
Disillusioned lately, I've been really wantin babies
so I could see a part of me that wasn't always shady
Don't trust my lady, cause she's a product of this poison
I'm hearin noises, think she fuckin all my boys, can't take no more
I'm fallin to the floor; beggin for the Lord to let me in
to Heaven's door -- shed so many tears
(Dear God, please let me in)

Lord, I've lost so many years, and shed so many tears..
I lost so many peers, and shed so many tears
Lord, I suffered through the years, and shed so many tears..
God, I lost so many peers, and shed so many tears

Stymie said:

Couldn't have said it better. It was the thug bullshit that sent his music into a nosedive and ultimately contributed to his death. It's cliche to say so, but had he not been so desperate for a father figure perhaps things wouldn't have turned out that way.

RipHer2Shreds said:

that and desperate to get out of jail. think about it, i honestly think that he would have NEVER hooked up with suge had he not been imprisoned, or if had just rode his time out like everyone else

Moonwalkbjrain said:

this i think is true.

Shapeshifter said:

Without All Eyez On Me, Me Against The World is THE 2pac Album to hear. That man was going to make history long before working for Death Row Records.

vainandy said:

How about Holla If U Hear Me (the first track from 2pac's second album, Strictly 4 My Niggaz)? THAT song has a faster tempo. And 'Pac was rapping in a faster flow too. He should have use that flow more often.

dancerella said:

And keep in mind that 2pac was a huge Prince fan.

And 'Pac also had enough rap songs to put in his own vault (an idea he took from Prince...as well as the yellow solider rag he use to wear on his head!).

RipHer2Shreds said:

True Me against the worls was his llast great LP. the deathrow music is very paranoid.

terryfrancis said:

THAT was so uncalled for Terry. And beside VA was only being honest with his opinions.

2pac was a rebel & too controversial for some people to handle. The music of 2pac, Thug Life, & The Outlawz wasn't exactly for everyone.

terryfrancis said:

BTW, I'm a fan of 2pac music. If you could spend more time listening/reading this whole thread and much less time trashtalking & running your mouth, then you would have known that already!

Kids today......

TonyVanDam said:

true, but as far as alot of hip hop is concerned theres no use in debating VA about it, his heart,soul and feet are with the funk

RipHer2Shreds said:

Don't forget Tupac got shot 5 times before he signed with Death Row. That could have been the end of him right there.

hey moderator..stop removing Terry's comments before I can read them

I can't believe some people say Tupac was boring. If there's something he was not, it was boring, whether you like him or not.

TonyVanDam said:

AFAIK all Tupac did was recording the raps. There weren't that many completed songs in his "vault" when he died.

Thanks. I've never been one to lie and pretend to like something just because so many other people seem to like it....regardless of how passionate they are about it. If something ain't my thing, I don't mind telling it like I see it. Thanks again.

I was thinking the same thing. I didn't get a chance to read them either.

there was a time where i wasn't really into tupac until i read some lyrics of his in a source magazine (don't remember which one it was) but it was pure poetry. i paid more attention to him after that.

For more insight into the man, check out the film "Tupac:Ressurection."

It's just too bad that his momma is letting the likes of Eminem and others pimp him from the grave.
[Edited 10/6/05 10:27am]

I've been hearing some tupac recently (in particular the album "all eyez on me". Never got anything after his death (except "changes", which is poignant)


He really was in the running for an oscar. Screenwriters would of written parts just for him. He brought a real sense of believability to his roles. He also shone thanx to his natural charisma, something that of course, u cannoy buy.

I think his last movie he did was called "bullett" with mickey rouke. A very grim movie in tone if i remember.

thesexofit said:

I didn't always like him as an actor. He was pretty bad, as was everyone else, in Poetic Justice. But he could also be good, as he was in Gridlock'd. Same goes for Gang Related (which was his last film).