http://www.youtube.com/wa...MAY2VqHbO8

Above is a link to a prison deposition with the late Tupac Shakur conducted in 1995. Watch and discuss.

I'm not gonna say 2 much about 2PAC here because it seems a lot say/know he's a thug while I as a white European never saw it that way.
I just like his music.

I don't know what he has done wrong in this vid,but I find it very disturbing that anyone should explain what he writes,sings.
Do you perform gangsta rap? they ask him.
Damn,it reminds me of the times Ozzy and Judas Priest had 2 go 2 court because they made devil music and they we're the reason some kids commited suicide or shot each other.Some people really think music made them do this.

If that would be true,then how come we still kill or fight each other after Heal the world or We are the world.

Yeah, Pac was more than just that "thug" image. You can see that he had tons of charisma and intelligence. I love how well he thought on his feet during the deposition and that smile was killer.

Tupac is so honest, he'll admit to marajuana use. How would this make him guilty anyway?

CinisterCee said:

They were just trying to paint him as a menace to society. Reminds me of that scene in that movie Lean On Me when Morgan Freeman's character asks the boy in a harsh tone, "YOU SMOKE CRACK, DONT'CHA BOY?!!"

He said he lived in Decatur GA, thats probally where he was locked up, for shooting at a off duty cop that shot at him. It was found out later that the cop stole a gun from the police stations evidence stash and used that to fire at Pac.

Pac was a son of a black panther, nuff said


R.I.P. Tupac "still got luv 4 ya"

Damn, I miss him

Tupac was a great writer and an actor with potential. And "Me Against The World" is one of the greatest hip hop albums ever made.

Janfriend said:

And where have YOU been?

Paisley4u said:

Remember that being young, black and rich in America is deemed a threat to society.
The powers that be always try to destroy this threat.

Janfriend said:

The motherfucker puts out an album every six months, how can you miss him?
He aint gone nowhere.

Dudes everywhere.

Duggs said:

Actually, Decatur GA was his home at the time of his incarceration. In this video he was serving time for criminal sexual conduct. A woman said he and his entourage raped her in a New York hotel room. This incident occured 1994. As a matter of fact, he was famously shot while he was on trial for this alleged rape in NYC in late 1994. He served his sentence at the Clinton State Correctional Facility in upstate New York which is where this deposition was taped. They are questioning him about a seperate lawsuit brought about by the estate of a Texas state trooper who had been murdered. The lawsuit was dismissed days after Tuac's death in 1996.

http://query.nytimes.com/...A963958260

dreamfactory313 said:

Ok thanks for clearing that up. Yea i know he was being asked about the state trooper. But an off duty cop did try and shoot Tupac with a stolen gun. Im not sure where or exctacly when but that was another one of Pac's many legal cases.

dseann said:

I know, I know

I meant, hearing him speak or do interviews

Shapeshifter said:

dseann said:

I really have to disagree with that. Sean 'Diddy' Combs, Jay-Z, Oprah, Will Smith, Jamie Foxx, Usher(you did say young, black and rich, right?). And many more you could list. No one has tried to silence or threaten them for being black and rich as you claim. I just find that claim to be a little bit of an exaggeration.
[Edited 1/24/07 21:08pm]

PurpleJam said:

I think what we are really talking about here more than fame or wealth is politics. What many of the black martyrs of the struggle (not necessarily saying Tupac is any kind of martyr) share more so than wealth or fame is the ability to spark social or political rage. They rock the boat. People like Oprah and Will Smith dont rock the boat. They dont say anything that could be considered dangerous by the white etsablishment. Tupac was just a dangerous figure to much of white America (and black America for that matter). There are alot of people who dont like the idea that you have money or fame but when you open your mouth and show that you arent afraid to speak (what you think is) truth to power, you open up a whole new can of worms. People want to put you in a box and when you get out of that designated box, there are usually problems. I suggest a book by Dr. Cornel West entitled, The Cornel West Reader. It speaks a great deal about blacks in power, blacks in sexuality, and blacks in politics. Get it.

I miss him too. If he were still alive, he would never have been made the "legend" that he doesn't deserve to be.

vainandy said:

I don't agree. He was huge when he was alive. At least in my circle

Personally, I think that Tupac was a poser who took the role that he played wayyyy too far. So far, that he couldn't stop acting. And it ended up getting him killed.
It had nothing to do with his mother being a Black Panther. It had nothing to do with "the powers that be" hating on him cuz he was young and black and rich.
He was no prophet. He was for profit. He was a fraud.
Not that it's great to be a real thug or gangsta or whatever, but a fraud is a fraud.
I swear I wish people would stop deifying this guy. He started out so great. Real hip hop trying to open people's eyes to some real shit. And then he just lost his damn mind and fucked it all up with that 'hood nonsense.


grammatical edit
[Edited 1/27/07 4:35am]

To say that Tupac was the biggest or one of the biggest threats to the powers that be is very dillusional thinking. Yes he talked alot about his beliefs in 'black power' but he was also very hypocritical about his supposed stance on his 'black power' beliefs. A tremondus and forceful figure in the hip-hop world? Absolutely. A threat to the U.S. Government? No he wasn't.

PurpleJam said:

Im not sure if this was in direct response to my post but just for the record, I never said that Tupac was a threat to the American government. However, I think he was seen by many in America as a threat to society/the establishment. Suburban America didnt want their kids listening to Tupac. America has always been afraid of aggressive social and political figures that happened to be black. There are many dynamics to this discussion and it ought not be looked at from only one dimension. I was simply drawing a distinction between more "safe" public figures and more vocal, more controversial figures like Tupac. Theres a big difference between a Tupac cd and a Will Smith cd.

dreamfactory313 said:

Yes there are many dynamics to this discussion and I certainly do not see them from just one dimension. Now you are correct about the difference between a parent perferring their teenage child to listen to a Will Smith cd rather than 2pac. But if you do remember, many suburban parents were very disturbed and outraged about their kids listening to heavy metal music back in the 80s. Parents actually rallied around the country in order to try and censor this type of music that they claimed was influencing their children in a very negative way. It was attacked in every way possible by both parents and members of congress. 2pac and his music was actually more upsetting to black adults and parents when it came to their children, much more so than it was to white adult parents. The fact of the matter is that rap has never been the only type of music to be seen as being negative and threating to the many white adult parents of childeren.

PurpleJam said:

I wasn't being serious, pleeeeez.
Is Oprah young?




But you do have to remember in this case, Tupac, like he stated, never had a criminal record until he made a hit record.

His words about ghetto life and the police brutality therein were too true for PD's of America to stomach.
[Edited 1/26/07 4:19am]

PurpleJam said:

more upsetting to black adults and parents then white adults and parents???? I really dont understand how you can make that statement.

Pac didnt care what the Government, or upper,middle class America thought about him he was not in it for them. He always represents the have nots, i.e thugs

I sure do miss 2pac too. He was alot of things but above all, he was talented.

dseann said:

Duggs said:

You are correct. He was not in it for them. And by most accounts white adults did not really care or even think about him that much, if they even knew who he was at all. I mean lets just put it this way. I seriously doubt that the vast majority of white americas lost much sleep over what 2pac was saying about his supposed militant stance and views. Black americans were much more concerned with some of the negative images that he portrayed in his songs. And of course there were many other black americans who saw many positive and powerful messages in his music as well.
[Edited 1/27/07 1:28am]

PurpleJam said:

Yep I also agree with your statement. thank you for elaborating.