This has been a Long time Coming and may be out of left field for some of Yall as I love what Pac represented to our culture, he stays in My Top 6 and In Rotation on most of my playlists. Before I go in on it let me say all this. Over the years there has been a lot controversy about the Brother some legit others bullshit. My list Issues comes down to one of the very things that made him such a great artists in part his hypocrisy and contradictory nature. Pac came from a line of revolutionaries and had so much Potential but in the end it stopped with his Death and only his music is a true legacy too him but the stories and actions he took have changed the face of HipHop and Musical Entertainment and made him as Important a figure as many of the Artists who died young with exceptional bodies of work. Some of my issues have more to do with the public and media potrayal of him in life and death.
That all said I break down into bullets my issues with him...
1. Did not truly have an Identity of his own... He was raised within the struggle by a Panther mother and Stepfather. Yet while @ heart he may have been he never truly embraced that revolutionary identity that was thrust on him. He was never A Gangbanger nor was he by any accounts a Pimp, Dealer or Footsoldier. Yet he let others who were go beyond influencing his music. He tried to become what he was not and that ultimately got him Killed. Over the years life took him to a lot of different places and instead of maintaining his role as a voice for the Streets reporting what he saw and was living through he tried to become what he was talking about. Truely he was a conflicted individual and never found himself in life as is evident from the mixed messages he sent whether it was Was Loc'ing, ThugLife, M.O.B., Cali Love, NYC Love, etc...
2. Did not know where his Boundries were... It is one thing to have a problem with someone and have no fear of them it is another to put there private lives even when they cross with yours on blast. Pacs beefs are a huge part of his public identity From the police to directors to his former freinds to colleagues to criminal fronts. 2pac never was shy or had any couthe when it came to not just saying what was on his mind but letting air his and others dirty laundry. He blurred the line between streets and entertainment which got him shot up, locked up and ultimately caught up in death. I am not going to speculate too much as most is common knowledge to those who were old enough to pay attention during his life, but his mouth caused him many problems as it made him famous. He wore his heart on his sleave, despite all of his literary influence declarations he absorbed knowledge but apparently not the wisdom to know when and where to speak on what so as to have a effect on his foes preserving his upper hand while staying safe...
3. His Deification amongst a subgroup of his Fans... I have made it clear I am a Fan of the man and his work he meant a lot not just to HipHop Culture but to black experience here in Americain general. He has etched himself a place in History but many have placed him on a pedastal beyond reproach. He was not Malcom, Marcus, nor Martin. He had a great deal of potential that was never realized as I have already stated. Potentional does not = accomplishment and again a subgroup has him being the greatest revolutionary since those I just named. Just because one call themself Makaveli or Black Jesus does not Make them Niccolo or the Messiah. As much as he or any of us may have wished it to be otherwise 2pac was simply a Great Artist and Entertainer nothing more...
Part 2 coming soon...
That all said I break down into bullets my issues with him...
1. Did not truly have an Identity of his own... He was raised within the struggle by a Panther mother and Stepfather. Yet while @ heart he may have been he never truly embraced that revolutionary identity that was thrust on him. He was never A Gangbanger nor was he by any accounts a Pimp, Dealer or Footsoldier. Yet he let others who were go beyond influencing his music. He tried to become what he was not and that ultimately got him Killed. Over the years life took him to a lot of different places and instead of maintaining his role as a voice for the Streets reporting what he saw and was living through he tried to become what he was talking about. Truely he was a conflicted individual and never found himself in life as is evident from the mixed messages he sent whether it was Was Loc'ing, ThugLife, M.O.B., Cali Love, NYC Love, etc...
2. Did not know where his Boundries were... It is one thing to have a problem with someone and have no fear of them it is another to put there private lives even when they cross with yours on blast. Pacs beefs are a huge part of his public identity From the police to directors to his former freinds to colleagues to criminal fronts. 2pac never was shy or had any couthe when it came to not just saying what was on his mind but letting air his and others dirty laundry. He blurred the line between streets and entertainment which got him shot up, locked up and ultimately caught up in death. I am not going to speculate too much as most is common knowledge to those who were old enough to pay attention during his life, but his mouth caused him many problems as it made him famous. He wore his heart on his sleave, despite all of his literary influence declarations he absorbed knowledge but apparently not the wisdom to know when and where to speak on what so as to have a effect on his foes preserving his upper hand while staying safe...
3. His Deification amongst a subgroup of his Fans... I have made it clear I am a Fan of the man and his work he meant a lot not just to HipHop Culture but to black experience here in Americain general. He has etched himself a place in History but many have placed him on a pedastal beyond reproach. He was not Malcom, Marcus, nor Martin. He had a great deal of potential that was never realized as I have already stated. Potentional does not = accomplishment and again a subgroup has him being the greatest revolutionary since those I just named. Just because one call themself Makaveli or Black Jesus does not Make them Niccolo or the Messiah. As much as he or any of us may have wished it to be otherwise 2pac was simply a Great Artist and Entertainer nothing more...
Part 2 coming soon...