Happy Birthday Tupac

alright…it just seems that i’m on a tirade and can’t resist the urge to comment today.
tupac was a man of many layers and that’s why he is so dear to so many people around the world. he was a convicted felon, yes. but he paid his dues to society. so why are we holding on to that? (do you think people will be talking about martha stewart’s time at camp cupcake while having a service to honor her memory? no. they’re over it. she served her time. let’s move on.)
that ‘brenda’s got a baby’ video made me cry as a young girl. ‘dear mama’ is still the mother’s day jam. in ‘keep ya head up’ he was talking to me! he was a real person and that’s what his die hard fans loved about him. yes, a man that was convicted of rape still rapped about his unwavering love for his crack feened mother. he was full of contradictions…but that’s what made him human. he had a personality, said whatever he wanted to, spat at the cameras, just didn’t give an eff about anything but being him!
it’s that kind of honesty and “real person” genuineness that i love in my artists. beyonce’s cool…but does she have personality? kanye’s a prick…but i see a lot of the same “this is my art and i’m living my life regardless” type of bravado in him, too.
this man was an actor, poet, rapper and happened to be incredibly intelligent. he just enjoyed the thug life a little too much and it’s unfortunate he chose to never release that lifestyle.
he was reckless, yes…but his music, as well as his mistakes, touched countless hearts and the rap game needed an influence like his.
we miss you, pac! i’ll wish you a happy birthday because i’m sure that you’re chilling somewhere in Cuba…recording makaveli part 659♥

before tupac switched to death row and got caught up in the dollars/women/excess….he had a message and that cannot be denied. the people that don’t know should go pick up ‘strictly for my nuccas’ because THAT is what pac was about.

growing up in cali, i wasn’t familiar with east coast rap and battling. ‘hit em up’ was the first time i EVER heard (or remember) a rap song where someone was calling out names; not dropping subliminals. with the makaveli cd…he was just picking out dudes to beef with because he felt like it! (isn’t that what 50 does every time he drops a cd?) even on ‘bomb first’…that was like the pre-cursor to nas’ ether (classic too, btw)

he called women b*tches…but have you heard ‘wonder why they call u b*tch?’ he breaks it down! come to think of it…that was a pre-cursor to jay-z’s ‘sistas & b*tches’!

there’s no comparison between his category of work and what’s being put out there today. i won’t subscribe to the notion that gangsta rap did nothing for community (because i don’t believe in gangsta rap, for starters.) but ‘brenda’s got a baby’ made me terrified to have sex! i did NOT want to toss a baby out in a dumpster. so to that extent…he impacted the community by helping to keep me from being another statistic.

but speaking of the community, do we really believe that white people listen to rock as a means to empower, uplift, and better their people? no…it’s entertainment. no more, no less. (nine inch nails, anyone?) the “uplifting the community” argument is moot. too much emphasis is put on people in the public eye to raise other people’s children. how about some parents saying, “this is inappropriate or too mature for you”? how about the community rallying together and demanding that changes be made? i’m not saying that people in the public eye shouldn’t lend their celebrity to benefit wonderful causes (when they feel like it). but i am saying that WE need to claim responsibility for what’s wrong with our communities and go about making change ourselves. we cannot expect for anyone, public figure or not (save elected politicians), to do it for us. our entertainers don’t necessarily have to be our leaders.

auntie…i’m really done for the day…i promise♥