They marked him as a thug, gangster, and criminal so that the masses would be afraid of him and anyone who resemble him. Some succeeded in this endeavor, even those that should have understood Pac more feel for all the shoot’em up lyrics and violences in gangsta rap. They highlighted just what they wanted to only influence their own agendas. Scare the people that wouldn’t understand his life and glorify the violence he’s seen to create a mindset that would enslave inner cities.
Tupac wrote about what he has experienced, he wrote about what he knew, he wrote about his environment. He also read books, pretty much was self educated, and what most people may not know actually when to a performing arts school in Baltimore, Maryland. Pac wasn’t no dummy, but they wanted to make a gangsta so everything associated with that term, you would see in him. So 2Pac took that label and made it into a badge that he wore proudly and wanted to change the definition. The problem was he was too articulate to be f***** with. His present was larger then life and he demanded the respect he gave to be returned, by any means necessary.
The system only wants you to remember songs like “Hit’em Up”, “2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted”, etc. They don’t want you to remember the story telling of “Brenda’s Got a Baby”, “Keep Ya Head Up”, “Dear Mama”, “So Many Tears”, “I Ain’t Mad at Cha”, “Do for Love”, and so many more classics. The system only wants to paint the picture of someone with a police record then someone who was recorded rapping about helping each other, loving one another, and being knowledgeable.
I was at a remote and this guy comes up with one of the most country voices I’ve heard. He’s got the tobacco in his lip, calls himself a straight redneck, loves Travis Tritt and Tupac. We had a quick but deep convo about me, a black dude that worked with a country station, and him a white guy that loved 2pac and who its truly all about respect, peace, and love. It was moments like that 2Pac was fighting for, it was chances like that 2Pac would have wanted to see. So I gotta say thank you 2Pac 20 years later for that moment with the homie Josh. Happy Birthday Tupac Amaru Shakur.
