 Dear 2pac Tupac Shakur
For the navy blue box, use:
 Tupac Amaru
 1 in 21: The Tupac Shakur Story
 The World of Tupac Amaru: Conflict, Community and Identity in Colonial Peru
 The Killing of Tupac Shakur
 Rebel for the Hell of It: The Life of Tupac Shakur
 Tupac Amaru Shakur: 1971-1996
Olongapo.cjb.net
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THE GOOD SIDE
The media's portrayal of Tupac Shakur as a tattooed thug has focused public attention on his alleged crimes instead of his music. In reality, this rapper, raised in Marin City, California, by a Black Panther mother, is more complex than
his detractors like to admit. Shakur (who performs as 2Pac)
is a talented lyricist with a gift for storytelling. He continues to grow as a writer on his hard-hitting new album, All Eyez on Me
(Death Row/Interscope), which benefits from West Coast-style
production by such artists as Dr. Dre. Recorded shortly after Shakur was released on
bail from a prison sentence for sexual assault, the double album shows a relatively contemplative rapper who's ready to make peace with some of his demons.
The following list of positive lyrics from Eyez and 2Pac's previous albums certainly doesn't make him a saint, but it does reveal surprising emotional depth:
1. "Life Goes On," All Eyez on Me (Death Row/Interscope): In one of the most touching [music: 336Kbytes .wav] moments on his new album, the rapper with "Thug Life" tatooed on his chest shows that he isn't insensitive to the loss of those he loves: "How many brothers fell victim to the streets / Rest in peace young niggaz / Is there heaven for a G? / Be a lie if I told ya that I never thought of death / My nigga, we the last one's left / And life goes on."
2. "Dear Mama," Me Against the World (Interscope): An insightful 2Pac repents [music: 301Kbytes .aiff] the stress that he's caused his mother: "Mama, I finally understand / For a woman it ain't easy trying to raise a man / You always was committed / A poor single mother on welfare / Tell me how you did it / There's no way that I can pay you back / But the plan is to show you that I understand. / You are appreciated."
3. "Keep Ya Head Up," Strictly 4 My Niggaz (Interscope): With a kind of compassion that is rare from any performer - let alone a gangsta rapper - 2Pac advises: "Be real to our women / And if we don't we'll have a race of babies / Who hate the ladies / That make the babies / And since a man can't make one / He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one." Hard to believe this is the guy who wrote "Wonda Why They Call U Bitch."
4. "Brenda's Got a Baby," 2Pacalypse Now (Interscope): This tearjerker [music: 301Kbytes .aiff] from 2Pac's first album tells the story of a 12-year-old trapped in the hopelessness of ghetto life and a teenage pregnancy. "Now Brenda never really knew her moms / And her dad was a junkie putting death into his arms / It's sad because I bet Brenda doesn't know / Just cuz you're in the ghetto / Doesn't mean you can't grow."
5. "Can U Get Away," Me Against the World (Interscope): Playing the knight in shining armor, 2Pac expresses his love for a woman who is mistreated by another man: "I refuse to give up / Because I believe in what we share / You're living in prison / And what he's giving can't compare."
6. "I Ain't Mad at Cha," All Eyez on Me (Death Row/Interscope): Despite the "fuck-it-all" persona he often projects, 2Pac shows that he can also forgive [music: 258Kbytes .aiff]. Over a catchy beat, he raps, "I moved up out of the ghetto / So I 'ain't real now' / They got so much to say / But I'm just laughing at cha / Niggaz just don't know / I ain't mad at cha." Pretty charitable for a guy who has been shot five times.
Why isn't it hip-hop when I do it? Everybody else can have a beef
within the music, talk about differences and it's ok. It's music, it's
hip-hop, it's groundbreaking. When I do it, it's war.
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