All Eyez...

2Pacalypse… Now
written by JusHH

Any and everyone who knows me know that 2Pac was, is and will probably always be my favorite rapper. Considering that, I thought it was amazing that after almost a year and 50 posts, Pac was only the main subject of two of them (“Fanatic” & “Anatomy of a G.O.A.T.”). Keep in mind Soulja Boy has been the subject of two of my posts and I’ve probably mentioned Young Jeezy more times. I watched Tupac: Ressurection the other night (excellent documentary, if you haven’t you really should) and I recently rocked the Makaveli album and realized that I need to give my dude some PTM face time. So here’s some random but poignant Pac thoughts…


He did way too many songs with the Outlawz. They weren’t wack but classics like “Hail Mary” or “Hit Em Up” would have been so much better if he just did the song by himself.

Tupac was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 2006 and passed 6 days later. On September 6, 2006… well let’s just say that Pac had a few people who didn’t like him. And let’s face it, Pac deserved a lot of the dislike that came his way. His most recent music was more angry than uplifting. He cursed out countless rappers and public personalities on songs and interviews. He said things about people that can only be settled with a fist fight in the school yard and rode thick with the most despised man in Hip-Hop history. Right or wrong, 2Pac probably had more enemies than friends before Vegas. So when he was killed, everyone started speaking about Pac like he was Mother Teresa. Rappers who Pac literally cursed out, made tribute songs. I always wondered, what do Dr. Dre, Jay-Z, Puffy and Nas really feel about 2Pac? In their home and away from their cameras, do they not really give a f**k that he’s dead and only speaks about him to appease the fans? Or is it honest maturity and they really forgave him and respect him as an artist?

50 Cent, Ja Rule, DMX, The Game, and countless others have made or enhanced their fame based on the idea that people thought they were the next “Pac” or they themselves bragged that they were as real or as gangster or as great as 2Pac was. I just wonder what these guys would have been saying if Pac didn’t die?

Pac made being shot and surviving cool and a great career boost. How ridiculous is that?

Could you imagine someone taking a Shakespeare play and changing all of the words or the climax before it’s presented to the public? It’s one thing to take an existing work and creatively re-do it (c. the countless versions of Romeo & Juliet) but to alter it from jump is silly. But that’s exactly what happened with 2Pac’s music. Before his death, 2Pac recorded an estimated 180-200 unreleased songs. If you take 12 tracks, you can release at minimum 15 albums of original music. What Hip-Hop fan wouldn’t want to hear Pac’s music the way he actually made it? Who the f**k wants to hear Young Buck, Eminem, T.I. and Trick Daddy on a song with him? I’m more mad at Em for what he did to the Resurrection soundrack (except for “Runnin’”) than for the Encore album. Who’s freggin’ idea was it to change the music? Someone in the Amaru camp needs to re-release some of these songs over the beats in ’95 and not over Timbaland’s… please.

I’m not sure what age is too old to have a 2Pac poster hanging on your wall. Is he in the Bob Marley category where he transcends age and is just a cultural icon? Someone please advise.

I loved how when Pac became Makaveli, every dude in the hood instantly became an expert in the Italian philosopher’s views. I read The Prince, and people were soooo wrong. FYI – Makaveli is actually spelled (Niccolo) Machiavelli.

Yes. I made the decision to read the book because of Pac but at least I read it. Lol.

After watching Resurrection, I wondered if Jada’s real true love was Pac. Sorry Willie.

I would like to remind rappers why Pac was so great. It wasn’t because of witty metaphors or being able to make a club banger with an R&B hook, it was because he made passionate music from heart that touched people’s souls. It’s why music is such a powerful force and why after 12 years he’s still the most famous rapper in the world.