Tupac hands
down in my opinion is the greatest rapper ever. I’ve heard plenty of debates
most notably the ones between him and Biggie, but I disagree every time someone
gives another rapper the nod. Don’t get me wrong, Biggie was great, so is Jay
and Nas and even a few from the new school, but Pac, he was just on a level all
his own. There are story tellers and then there is Tupac. He wasn’t just a
rapper ,that man was a prophet. Yeah he made songs for entertainment songs for
everyday life and the club but he also made songs like “Keep ya Head Up”,
“Brenda’s got a Baby”, “Dear Mama” songs that still told the story but in a way
that everyone could relate to. He motivated me, forced me to think about life,
and my surroundings on a higher level. Tupac made me see the world the way it
really is, he made me aware of my place in it and the impact that I have. That’s why he gets the nod from me because
nobody ever painted the pictures he did and made you aware of the harshness and
simple reality of life.
I get a lot
of people that down him as a lyricist and I always respond the same way. They
must not listen to what he says because the way he has with words is like no
other. The descriptions he uses the common sense and awareness that he
possessed, not to mention he was extremely well read and you can tell that in
his music, but he didn’t overwhelm you with big dictionary words. Instead he
gave it to you straight sensitive but blunt, he made you feel the passion he
put behind it but most importantly he made you think not turn up and act
stupid.
When I first heard “Holla if Ya
Hear Me” I cried because of the message that he conveyed, the anger and
frustration at the world in which he existed and how a blind eye was being turned
by everyone that can fix it. It was my first stand up and fight anthem and it
moved me in ways I never understood until I was old enough. Now more than ever we need a few Tupac’s. We
need artist to go into the studio and arm us with tracks that will reach us in
ways that will help us become a better people, a better race. We need music we
can relate to that speaks for us, because for the most part we don’t have
anyone to tell the rest of the world our stories. Sadly we don’t get that but
from a few. Granted I love hip-hop I love the entertainment aspects the dancing
and the swag the culture in general. But at some point if it is to ever become
a positive influence in our society again these artists are going to have to
start saying something. They are going to have to start using their voices with
purpose as God intended. Entertainment is great but it also does nothing to
improve the quality of our people. We need leaders with voices to grab the ears
of these young ones and help to start turning them around to get them
interested in something more than money, cars, and hoes. Long live Tupac and
the message he tried so desperately to get the rest of us to grasp, I hope more
artist follow in his path.
“I’m not saying I’m gonna change the
world but I guarantee I will spark the brain that will change the world”…
Tupac. If only all artist felt like
that.
Shavon Smith
