Man oh man. Of course, lots of deaths come unexpectedly, whether they be celebs or “regular people”. But most of these celeb deaths in ’09 have been crazy and outta nowhere, and here’s yet another. I was just deciding on whether or not to do an entry on 8Mile yesterday afternoon, and then this pops up on my Twitter earlier today… sheesh. R.I.P. Brittany Murphy…
-D!
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In Memory Of... | Tagged: R.I.P. | 
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Posted by Danj!
Five years ago today, two days before his 36th birthday, Ol’ Dirty Bastard died. For whatever reason, it wasn’t as big a shock to me as some of the other deaths were. It didn’t get anywhere near the coverage that most of the others got, and it just seemed to come and go. Although it wasn’t treated or viewed as a big loss, I feel like hip-hop has become a LOT less unpredictable without him around.
I’ve talked about how influential Wu-Tang was during the week, and how much inspiration that other artists drew from them. But I can’t say the same about Dirty, because nobody ever successfully copied anything of his. He’s one of the few artists that reached a particular level of popularity, and yet, no one even TRIED to duplicate his shit. One reason for that, in my opinion, is because the nigro was legitimately nutso. I don’t know if another artist could’ve possibly pretended to be as off-the-wall as he was without it coming off phony.
ODB’s music was crazy by crazy standards. He started off normal enough on “Protect Ya Neck”, but once the album came out, he was known as “the crazy one” of the Clan. He was the extreme contrast to the more lyrically intricate members like The GZA or Inspectah Deck. He had all kinds of simple-yet-comical quotables like “do you wanna get ya teeth knocked the FUCK out?!”, “got burned once but that was only gonorrhea” and my favorite- “gotta get up and beeeeee somebodaaaay!” Even with just a few verses on the album, he stood out as one to look forward to.
BUT… true to how unpredictable he really was, his solo album Return to the 36 Chambers: The Dirty Version wasn’t anything like anyone expected. Even if you knew going in that it was gonna be a lil’ “different” (and how couldn’t it be with a food stamp card on the cover), you couldn’t have known it was gonna be that wild. It sounds like what happens when someone says “fuck it” and throws every crazy idea they have up against the wall… and all of ‘em stick. It’s definitely not for everybody, and it’s one of those things you have to listen to in full because most of it makes no sense otherwise.
The shit was insane. He barely had one song that was in the normal song structure. He opened the damn album singing “the first time ever you sucked my dick… I felt the Earth tremble under my baaaallllllssss”. He went on to do one verse twice on the same track, recite a pseudo-poem about oral sex, break into a “Somewhere Over The Rainbow” rendition outta nowhere, make random noises in between tracks, sing an entire song while paying tribute to his favorite soul singers, and all kinds of other madness. Even the “regular” songs on there were just less strange than the others.
And still… as much as he bugged out in stereo… then, there’s his actions outside of the studio. If you wanted to see a great interview or hear some shit you just didn’t hear everyday, Ol’ Dirty was the one to count on. He never failed, whether it was riding a limo to cash a welfare check on MTV, or singing “Bad, Bad Leroy Brown” on The Box. There’s even a few that I’ve found on Youtube like this one, when John Norris asks him if he remembers Drew Barrymore from E.T., and he responds: “I remember the nigga that was ridin’ the bike in the sky”.
My all-time favorite, though, is one day when he was on TRL. He was there with Pras and Mya to perform “Ghetto Supastar”, and they had fans calling in and asking questions. One fan asked Dirty what he was planning to do to give back to his community. This muh’fukka put his hand on his chest, made a “who, me?” type face, shook his head and said… “Nothin’.” I can’t find it on the net to save my life, but if I ever do, I will watch that shit on a continuous loop all day.
ODB’s most high-profile wild-out moment was the one that has now carried over into the soul of Kanye- the Grammy appearance. Before “I’ma let you finish…” became the catchphrase of 2009, Dirty shut it down in ’98 with “Puffy is good, but Wu-Tang is for the children.” There’s also some other lesser-known moments that have been noted- he’s had altercations with The Roots, Doug E. Fresh, and Akinyele due to his refusal to leave the stage until he was ready to. But the best story yet is one that recently surfaced, of the time he took LL Cool J‘s platinum plaque off the wall and pissed on it. Woooow.
To be clear, there was definitely tragedy in all of it. He was clearly mentally unstable, an alcoholic, and addicted to drugs. In fact, his drug use eventually led to his death in ’04. If there could possibly be a bright side to that, Ol’ Dirty Bastard was able to turn things that most people are embarrassed by into the talent that made him the memorable personality he was.
ODB “Shimmy Shimmy Ya (Long Version)” (1995)
Mariah Carey feat. ODB “Fantasy” (1995)
Wu-Tang Clan “Dog Shit” (1997)
Tha Alkaholiks feat. ODB “Hip-Hop Drunkies” (1997)
AND THIS CLASSIC RIGHT HERE:
-D! (Wu-Week concludes tomorrow with ‘Wu-Weak’… because even the greatest teams don’t win every game.)
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Posted by Danj!
Sometimes, it tends to be forgotten or not even acknowledged how many roadblocks and barriers hip-hop music had to break through. There’s younger people who’ve grown up all their lives with rap on the radio and TV, with no recollection of a time when it didn’t play a big part in popular music. There’s even some older people who lament how mainstream it’s gotten, but forget how there was a time when people were fighting for hip-hop to gain the recognition it gets today.
John Rivas, b.k.a. Mr. Magic, was one of those who put it on the line in the early days. Back when radio was staying as far away from rap as they could, he not only hosted the very first hip-hop radio show, but stood his ground in its defense when they wanted to shut it down. His Rap Attack show with Marley Marl was the first of its kind, years before labels or radio stations even thought of hip-hop as anything more than a fad. Magic’s show was such a big deal, he was later shouted out by some artists who grew up as fans during that time and went on to make history themselves- 2Pac, Biggie, and Nas among others.
I didn’t grow up in New York, so I can’t say how big a deal it was to hear Magic on WBLS in the ’80s. I can’t even speak on how it was when he came to Baltimore and hosted his own show on WEBB, although I do recall taping it a couple times. Still, Mr. Magic did a lot for the music and is a hip-hop legend for what he brought to the game. Since he told his own story better than I could, here’s the man himself in his own words, as written in Ego Trip’s Book of Rap Lists:
“After high school, I was working at this electronics store Uptown and I heard about this new station WHBI, where you could buy your own air time… At WHBI, air time was $75 an hour. I bought two hours’ worth before anybody else in rap. My show was on Saturday night/Sunday morning from 2-4 a.m. I got a couple stores to sponsor me and I was on the air from about ’79 to ’81.”
“We were making noise at WHBI and Frankie Crocker, the top jock at WBLS, called me. His music director had a young daughter who always used to sneak and listen to me late at night. So Crocker plugged me in with the right people and eventually I went to work at ‘BLS.”
“WBLS was really anti-rap, but I got the ratings numbers for them. They gave me the nickname ‘Sir Juice’ and that’s how the whole Juice Crew thing originally got started.”
“In 1984, our show, Mr. Magic’s Rap Attack, had the highest numbers ever in New York City so we wanted to renegotiate our contract. Charles Warfield, who was the station’s general manager, hated hip-hop. We had a meeting and he said ‘the major labels are giving me a lot of hassles. They don’t have any rap artists, they’re not making any money off rap. Magic, the kids are listening to you. We got a new format called the Quiet Storm, and we want you to do that’. He said ‘we want to kill rap and if you tell the kids it ain’t happenin’ no more, they’ll think it ain’t happenin’ and it’ll be dead’. I said, ‘I can’t do that shit’… Then he said ‘Quiet Storm or nothing’. We chose nothing. We broke out went back to ‘HBI- back to paying to be on the radio. About a year later though, ‘BLS brought us back cause Red Alert [from rival station KISS-FM] was killin’ them in the ratings.”
“At around the time we went back to WHBI, UTFO had made ‘Roxanne, Roxanne’, which we liked… Their manager, Steve Salem, promised us a show at Broadway International so we could raise some money. But two weeks before the show, Ty called Steve and Steve said to him, ‘We don’t have to do the show now cause KISS just added our record’. This was Christmas time and we were broke. Our girls are looking at at us like complete idiots cause we quit ‘BLS, the #1 station in the world, to go save rap. We were mad and hanging out at Marley’s house one night… Shante was there and she said, ‘Why don’t you let me make a tape dissin’ them?’ We was like ‘Go away, little girl, you’re buggin”. But the next night, Marley came to us and said ‘Yo, remember Shante? She made a tape dissin’ UTFO and them’. We put the shit on air and it took off right away.”
“I was in Power Play Studios in Queens and Boogie Down Productions had a meeting with Ty that I didn’t know about. I thought they were just somebody trying to get their record played, so I threw them out… A lot of people don’t know this, but BDP and the Juice Crew was gonna be down. We went on tour together and was milking it for all it was worth. KRS and Shan was always cool. They’d already figured the shit out. We was like, ‘People already think we hate each other, so let’s go on tour-Juice Crew vs. BDP- and make this money’.”
“I felt like I saved hip-hop and I didn’t do it for anyone else to fuck it up… Think about how many muthafuckas would’ve quit if they were given the same scenario as me: take the Quiet Storm job and forget hip-hop, or leave the #1 station in the world and get nothing.”
Salute!
-D!
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Posted by Danj!
Yesterday was September 13th (no shit, right?). A lot of us watched the VMAs to witness all the debauchery that went on there. You had Janet‘s great tribute to Michael, Kanye being a dickhead of the highest order, Beyonce regulating and giving Taylor Swift her shine, and finally Caster Semenya Lil’ Mama randomly jumpin’ up on stage during the Jay/Alicia performance. Of course, the VMA’s are a little out of place on MTV these days, seeing as how music is involved and all, but that’s neither here nor there.
But yesterday was also notable for another reason- it was the 13th anniversary to the day Tupac Shakur died. I still remember that entire week he got shot- from not even thinking he was gonna die, to hearing about his health failing, to finally hearing the announcement on the radio that Friday night. It was something kinda unreal. There had been some rappers who died by that time, but none of that magnitude and in the way that it happened.
One of my earliest recollections of ‘Pac (aside from rockin’ all that tribal shit) was seeing him in one of my favorite movies, Juice. In addition to being a rapper, ‘Pac was also a classically trained actor (right here in B-More!) who pulled off a few quality performances. He didn’t really get to maximize that talent- partly because his actions and reputation got him pulled from some movies, and also because he was being typecast in the ones he did get to be in.
Juice dropped in early ’92, and I didn’t get to catch this one in the movies. I caught it once it hit video that fall, and it immediately became a favorite of mine. The hip-hop element is prevalent in the movie, but it never falls all the way into being about that. If anything, it’s more like the backdrop to the story. Watching it now, there’s a lot of nostalgia involved because it did cover that ground more than any other movie around that era. The music (obviously) stands out the most, as do the cameos by Queen Latifah, EPMD, Fab 5 Freddy, Special Ed, etc.
But it’s not all about the rappers, of course. Omar Epps makes his debut here as “Q”, in a role that specifically interested me due to his being a DJ. I wouldn’t say those scenes were the sole inspiration, but with me being 12 years old at the time, they definitely piqued my interest in spinning. Ya man Jermaine Hopkins makes an epic return here as Steel, once again defying the odds. He managed to be fat while smoking crack in Lean On Me, and here he manages to be the only person Bishop shoots and doesn’t kill. We also get Cindy Herron of En Vogue as Q’s girlfriend, Khalil Kain as Raheem, and Samuel Jackson as the oldhead who runs the pool hall.
But ‘Pac’s portrayal as Bishop stands out above all as the thing that solidifies the movie. It was a role he wasn’t even scheduled to be up for, but he owned it once he got it. To me, it’s the best performance he ever gave. He was on his job in most of his other roles as well, but none of them top the Bishop character. Bishop was like the villain and an antihero at once- he was fucked up for killing Raheem, but then he was the shit when he finally got one-up on the Puerto Rican gang leader Radames. It’s easy to see why so many people linked Tupac as an individual to that character he played.
Juice is by definition a “hood movie”, but it’s the kind of story that could’ve just as easily been about four white kids in the suburbs. The dialogue would probably be a lot different, but it’s a movie that has less to do with being “hood” than it does with the storyline itself. More than anything, it’s about how easily respect and fear can be confused, and how someone with no couth can go to extreme lengths to attain either one.
Things To Learn From Watching Juice: 1) Just ’cause you pour syrup on shit don’t make it pancakes. 2) If you have no money to buy music, you can have your friends sneak it out of the store while you distract the cashier by arranging a date with her. Or, since it’s 2009, you could just download it. 3) If you and your three friends stick around to back up some idiot who’s attempting to shoot it out with the police, there will be five dead niggas instead of one. 4) Do not attempt to grab a gun from someone who has pointed it at you and instructed you not to do so. 5) Bishop don’t give a fuck about you, he don’t give a fuck about Steel and he don’t give a fuck about Raheem either. Bishop ain’t shit, and he ain’t never gon’ be shit. And you’re less of a man than him, so when he decides that YOU ain’t gonna be SHIT… pow.
Music From Juice:
Eric B & Rakim “Juice (Know The Ledge)”
Naughty By Nature “Uptown Anthem”
Teddy Riley feat. Tammy Lucas “Is It Good To You?”
-D! (Riverside, Muthafukka.)
5 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheMovies, In Memory Of..., Nuff Respect Due | Tagged: 1992, JUICE, TUPAC | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
When Michael Jackson died two months ago, I figured the media was gonna have a ball with covering his death and the aftermath of it. But I can’t even say I expected some of the shit that’s come out of this.
If anything good has come out of it all, I can say that there’s now a new generation who is more aware of Mike’s music. He was beginning to fade out of the consciousness of the public, unless it concerned some circus-like story for the media to pick up on. But now, his legacy as an artist has been covered by almost every other magazine, website, and radio station there is. There’s a lot of younger kids who hadn’t been privy to how major and important MJ’s career was, and now they are.
As many hits as Mike has to his name ranging from ’69 to 2001 (which in itself is unparalleled), there’s also a number of songs from his pre-King Of Pop era that are somewhat underrated. And so, on what would’ve been his 51st birthday, here’s six to grow on:
-D!
IN CASE YOU MISSED ‘EM:
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Posted by Danj!
Growing up in the ’90s, I def. recall a lot of girls I knew practically living by her every single and video, from her very first one (“Back & Forth”) to the ones that followed her death (especially “Rock Da Boat”). She was one of those talents that some artists are still out there emulating today, so to say she left her mark is an understatement.
R.I.P. Aaliyah.
-D! (sit tight… the real-for-real tribute will be on her b-day)
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Posted by Danj!
The only surprise about VIBE magazine closing its doors earlier this week… is that it didn’t happen to The Source first. VIBE’s been over for a hot minute now, if we wanna be real about it. It went from subscribe-worthy, to buy-it-if-it’s-a-good-issue-worthy, to thumb-thru-it-in-Rite-Aid-while-you-wait-for-your-laundry-to-finish-worthy.
Two months ago, I recieved my neighbor’s new issue in the mail by mistake and kinda sorta forgot to give it to her (hope she’s not readin’ this). I remembered when VIBE was taller than the other mags, thicker than the other mags, and had quality interviews. THIS thing I was looking at was about 90 pages deep, half of which were ads, and the best article was about ya man “Boogaloo Shrimp” from Breakin’. No dis to those who were still workin’ hard on the ship as it sank, but shit’s been wack for a minute. I still don’t know how I feel about that time they had Pliiiies on the cover and called him “The Future of Rap”. Bonkers!
But my intent here is not to maliciously dump on the final days of VIBE. Lord knows, I don’t need anyone calling me “retarded” again, like I give a fuck. I’d rather talk about the better days. From the early-to-mid-’90s, VIBE came through my mailslot every month, and I’d spend at least a good 90 minutes reading it from cover-to-cover. It was a more diverse (although not better) version of my favorite mag at the time, The Source. Whereas I could count on The Source for the best articles on the hip-hop artists, VIBE had the best on the singers, the movies, TV, and other random “urban pop culture” shit.
There, I could read about things like Prince‘s reasoning behind “the symbol” or Chaka Khan‘s unfavorable opinion of Mary J. singing “Sweet Thing”. When the R. Kelly/Aaliyah story broke, they had the marriage license and some mo’ shit. I’d even read the mini-articles about stuff I didn’t know about. One feature that stood out to me was the story of DJ Larry Levan- I had no clue who he was, but I was interested in his story once I got to the end. Nowadays (and for the better), we can hop on the net and get the full story about everything, and immediately at that. But at that time, the magazines had all the stories for people like myself, who were interested beyond the music.
One thing that VIBE will be remembered for is the role it played in the East Coast/West Coast Bad Boy/Death Row beef. Almost every seed in that situation was planted in their pages. From 2Pac describing the Quad Studios shooting, to Puffy questioning the authenticity of “Thug Life”, to ‘Pac hinting on that he smashed Faith. When Dre left Death Row, they had the first interview. When Puff expressed plans to put out his own album, they covered that. And of course, when the biggest stars from each label got killed, they had the story on those. For better or worse, VIBE was the mag that had a crucial part in that whole ’95-’97 stretch.
But, after VIBE lost its initial relevance, they never got it back. Personally, I blame that lame talk show they had. They meant well, but that shit died fast. Most people stopped checkin’ for VIBE by the early part of the 2000s, and before long it was about as relevant as Right On! is. And now, it’s officially a wrap. Quincy Jones has been discussing trying to bring it back in digital form, but even he realizes that the power of the pages is gone. Matter fact, it likely won’t be the last mag to go under this year (just like it wasn’t the first). Good read while it lasted, though. Rest well, VIBE.
AND JUST ON G.P.:
A Tribe Called Quest “Vibes And Stuff” (1991)
R. Kelly & Public Announcement “She’s Got That Vibe” (1992)
Boyz II Men feat. Treach, Craig Mack, Busta Rhymes, & Method Man “Vibin’” (Remix) (1995)
P.S. Damn shame THIS had to be the final physical issue:
I mean, got-damn: even KING got to go out with Tahiry‘s iconic ass on the cover. Does it get any more anti-climactic than this? I’m just sayin’…
-D!
9 Comments | Classic Material, In Memory Of..., Nuff Respect Due, Readin'-N-Shit | Tagged: ATCQ, BAD BOY, BOYZ II MEN, DEATH ROW, MAGAZINES, R. KELLY, VIBE, ZHANE | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
So… what happens now?
Without doubt, Michael Jackson memorabilia and merchandise is about to skyrocket, both in popularity and (unfortunately) price. I just bypassed a DVD of The Jacksons: An American Dream at Wal-Mart on Thursday afternoon, about four hours before the news broke. I bought some other DVD’s instead and figured I’d get that one next time. There’s not a chance I get it for $7.50 now, IF it’s even there anymore. I’m waiting for the MJ shirts to show up (which I might fuck around and buy a bunch of), and hopefully, we can get to hear the newer material he was working on.
Speaking of new music, I’d like to see Michael’s influence shine through even more from here on out. I’d like to see homage paid to him and his work, not only by the artists who idolize him but in their music. I have a feeling that it will be, just as it has in previous decades. Wait… I just had another one of my BRILLIANT ideas! (shoutout to whomever knows where that’s from)
In the ’90s, a number of MJ’s best songs were sampled and reborn by newer hip-hop artists, who were likely huge MJ fans themselves. Let’s do it:
Naughty By Nature “O.P.P.” sampled The Jackson 5 “ABC”: Despite having to give up all kinda publishing rights for the sample (according to group member KayGee), NBN’s first-ever hit was largely based on pieces of The J5‘s 1970 hit, “ABC”. I bet a 12-year-old Mike didn’t think that in 21 years, his voice would be heard on a song about smashin’ somebody else’s piece.
Ghostface Killah featuring Mary J. Blige “All That I Got Is You” sampled The Jackson 5 “Maybe Tomorrow”: Ghostface, member of the Wu-Tang Clan and fan of classic soul records, samples J5 for a tribute to his mother from his ’96 debut solo joint, Ironman. Still one of Ghost’s most memorable, and one of MJB‘s best cameos.
Heavy D & The Boyz “Peaceful Journey” sampled The Jacksons “This Place Hotel”: Also known as “Heartbreak Hotel”, the Jacksons’ big 1980 hit has been sampled a few times. My favorite usage of the song was by Heavy D, who dedicated “Peaceful Journey” to lost loved ones (along with a then-unknown Jodeci on the hook).
De La Soul’s “Breakadawn” sampled Michael’s “I Can’t Help It”: In ’93, a popular album cut from Off The Wall became a popular single by Amityville, Long Island‘s own De La Soul. A loop of the first two bars from “I Can’t Help It” was all it took for the Plugs to kick off their album Buhloone Mind State and drop one of the best singles of that year.
MC Lyte featuring XScape “Keep On Keepin’ On” sampled Michael’s “Liberian Girl”: In ’87, MC Lyte and Jermaine Dupri were both 15 years old, and probably enjoyed MJ’s Bad album. Nine years later, JD uses “Liberian Girl” to give Lyte another hit for her resume. The power of music…
Nas “It Ain’t Hard To Tell” sampled Michael’s “Human Nature”: One of the best tracks from Thriller meets one of the best from Illmatic. This song almost didn’t happen- after Nas and his producer Large Professor were beaten to the punch by SWV’s “Right Here” a few months earlier, they considered shelving it. After further consideration, they went ahead and made it happen anyway, to classic results.
I used to occasionally have debates with older people about sampling. They often saw it as stealing, but I felt like it was the utilization of great old music to help create great new music. Besides, if it weren’t for new artists using the work of those who came before them, this audition would’ve never happened before Berry Gordy‘s eyes:
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Posted by Danj!
Like most kids who grew up in the ’80s, there was a time when I wanted to BE Michael Jackson. I wanted to dance like him, I wanted my hair like his, I wanted to dress like he did. When I was about four, Thriller was my first-ever favorite album. On top of that, after being introduced to his Jackson 5 and Off The Wall-era songs by my mother, those were just as great to me as Thriller was. Michael, at that time and to this day, was the greatest entertainer I’d ever seen.
The glove, the jackets, the shoes, the spin, the moonwalk, or the crotch grab… all of these things inspired kids (and adults) to imitate MJ in fun, and inspired future entertainers in their approach to performing and making music. I would even say that Michael’s influence didn’t just shine while he was at the peak of his career, but today as well. There are artists out there right now who have openly acknowledged that he inspires them… from Justin Timberlake to Kanye West to Usher. Even in his absence from the popular music scene, Michael has STILL had a presence through them. If that doesn’t say a lot for what he meant as an artist, I don’t know what could.
With respect to MTV, they’ll forever have to share the distinction of being the element that made music videos important. They were the outlet that popularized videos in the first place, but Michael’s videos elevated the popularity much higher than it would’ve been without him. I remember HAVING to see the premiere when he had a new video out, because I didn’t wanna be the only one in school the next day who didn’t see it. That kid who didn’t catch the video would kinda be treated like an outcast that day, because that’s all we were talking about, and they weren’t even included in the convo.
Obviously, Mike wasn’t without criticism- some by his own actions, some unwarranted. Personally, I never thought it was fair that he caught the amount of flack that he did simply for being “different”. Sure, he did and wore things that people didn’t understand, and he was eccentric to say the least. But if you took those things away, he’d have just been another singer who made music. Much like his main competitor in the ’80s, Prince, Michael was just on his own shit. Those same things that everyone thought of as strange were the same things that made him stand out as an entertainer. Even before shit REALLY hit the fan, he was catching all kinds of backlash for no other reason than because he was left-of-center in some of his interests and wardrobe choices.
Michael’s bigger problems came about in the ’90s with the allegations. For whatever reason, despite never being found guilty of those claims OR the accusation brought against him 10 years later, he was never able to shake that label off of him due to how media often covered him. All in all, even though I’ve joked about it myself, I just think MJ was a grown man who wanted to do kid things and had no grasp of the reality that other adults just don’t think that way. And with him having the spotlight on him, of course it was destined to be pinpointed even more than it would anyone else.
Michael Jackson was a part of great events, controversial moments, major achievements, and embarrassing headlines. He was everyone’s favorite superstar one minute, and the #1 (alleged) pedophile the next. For me, he was a bigger-than-life entertainer whose greatest achievements will never be matched from a performance or popularity standpoint. Was he a little out there? Sure. Did he screw himself up with constant surgery and altering? Probably. Have I laughed at or made MJ jokes before? Absolutely. But even in jest, Michael was always one of my favorites of all-time, if not THE favorite.
(The following is not a definitive list or anything like that, simply some of my favorites from Michael’s career. Enjoy!)
The Jackson 5 “The Love You Save”
The Jackson 5 “Who’s Loving You”
The Jacksons “Show You The Way To Go”
-D!
BTW: Look out for “The ’90s Loved Michael Jackson” this weekend.
7 Comments | Best Of..., DanjLovesThe80sToo, In Memory Of..., Nuff Respect Due | Tagged: MICHAEL JACKSON, R.I.P. | Permalink
Posted by Danj!
“June 16, 1971/ Mama gave birth to a Hell-raisin’ heavenly son…”
On every March 9th and September 13th, people go hard with the Biggie and ‘Pac tributes, commemorating their deaths. But on their birthdays, you hardly hear shit. As one who opts to celebrate life rather than mourn death (as I’ve been doing in my own life since Friday), I’d be remiss to not acknowledge that today would be ‘Pac’s 38th birthday. This will likely not be the last mention he gets on this blog by a longshot, but there’s no better day than today to speak on the legend that is Tupac Shakur.
One reason that I’m proud to have grown up in the ’80s and ’90s is because I was there to witness so many now-iconic artists from day one. Michael Jackson, for example, is one of my absolute all-time favorites- but I’ll never be able to say I saw him grow up and become who he became. I can say that, however, about artists such as ‘Pac. The first time I saw and heard him was in Digital Underground‘s “Same Song” video, with the crazy kente cloth and beads and shit. A year later, I was more familiar with him when he starred in Juice as Bishop (and of course, I’ll be speaking on that movie in due time). But the first time I was interested in ‘Pac as a rapper was during a weekend at my father’s house in 1992. My sister and I watched The Box regularly, and this one new video stayed getting requested that whole weekend: “Brenda’s Got A Baby”.
From that point on, the name 2Pac was cemented and it was far from the last time I’d see it. Whether it was news headlines, movies, magazine covers, or the tapes in my bookbag- it was always somewhere. That, to me, is THE thing that makes him the huge icon that he is.
There’s lots of great MCs that are known and respected off the merit of their music and their music only, which is admirable… but nobody cares about shit else that they did. With ‘Pac, he was always a part of moments and happenings, in addition to the music. He was one of those artists who’d have an interview in a magazine just like anyone else did, but HIS article would be like a must-read. His VIBE cover stories in particular are classic today- from the “Is Tupac Crazy Or Just Misunderstood” cover with the straitjacket to the “Live From Death Row” one with Suge, Dre, and Snoop. I recall being a bigger fan of other artists at the time, but I’d never read their articles and come away with half the quotables that ‘Pac was always good for.
Of course, he’s been referred to as the “realest nigga” in hip-hop, and I’d have to agree to a degree. Whether they were always good decisions or not may be up for debate, but ‘Pac did things that others just rapped about. Whereas other artists were content to say “fuck the media”, he was content to spit at their cameras. Whereas others were content to threaten fuckin’ up the police who’d harrassed them, he was content to shoot two in self-defense. Again, not necessarily great achievements, but he was true to his word. He stood by his disses, he didn’t give PC answers, and he generally said and did whatever he wanted. And on the other side of that, he also said things that were honest and relevant, so it wasn’t just about wildin’ out all the time.
And then, there’s the music. Being dead-honest, and reflecting my own opinions: I always thought he coulda had better beats, his first two albums are hit-and-miss, I don’t bother with most of those posthumous made-up shits that keep coming out every year or so, and he was never my absolute favorite. I tell people all the time that I’m a fan of Tupac, but I’m not a “Tupac Fan” (two different things entirely). But ‘Pac’s best material is some of THE most timeless and memorable of the era. He’s also one of a few who continued getting better as time went on. The music he was making between ’95 and ’96 stands as his best overall, and from the sounds of the Makaveli album, he was heading into some interesting directions lyrically.
From challenging the New York rap scene to giving interviews from prison, from beating up the Hughes Brothers to getting shot at the studio, Tupac’s every move was a big deal. There’s not a lot of artists past or present that you can say that about. Even in today’s TMZ world, a lot of those things get captured and forgotten a week later. His are still being remembered today by people everywhere.
“Who Do You Believe In” (1996)
-D!
14 Comments | Classic Material, DanjLovesTheHipHop, In Memory Of..., Nuff Respect Due | Tagged: DEATH ROW, R.I.P., RAP, TUPAC, WEST COAST | Permalink
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