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Tag: 2Pac

  • Happy 39th Birthday Pac

    All Eyez On Me Album Cover
    It’s amazing to me that today, Tupac Shakur would’ve been 39 years old. I can’t fathom that for whatever reason. It seems like just yesterday, the rap star was gunned down in Las Vegas. But what it means is that it happened many years ago, and I’ve aged and he hasn’t. You can only remember him for what you saw of him, and that was a young 20s rebel and one of the biggest rap stars of the mid 90s, Bishop from Juice, or Lucky from Poetic Justice.

    The love is still there, and more so than when he was alive. That’s the definition of a true legend.

    On my Facebook page, I asked a simple question to all of my friends.

    What is your favorite 2Pac song?

    If figured that I would get a handful of responses, but I received responses from 25 different people, including my own dad. Yes, even my dad has a favorite Tupac Shakur song.

    The favorites ranged from his two big early hits, Keep Ya Head Up and I Get Around, his get out of jail record, California Love, songs that came out after he already passed away like Changes, I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto, and Thugz Mansion, and songs that weren’t necessarily singles like Pain and Soon As I Get Home, which was released on the oft-forgotten posthumous release Pac’s Life.

    So what is my favorite Tupac track of all time?

    Well, I’d known about Pac since his first release, 2Pacalypse Now, because of Brenda’s Got A Baby. But I didn’t really latch on to the dude’s music until I Get Around, which was one of the most fun rap songs I’d ever heard. And then after that, Keep Your Head Up, which was his ode to women.

    With both of those singles coming out back-to-back, you saw this immediate portrayal about what made him unique. He was a bi-polar rap star who could talk about groupie love on one song and then respecting women on another. It was near hypocritical, but honest at the same time. He could be down with living a “rock star” life, but at the same time understand where the ills in society are.

    The reason I’m picking I Get Around as my favorite is because it’s the first song I identify with 2Pac. When I think of him, it’s this song and this video, with him running around in some white shorts with no shirt on, that comes to my mind first.



    As my buddy Celmatic always says, “Rest in power.”

    List of all the song choices from my Facebook friends:
    I Get Around (4 times)
    Keep Ya Head Up (3 times)
    California Love (2 times)
    Life Goes On (2 times)
    Thugz Mansion (2 times)
    Run Tha Streetz (2 times)
    I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto (2 times)
    Hit ‘Em Up (2 times)
    Dear Mama
    Soon As I Get Home
    If I Die 2nite
    Changes
    Unconditional Love
    So Many Tears
    How Do You Want It
    Death Around The Corner
    Bury Me A G
    Still Ballin
    What’z Ya Phone #
    Ambitionz Az A Ridah
    Pain

  • MC Breed (1972-2008)

    It was reported over the weekend that rapper MC Breed (Eric Breed), most famous for the song Ain’t No Future in Yo Frontin’, passed away from what I believe to be injuries related to kidney failure. He was in the hospital earlier in September of this year after collapsing because of kidney failure.

    Rapreviews.com has a statement up from Breed’s family and management.

    We are saddened by our great loss. More than just an artist, we mourn the loss of a beloved father, son, brother and friend. We are overwhelmed by the tremendous outpouring of love and support during this difficult time. We are thankful and blessed to have been in his presence and want him to be remembered for his creative, caring, talented and hard-working spirit.

    Personally, I remember 106.1 KMEL (San Francisco) playing Ain’t No Future in Yo Frontin’ like crazy and it really became an anthem at the time. You couldn’t go anywhere without hearing that song. Gotta Get Mine came out a couple years later and featured Tupac Shakur right as he was really blowing up. The latter song reached a new audience in 2002 when it was featured on Eminem’s second soundtrack to his movie 8 Mile. It’s the third track on More Music From 8 Mile which also featured music by some heavy hitters of early 90s rap.

    I’ve included the videos to both songs.

    Ain’t No Future in Yo Frontin’

    Gotta Get Mine

  • New Music In Stores & Online 8-5-08: Is It September Yet?

    I mentioned the “dog days” in last week’s column, but this week’s set of releases appears to be just as, if not more lame than the one that preceded it. Anyway, since we’re about making lemonade out of lemons here, here’s this week’s hotlist.

    The cover of Conor Oberst\'s self-titled new album.
    The cover of Conor Oberst’s self-titled new album.

    Conor Oberst “Conor Oberst”-Since Conor Oberst basically is Bright Eyes, isn’t this a little like Trent Reznor making an album as “Trent Reznor”? I dunno. I can’t say that I know much about Bright Eyes except for the fact that the rock press loves him. Tons of friends have tried to get me into him on mixtapes and I just don’t get it. Too pretentious for me. But you can go ahead and like him. I won’t hate you.

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