What's the big deal about Tupac Shakur? Please explain.

Cafe Society
1

Could someone tell me what the big deal is about Tupac Shakur that he gets all the hero worship from the gangsta rappin side of the world? What did he do that was so fantabulous? His raps were nothing special. He acted like an ass everytime he was on camera. His videos were nothing special. He was a mediocre actor. I don’t think he was a great looking guy, though I am a straight male so I may be wrong there.

What the hell did this guy do to get all the “props thrown out” to him? Why do they continue to release album after album of material from him years after his death? It wasn’t good enough to be on an album when he was alive, but now that he is dead it is? Huh?

Help me here.

2

I know what you mean. He wasn’t even all that influential.

3

It’s 'cos he died.
Seriously. People often get more popular after they die especially if it’s sudden and they are young. And since he was murdered, people think of him as more of a genuine ‘gangsta rapper’ than many of his contemporaries.

Criminal connections = ‘Hardcore’ = Popular

4

Tupac was a damn good actor. I challenge anyone to watch Gridlock’d and say he wasn’t any good.

He was hugely influential as well.

Music that was never intended for release is being released to cash in, the same as has happenned to Elvis and John Lennon…

5

Well, he certainly wasn’t up there with Elvis and Lennon, I hope you realize!

6

I’m not a big fan of Tupac as a rapper, as an actor he was pretty good and showed a lot of promise which he didn’t live to fulfill.
I was comparing him to Elvis and Lennon in that after his death others tried to capitalise on his fame by releasing tracks that were never intended for release.

7

He was/is a media darling. If Britney Spears were to suddenly die society would be presented with the same sort of exposure, ie., genius lost, etc. He really wasn’t all that much compared to say icons like Lennon and Presley but a lot of people loved him, similar I would think to Cobain, so he lives on and “his posse” have an “interest” in his legacy. In my opinion. of course.

8

He was IMO the best rapper of all time, and it has nothing to do with the fact that he died prematurely. Are you not understanding of his following because you didn’t think he was a good rapper, or are you just critical because you don’t like rap in general. Really, I can’t imagine someone not liking a single song on “All Eyez on Me” unless they simply don’t like the genre.

9

agreed with Grendel about Gridlock’d, he had it in him to be a great actor. Wish he’d lived.

beyond just the normal “dead guy” revisionist history, theres also the fact that he and biggie were the most famous and visible casualties of the East vs. West coast rap drama that was so prevalent in the mid to late nineties.

they were both friends initially and IMHO, both were excellent rappers, and you can hear Pac’s influence on a lot of rappers who’ve come out since. Biggie was evientally a really nice guy too, or at least was really well loved and highly regarded by his community.

Anyway, i think when Biggie and Pac died, it was a wake up call to a lot of folks who were playin’ this Thug Life and talking a lot of shit, that there were real stakes and real money and egos involved, and for the smartest among them it forced them to take a step back.

Amazingly enough, of all of the meida i’vve ever seen of this East Vs. West battle and the lives of Biggie and pac, the best thing i 've seen was the VH1 behind the music episode about them. Good, honest, informative and not particularly sensationalized.

On the other hand, I love the chris rock quote about it:

"everybody talkin’ bout BIGGIE SMALLS got ASSASINATED… TUPAC got ASSASSINATED… hold on hold on…
MLK got assasinated, JFK, Malcom, RFK, they got ASSASSINATED…
those two n***a’s got shot…

I’m sorry Biggie, and I love ya, but school’s gonna be open on ya birthday…" :slight_smile:

Chris

10

Nah, I generally like rap. I think rap has gone the way of rock in the middle 80’s. Instead of Glamrock, this is Glamrap with all the Bentleys and the Bling Bling. Like I said though, I don’t think 2Pac sucked, but I just don’t see what his big impact was on the music scene because the majority of the world hadn’t even heard of him until he got killed, same with Biggie. Then all the sudden you have these suburbanites walking around in 2Pac shirts and Biggie hats like they loved them the whole time.

I am just wondering what he did exactly that set him apart frim the other “Thug Rappers” of the time.

11

No doubt he had a big bandwagon after he died, but I don’t think most of those people still stand as huge Tupac fans; however, there are plenty of people who still love the guy, and I think it’s simply a matter of their thinking he was just a great artist. I really don’t have any outstanding respect for him as a person, but he’s one of the few rap artists who’s music I still listen to.