BY RICHARD TEO
Staff writer
If you’re a big fan of hip-hop, you’ve most likely heard the name “Tupac” at least once or twice. Perhaps more than that because of his popularity. But who is Tupac? Why is he so revered? Is he better than the rappers today? That’s the question here. Tupac Shakur is a hip-hop, old-school rapper during the early 90s who is infamous for his death in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 13 in 1996. He was shot. The case was never solved in the process and to this day, the killer runs or may have been running as a free man. The convictions of his murder initially were attributed to his rival, Biggie Smalls, or the “Notorious B.I.G”. Their rivalry in the rap game and the numerous diss tracks against each other made Smalls a suspect. Biggie Smalls, a stage name for the rapper to which he is legally known as Christopher Wallace was, in reality, a good friend of Tupac. Their feud as enemies was debunked to be a fraud to market their rivalry in the rap game. The suspicion of Smalls was later dropped after his death on March 9, 1997, 7 months after the death of Tupac. This led to the suspicion that both Smalls and Shakur were executed accordingly and methodically to rid their reputations and influence. Both of them, at the time, had been leading in record sales and cemented their names with their lyricism. Tupac and Biggie are known to have served time in prison which gave numerous people the impression their influence was questionably immoral and defective for teens and young adults. The latter of which was their specific audience at the time. The suspicion later followed on Suge Knight, the man in control of Tupac’s label, Death Row Records. Knight is also infamous for his affiliation with gangs and was also suspected for the death of the famous N.W.A rapper, Eazy-E. The claim is “he injected him with a syringe infused with HIV.” So the question is: is Tupac revered for his death? It’s important to address that Tupac died during an era when societal oppression was prevalent and Tupac himself was directly under the corruption of the system’s abuse. Tupac, known for his works, “Hail Mary”, “California Love”, “All Eyez on Me”, and “Ambitionz az a Ridah” was greatly praised for his self-inspired lyricism, rap flow, catchy songs, and most importantly, his death as a martyr for the oppressed blacks. This makes Shakur more of a symbol than a rapper which attributes to his overly-praised popularity even 20+ years later after his death. It’s also important to attribute that Tupac died during his “prime years” during which he and Smalls dominated an era of Record sales in the rap industry. What if that didn’t happen? If Tupac was alive today, his consistency is a matter of debate. Most have argued that he would be but that is not viable from their point of view that Tupac died at his peak performances. A lot of rappers like Snoop Dogg, members of the N.W.A, and a couple more A-list celebrities may have cemented their name as much as Tupac but a few of them are ever really notable or consistent for their works. Comparing Shakur with the artists of today would be the same argument in between comparing someone of his time with a similar style of rapping to someone completely new. His social standing as “the greatest rapper of all time” may be a subject of debate.