Killed at the height of his fame, Tupac Shakur’s most popular works were recorded once he was signed to Death Row Records, and later, others which were released after his death. What many do not know is that Tupac was very much a revolutionary at heart. His earlier albums demonstrated this rebel spirit quite explicitly with his second solo LP, Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993), being perhaps the most militant.
To get a full understanding of Tupac’s militancy, one has to understand the Thug Life philosophy, which Tupac detailed (I highly recommend watching this video clip) in the documentary Tupac: Resurrection. In contrast to the dictionary definition of a thug being a violent criminal, Tupac decided to twist it into a positive, saying a thug was someone who came from squalor and oppression and turned his life into something to be proud of, despite having little opportunities. He used this philosophy and the influence that came with fame to reach out to the disenfranchised and those economically and socio-politically oppressed, in the hopes of inspiring in them the desire for something better.
Pump ya fists like this
Holla if ya hear me - PUMP PUMP if you’re pissed…[2Pac] Holla if ya hear me!
“Hard!” .. “Tellin you to hear it, the rebel” - P.E.
Set against the back drop of inner city riotous turmoil and the fallout resulting from his first solo album 2Pacallyps Now – which Dan Quail said had no place in our society, the album starts of with Holla If You Hear Me, a call to action. Pac maked no qualms about his Thug Life, by-any-means-necessary stance, with lyrics demanding young Black males refuse to turn the other cheek, take up arms and “blaze up” the city if necessary, vowing that the violence will last “till the poor get more cash.” Taking time to shout out those locked up as well as those victimized by police brutality, Tupac used himself as an example to encourage young men to find something other than crime to pay. At the heart of the song, is Pac’s desire for people to wake up and stand up against injustice and degradation, to throw of the cloak of complacency and ignorance.
I was raised in this society so there’s no way you can expect me to be a perfect person…and I’ma do what I’ma do…
In Last Wordz Tupac enlisted Ice Cube and Ice T for a collaborative track with bravado references to being chased by cops, gun violence and a healthy dose of F-bombs. At the end Tupac reeled it all in with a gem of a verse where he encouraged Blacks to get along with Mexicans, piece amongst the gangs and creating a blast bigger than any ever heard with education and unity.
One nigga teach two niggas
three teach four niggas
And them niggas teach more niggas
And when we blast
That’ll be the biggest blast you’ve heard
And them is my last wordz
Calling the police out directly as the biggest gang in the city, Souljah’s Revenge is an anthem of sorts and a “message to the censorship committee.” Tupac spoke defiantly to all those who criticized his music as a glorification of violence and pointed to the police as brutalizers of the poor, from whom he must protect himself. He also employed one of his signature techniques of distorting his voice to create his alter ego and invoke a dialogue within himself. The result is a song full of rage and disdain for his critics and most of all the police, which ends with in an expletive littered chant and the declaration:
All you punk police will never find peace on the streets till the niggaz get a piece…
Though most of the album is heavy with Tupac’s outrage at the oppression of the poor, which he experienced firsthand, he also displayed lyrical prowess, impeccable rhyme delivery and timing. He also showed range with songs like Keep Your Head Up, where Pac exposed his softer side with commiserate narratives, and I Get Around, a classic hip hop party song complete with misogyny and lyrical exhibitions of über masculinity. Some would say that the disparity between the content in some of his songs was a display of Tupac’s contradictions. I see those disparities less as contradictions and more as the various sides of his multifaceted personality revealed in his music.
A seminal hip hop album that spoke to the emotion of the inner city during the time, Strickly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z is as political (if not moreso) as Public Enemy recordings sans the jest of Flavor Flav to temper it. To this day it remains a one of my favorites which I recommend adamantly to anyone who calls themselves a hip hop lover and has never heard it. Regardless of ethnicity or nationality, anyone who has ever experienced the oppression of the inner city and knows what it means to be one of the socio-economically disenfranchised can feel this album to its core. Sadly, many people failed to see the nucleus of what this album was saying and wrote it off as just another violence glorifying record with little redeeming value.
Read more Listen In Rewinds.
© Kimberlee Morrison 2008 for Listen In. Some rights reserved.
0 responses so far ↓
There are no comments yet...Kick things off by filling out the form below.
You must log in to post a comment.