Tupac Was White

What's woody wood, grasshoppers?

Off the heels of Lil Xan dissing a legend and the Bruno Mars debate about cultural appropriation (which is silly), I want to discuss the whiteness of Tupac Amaru Shakur

You see, 2pac was the son of a Black Panther Party member...an infamous political organization that brought forth social awareness to not only the US, but the world...Pac received his views about the world from his mother, Afeni Shakur, which had manifested itself in his first album, 2pacalypse Now

But here's the thing...

...that album flopped

That album was a biiiiiig whomp whomp

While 2Pacalypse Now was politically charged with tracks like Trapped, Soulja's Story, and Words of Wisdom, the album lacked a strong single

Brenda's Got a Baby was a dope song, but it failed to move the needle

And that brings us to this...

Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z was Pac's breakthrough album...hands down...he needed strong singles to push him to the forefront, and he got them...courtesy of Keep Ya Head Up and I Get Around

Not only those tracks had pushed him to the forefront...

...but they also brought him closer to suburban America

The demographic that moves albums past gold (500,000 copies sold)

No longer the politically charged eMCee like he was on 2Pacalypse Now, he repped THUG LIFE...an acronym for The Hate U Gave Little Infants Fucks Everyone...a concoction of the street mentality and social consciousness that he'd expressed on his first album...not only he needed the backpacker support, but he also needed credibility

Street credibility

Then came the tats, the outlandish public behavior, and the bad ass rebel image that he portrayed to the public

Pac was pretty much acting like the stereotypical nigga that America either loved to hate, or loved to see as a form of entertainment before the tragedy like a Shakespeare play

And tragedy came closer to my favorite 2pac album, Me Against the World...

This album shows the growth and maturity of 2pac...he wasn't as thugged out like his last album, as cautionary tales like Young Nigga, If I Die 2nite, and Death Around the Corner shows a different side of Pac other than the tough, braggadocious style of rhyme...Pac was on his way to striking a perfect balance between the negative and positive forces that govern people until a sex abuse charge had handed him a prison sentence for damn near a year

A prison sentence that was cut short with the help of Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records

All Eyes On Me had catapulted 2pac into full fledged whiteness; commercial acceptance...because the so-called real Hip-Hop headz didn't support him earlier in his career, Pac had to find other ways to market himself as a media giant...the album was a celebration as a new artist on Death Row...full of sex, drugs and rock n roll

Gone was the cautionary tales and political rhymes of past albums that fizzled faster than the cases of champagne he gulped

Don't get it twisted tho...

...he still managed to call out Bill Clinton, C. Delores Tucker, and Bob Dole in How Do You Want It, a club track with Jodeci members K-Ci and JoJo

The political side was still there (kinda), but not like the past, which meant that the album was safe...safe for suburbia to listen to without worrying about the revolution knocking on their front door (in contrast to his first two albums)

The double album was about partying and bullshitting...in a good way tho...but a far cry from the socio-political content he was previously known for as the album had went on to sell 5 million copies

A bonafied best seller

He traded in his Black Panther card as America's Nightmare to live the American Dream; mansions, yachts, cars, clothes, fine baby dolls, and countless nights of turn ups with weed and Hennessy

The same way Ice Cube had went from the Nigga You Love to Hate and AmeriKKKa's Most Wanted to America's lovable dad in the film Are We There Yet? for middle America (white folks) to easily digest and accept

So much for Burn Hollywood Burn

No longer the social activist we'd hope for, 2pac was all rock n roll months leading up to his untimely, youthful demise...

...the James Dean of Hip-Hop

And the sad thing is, before he was able to break out of the drug induced haze that clouded his thinking after he'd bailed out from Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York, his life was cut short from a hail of bullets after a Mike Tyson fight in Vegas

Only for him to resurrect as Elvis Presley once people had crazily thought he'd faked his death and moved to Cuba

Aight ya'll, I'm Audi 5 stacks

Peace and Afro Grease

Nah'Sun the Great @ www.nahsunblaze.com

Suge Collapses in Court

This dude, Suge

CLICK HERE to peep on your phone



Peace

Nah'Sun the Great @ www.nahsunblaze.com

Tupac and Biggie Killed Hip-Hop

Me choppin it up with Lord Finesse

What’s woody wood, grasshoppers?
 
I’m finna get straight to the point…
 
It pisses me off that society romanticizes the past…I admit, I do it sometimes…shit, 99 percent of the DVD movies I own were either made in the 1990s or older
 
The truth is, with the exception of Argo (instant classic) and Bamboozled, I really don’t fuck with movies in the 2000s too heavy
 
That leads me to the years of 1995-1996, infamously known as the wet dreams of Hip-Hop fans
 
A slew of classic albums dropped in those two years: Only Built 4 Cuban Link, Dah Shining, Reasonable Doubt, Temples of Boom, ATLiens, 7 Day Theory, The Infamous, It Was Written, Liquid Swords, East 1999 Eternal, and too many other joints to name
 
Hell, I’ll even throw in cult classics like Crucial Conflict’s The Final Tic in the mix (one of my personal favorite albums)

What people fail to realize is that Hip-Hop back then was NO DIFFERENT from Hip-Hop of today
 
I’m NOT talking about the quality of albums…you must be on crack or molly to think that rap albums today can remotely compete with joints from back then…That’s not even a debate
 
I’m not talkin’ about that…
 
…I’m talkin’ about the SUCCESS of an album and rap artist
 
You see, in order for a rap artist or group to even sniff platinum, a CROSSOVER record needed to be made, or else you found yourself barely going gold or even dropped from the label
 
Yeah, Fu-Gee-La was cute, but The Score wouldn’t have done shit on the charts without The Fugees droppin’ the remake of Roberta Flack’s Killing Me Softly…Raekwon’s Only Built 4 Cuban Link was classic, but that album wouldn’t have hit platinum without a joint like Ice Cream… Nas dropped the Street Dreams remix with R Kelly just to get more spins and notoriety
 
Bone Thugs’ East 1999 Eternal is a VERY dark album, but that joint crossed over when they re-released the album with Tha Crossroads remix to sell more units
 
Method Man’s All I Need razor sharp remix had won the Grammy…NOT the grimy version you heard on the album, the joint WITHOUT Mary J Blige on the hook
 
To take things a lil bit further back, Wu-Tang’s 36 Chambers didn’t move units until they dropped C.R.E.A.M and the M.E.T.H.O.D Man joint…BOTH songs are catchy as hell on a grimy ass album
 
You see the pattern???

Method Man's All I Need original version...click here to watch on your phone

The major difference between that mid-90s era and today is that the new rap cats nowadays act like they can’t make a memorable album even if their lives depended on it…they also feel the need to dumb their shit down to sell
 
Keeping it simple and dumbing down are totally two different things, but that’s for another blog
 
Good music is STILL out there...it's just that music buyers today are too lazy to dig for it…technology spoiled the American public…I remember spending HOURS in record shops to find good music…Yep, I saw a lot of wack shit in ’95-’96, too...that's why I spent hours at the shop...LOL
 
So people, don’t get shit twisted...as much as headz wanna act like rap was pure in ’95-’96, that era was just as commercialized, superficial, and so-called negative as it is today…besides a few differences here and there, the music climate is STILL the same
 
You NEEDED to be a superstar to go platinum in those days just like how you need to stand-out today like a brotha at a klan rally
 
I don’t even wanna talk about the designer clothes and hoes, champagne, liquor and luxury car name drops of '96 that plagued the rap game…Biggie and Tupac were HIGHLY criticized by rap listeners during the last months of their lives because of their materialistic rhymes 

BIG was accused of rhyming with too many designer clothes name drops as a fake mafia don (The Roots sneak-dissed Biggie and his videos in the What They Do video), and Pac was accused of being a fake thug, a troublemaker, and a puppet for Suge Knight

If you don’t believe me, check the readers’ letters in any Vibe and Source magazines during that time

But hey, people tend to overlook those things when they succumb to what my guy Divine had coined, “Funeral Love” 

The Roots What They Do video (aka the Biggie diss)...they're pretty much using themselves to make fun of how rap videos were made in '96 and how they might appear in the future...click here to watch on your phone
 

1995-1996 was the beginning of the end for rap music that wasn't motivated by money, pretty much what you're seeing today on a commercial level...Hip-Hop went from a culture to a business, even during an era that supposedly gave birth to some of the greatest rap music known to man
 

Remember, family…
 
The more things change, the more they stay the same, as the present is just the remix of the past
 
And I’m out
 
Peace
 
Nah’Sun the Great @ www.nahsunblaze.com

Smiff N Wessun "Dah Shinin'"...certified CLASSIC

Why Illmatic is the Most Overrated Hip-Hop Album Ever

“It's ill when, MCs used to be on cruddy shit, 
Took home, Ready to Die, listened, studied shit, 
Now they on some money shit, successful out the blue...” – Notorious BIG, Kick in the Door

For the record, I think Nas’s debut album Illmatic is a classic. The lyrics are on point, and the beats, even though some of them sound dated, are a picture perfect reflection of New York City in the mid-90s

That leads me to point out how the handful of East Coast publications like The Source had praised Illmatic like the second coming of Jesus before the album saw the light of day. Now that I think about it, Nas was promoted as the Messiah, the emcee with the power to snatch the microphone under the limelight away from California’s rap commercial dominance in the early to mid-90s. The problem with labeling Nas as the Messiah was that Illmatic wasn’t the right album to introduce him as one

You see, Russell Simmons was right. He refused to sign Nas to Def Jam because…

 

A) He thought Nas sounded too much like Kool G Rap during an era when it was criminal to sound like another rapper unlike today
 

And

B) Illmatic wouldn’t sell

 

It took years for Illmatic to hit platinum. Mind you, record sales aren’t important to me as a listener. My favorite albums didn’t sell too well, so don’t even try labeling me as superficial. Illmatic failed to live up to expectations in sales based on media hype, and the album wasn’t the threat or the answer to the dominance of West Coast Hip-Hop at the time

Enter Biggie’s Ready to Die

Ready to Die was more of a threat because the album was not only commercially appealing, but also hardcore enough to appease the die hard Hip-Hop fan. Biggie was one of the few New York MCs who kept it street and still sold records without being accused of a "sell out" regardless of heads gettin' on his case for designer clothes and champagne name drops.  

Illmatic failed to appeal to a wider audience unlike Ready to Die

Ready to Die was catchy enough to grab the casual listener's attention while keeping the die hard rap fans on the edge of their seats which isn’t an easy task to do

The rise of the Notorious BIG and Bad Boy Entertainment prompted rival recording label Death Row Records and its CEO Suge Knight to take notice to the point where Suge called out Puffy in front of the world @ the 1995 Source Awards. Death Row pretty much had the rap game on lock at the time, and Bad Boy threatened their position even though there’s room for everyone in the game to eat 

Ready to Die was transcendent (groundbreaking) and appealed to people who might not listen to rap music. As dope as Illmatic is, the album lacks the power to grab Middle America because it’s too pure. Not to say Ready to Die is watered down, but Illmatic is for Hip-Hop heads who appreciate a great album without radio friendly songs to satisfy their listening experience

Biggie was more of an answer to the West Coast than Nas. Biggie was probably one of the main reasons why Nas flipped his style when he released his sophomore album It Was Written which to me is his best album to date (peep the Kick in the Door rhyme at the top of the blog for the shot at Nas)

And guess what??? 

Illmatic lovers hated It Was Written. Gee, I wonder why. Sometimes I think rap fans wanna see their favorite rappers broke…LOL…straight up. Illmatic showcased Nas as a lyricist while It Was Written highlighted Nas as an ARTIST 

Big difference, people

The mainstream and underground crowds kill me sometimes. They need to learn from each other. Real talk. The mainstream needs to learn why and how underground MCs are more respected for their craft, and the underground needs to learn why and how the mainstream is able to touch a larger audience

Illmatic achieved one of the two. Ready to Die achieved both. Therefore, Biggie was more of the Messiah to bring the East Coast back to the forefront and snatch the crowns off the heads of the West Coast in the mid-90s

Quick shout out to Wu-Tang, Jeru the Damaja, Black Moon, Smiff n Wessun, The Roots, Redman, and Mobb Deep. They also had a hand in the resurrection of the East. Biggie didn’t do it alone, but homie was the front man of the movement

Before I close out this blog, I also wanna point out that I think It Was Written is consistent throughout, and is a good mixture of commercialism with the essence of the “fuck a sell out” mood of Hip-Hop

Heads got on Nas's case about the track Street Dreams...claimed it was "too commercial"...I actually liked the joint...and I wouldn't necessarily pull Nas's card about making that record considering he spat raw lyrics over a "light" beat that I thought was dope

Nas is a great lyricist, but I was never into his music as a whole. Money needs to learn how to pick better beats. As much as I love supreme lyricism, music is a marriage between the beat and the rhyme. Sometimes I believe Nas can’t pick a beat to save his life

I copped Nas’s recent album Life is Good…yes, I bought the album and didn't cop the bootleg...I’ll give that joint 4 pimp sticks outta 5. The start and middle of the joint was cold blooded...I didn’t care too much about the later part of the album

And with that said, I’m Audi 5 stacks

I hope you enjoyed my breakdown

Until then

Peace and Afro Grease

Nah’Sun the Great

2012 Harlem Book Fair RECAP!

Aight, ya'll...I'm back...even when it's brief

This past Saturday I hit up the Harlem Book Fair...I promoted my THICK movement and shook hands with a few heads I knew, old and new, and expanded my brand



I may be wrong, but it seems like HBF (short for Harlem Book Fair for the slow folks) is losing its luster...kinda like that chick who used to be wifey material but isn't anymore because the whole 'hood done ran up in her

I've come across more authors and their affiliates than actual readers...the competition is too stiff, which is why I won't buy a table...I see no point in purchasing a table when I won't get AT LEAST close to the amount I put in

Seems like writing books is the new crack and Avon...but that's another topic for a later date

The GOOD part about HBF is that I got a chance to NETWORK...networking is key when you wanna build your brand and form alliances...I touched bases with Mack Mama to appear on her radio show...I did a little bit of politickin with her

And WHA-LAH!...I'm booked for Sunday, August 5th @ 11pm EST for her radio show on Blog Talk


Mack Mama and Me

Shorty is thick and kinda 'hood...she's the type of broad who'll stab a nigga and call the cops to tell them SHE did it...my type of chick...Oooooh yeah 

I've also come across Simone Green...

...a woman who pretty much had the balls to talk about her experience with Suge and Tha Row when everybody and their mamas shitted in their pants for even DREAMING about it

Simone promoted her book, Time Served on Death Row Records, that detailed her time with Death Row Records as Chief Photographer for the label...her book is dope...it's funny and sad at the same time like bustin a nut and realizing you didn't wear a condom

I finished the book in two days...a must have!

Her green eyes are mesmerizing...I couldn't look too hard because her significant other was there...good guy...I didn't wanna scrap with a big cornbread fed brother and get my swag all fucked up on the strength of him thinking I was trying to mack to his main squeeze, nahmean

I just liked the eyes

*shrugs*


Simone Green and Me

Oh yeah, I also checked out a couple panels including one featuring my guy David L...he's a fellow author who's doing his thing...homie grinds hard...PAUSE!

The panel centered on independent authors and how they market their books...I was invited to speak on that same panel, but I declined...I'm not gonna play myself considering I just get up and go...drawing up a marketing plan to me is like Chinese algebra...I just get up and grind

There's no technical shit in my hustle...just straight impulse and adrenaline on some jump out an airplane with a busted parachute type shit





Aight, ya'll...that's all, folks...back to writing...I'm out

Peace!

Nah'Sun


Reminds me of the Good Ol Days