Coincidentally or maybe not, AllHipHop.com and
theGrio.com partnered to discuss Hip Hop and Politics during the same
week that
many recognized the day of birth of arguably one of the most influential
artists
of a musical genre; he who may have well been the last rapper thus far,
who
simultaneously displayed the ability to successfully merge Hip-Hop and
politics. On June 16, 2010 homage
was paid to Tupac Shakur by those who recognized what would have been
for him,
if he was still living, the equivalent of the amount of time that both
Malcolm
and Martin lived before being assassinated, thirty-nine years.
Tupac embodied all of the attributes needed to
inspire
and influence the masses through a Hip-Hop medium, positively or
negatively,
politically or otherwise. He was
intelligent. He was
articulate. He had firsthand
knowledge of the struggle, trials and tribulations suffered and endured
by his
community. Nor was he scared. And
he had the ability to capture the
ears and more importantly the hearts of rambunctious youth who could
identify
with him. Hell, he single-handedly
waged war against a coast, which caused uproar in the country, purposely
fanned
and incited by the media and supported and defended by individuals whom
most
only knew from his music. Just
imagine if he would have lived long enough to influence, we the people,
to
funnel that same amount of energy into a cause that would have directly
benefited our community? I’m
certain the thought alone in the mind of the wicked, would have been
enough to
kill him. Reminds me of the scene
in Spike Lee’s movie depicting the life story of Brother Malcolm when
the cop
mumbled, “that’s too much power for one man to have.”
I want them to love me like they love Pac.
I pray there is a Hip-Hop artist out here, or
more than
one, at least I’m hopeful, who could ask the question as Tupac once did,
in a
manner that only he could, “Tell me, can you feel me” and have the
people answer
in unison, “yes.” When I answered
yes to Tupac, I simply was saying that I feel his pain because the face
is
familiar to the one I’ve seen and I was moved by the passion he used to
convey
his message. Also, I could feel his
joy because I aspire for the same happiness. Either
way, I felt something. Which entail, motivated
me to do
something. This makes me think of a
quote from the great Maya Angelou which simply states, “I’ve learned
that people
will forget what you say to them, people will forget what you did, but
people
will never forget how you make them feel.”
I reference that because admittedly there are many other artists
that I
can quote lyrics from because they’ve said some pretty cool things, even
more so
than Pac, but none have been able to invoke the same emotion in me as
him. And I’m positive that I’m not the only
person who feels that way. Those of
us who argue that Tupac is the greatest of all time (which I have in the
past)
are often basing that decision on how he made us feel through his music
and not
necessarily how his lyrics were composed; which is twofold, because it
makes a
person argument strong with passion and conviction, but weak in
explanation,
almost like religion. Frankly put,
Tupac had a voice and a candid
ability to communicate and relate to people.
Black male misunderstood, but it’s still all
good.
Even through his complexities, we didn’t see
contradictions, instead we saw his honesty. Sometimes
he spoke as a Black activist
and other times he spoke as a Black gangster, simply put, depending on
the
situation and the message he wanted to convey and the audience he was
speaking
to, he spoke accordingly. Two
things that great orators should know and Tupac was a master of are (1)
content
and (2) the audience they’re speaking to.
It didn’t appear to be an audience that Tupac could not
communicate
with. He was intelligent enough to
talk to the “intellects” and smart enough to talk to the “thugs.” Though he wasn’t from the “streets” he
was still comfortable enough to maneuver there while engaging the most
disenfranchised in a comprehensible manner about some of the most
intricate
subject matter such as politics, religion, police brutality and other
societal
ills affecting the community in which they lived. In
addition to all of that, he had the
knowledge and the wherewithal based on the likes of the strong minded
individuals he had the privilege to learn from directly, who had already
begun
the work to politicize and strengthen our community with Afrocentricity
and
Black Nationalism, through movements such as the Black Panther Party and
others. So when I ponder the
question, when will Hip-Hop return to politics, with the hopes of being
able to
influence change? It saddens me to
say that Tupac appeared to be the only one who could have pulled it off. Then I’m comforted by his words when he
promised that “he may not change the world, but he guarantees that he
sparks the
mind that will.” Since his death,
there have been many who adorned the bandanna around their head and got
tattoos
across their stomach, but failed miserably at trying to reincarnate
Tupac
because what they lack isn’t the appearance, but instead his spirit and
his
gift. Maybe if they stopped trying
to be him and just be inspired by him, one of his last premonitions
could come
to fruition which will be for the betterment of us all. Who
will that be?
