You're a friggin mindreader, Pete. Got your signals crossed a little, but amazing nonetheless.
This week, I've been 'discovering' Tupac. Never gave him any respect, or really listened to any of his stuff. Back when he was alive, I was clearly not down with hip hop of any kind. Nowadays, I love it, but am VERY selective.
Been sharing music with this security gaurd at work; she's much younger than me. She calls my music "easy-listening hip hop". That one really cracked me up, cuz I know in the eyes of most blacks and other long-time listeners, people like me are what happens when a music style goes mainstream.
Anyhoo, she says that any of the good rap that came out in '95 and '96 was the real deal. The high point. I hand her Roots, J5, Swollen members, Pep Love and she comes back with Makaveli (2Pac) Don Killuminati. I'm thinking "gangster rap bull$hit".
Dude, that CD is just amazing. It's like speaking from the grave, and even more importantly, it's really good.
I never really did understand the difference between writing and literature (like how can you say Tom Clancy's not literature?), but some of the discriminators are 'does it capture a picture of the human condition', 'does it enrich or change your life or outlook'. That CD does. No, he wasn't hard like his lyrics say, but man, a lot of his listeners lived like that, and he did get bullets in the end, huh? This CD is like a snake charmer. Something about it that goes far behind his demise. He had something that friggin 50 cent will never have, even if he takes a pair in the forehead.
To me, it's like discovering this stuff for the first time and it's more than just the music. Sorry, but it's a little heavy. Bealeed dat. Notorius is another. His voice carrys that intagible like Tupac has. BIG's there, the track's good.
Which reminds me, the first track of tyhis CD has 2Pac talking east/west and the Notorious P I G, along with describing Jay-Z as a 'corny sounding mother __cker.' Even in schtik, them're fighting words.
As far as the real deal, I've thought about getting my grampa inked and my cousin who we lost a couple years ago at the age of 13. He was the kid I always wanted my son to turn out like (all boy, but still liked your arm around him). Grampa was just a desert guy with a drinking problem who was purpose-built for the campfire. Don't really know what kind of dad he was, but he had a knack for making every story intersting. They're the two I'm gonna be looking up in a few years.
