Tupac Shakur but known to the world simply as 2Pac was an activist and poet who used his platform as a rapper to address many political and relationship issues within the black community. Tupac was considered the voice of the people with his gangsta and poetic rhymes. Growing up in the 90’s I had the opportunity to witness just how lyrically great this man was. My favorite album from Tupac has to be ‘All Eyes on Me’ that was released in 1996. This album had everything that you can possibly want from fun party hits like ‘California Love’ and “How Do U Want It’ and still stayed true to his mission with hits like ‘Life Goes On’. The album was definitely not as political driven as his other albums but it refreshing to have an album that was just the celebration of life. When listening to Tupac he was one of the rappers where the lyrics played first to the music. With a lot of rappers of the modern day it’s hard to appreciate the lyrical content for sometimes its hard to relate to or you simply cannot understand the muffled lyrics. Tupac was definitely an artist where you can remember, understand, and relate to the lyrical images that he was portraying.
Just like Tupac there was another artist who was very much so into the political aspect of the black community. Between the two the style was different for his hip hop style lied in the New York, East Coast lyrical style. Analyzing both artists you realize that both provided a soundtrack for the people. The main difference between the two was the importance that they played for the people during the time. In which you begin to wonder did the death of Tupac make him more of an Icon. Listening to them both it seems that Nas lyrical style was more of a conscious rap style. One of my favorite songs from Nas is his collaboration track that he had with rapper/singer Lauryn Hill “If I Ruled the World”. The track was just brilliantly constructed with Nas’ running verses and Hill’s melodic chorus. Even without the music I feel that the song would have been just as great as a capella.
Reference
Reeves, M (2016, September 13) 8 Ways Tupac Shakur Changed the World http://www.rollingstone.com/music/lists/8-ways-tupac-shakur-changed-the-world-w439346
Muhammad, A and Kelley, F (2014, April 23) Nas: ‘I’m Still Charged’ 20 Years After ‘Illmatic’ http://www.npr.org/sections/microphonecheck/2014/04/23/305629896/nas-im-still-charged-20-years-after-illmatic
Hearing Is Believing 