Remembering Tupac Shakur, 1971-1996

By The Hip Hop Writer
Hip Hop Vibe Staff Writer

Today marks the fourteenth year since the death of the legendary gangsta rapper, Tupac Shakur. In his career, Tupac redefined the game of hip hop. Before Tupac, there were not many rappers who released an album each year. Following The Digital Underground, Shakur broke into the game.

Once the people finally heard Tupac rap, the world was his and he ran with it. Late in 1991, he debuted with "Brenda's Got a Baby," raising the awareness of teenage pregnancy. Early in his career, Tupac was known for social concious rap. However, soon he adapted his game and spread knowledge for the thugs, henceforth the Thug Life movement.

Despite all of the great things he brought to the rap game, Tupac will be best-known for his involvement in the East Coast/West Coast feud. There are many people who believe his death was one of the results from the feud. Initially, Tupac was a mentor to Brooklyn rapper, The Notorious B.I.G., but once Biggie became famous, he and Tupac ended up being rivals. Everything changed when Tupac was in the same studio with Biggie and Puff Daddy and Tupac ended up being shot in 1994.

The feud was on, despite never garnering a reply from Bad Boy. In 1995, Tupac was arrested, but he was bailed out by Marion "Suge" Knight, the head of Bad Boy's rival, Death Row Records. With Death Row behind him, Tupac sounded off on Bad Boy through his All Eyez on Me album and the scathing diss record, still played heavily today, "Hit Em Up." Sadly, following the release of this song and the album and right before the release of The Seven Day Theory, Tupac was brutally murdered in Las Vegas.

Read more...

Throwback Video of the Day: Tupac - "How Do You Want It"

Read more...

“King Uncaged” will be a Classic Album

Before he was sentenced to prison, T.I. was finally on top of the rap world. Initially, people wrote him off as another Southern rapper, but on his Paper Trail album, he proved otherwise. As he finally reached his peak, T.I. was forced to go behind bars for one year. During this year, he watched, helpless, as he went from being on top of the game to being an afterthought.

T.I. is not the first rapper to go through this. Long before he was in the rap game, Tupac Shakur was in a similar position to T.I. For years, many people thought of Tupac as simply a social activist rapper. However, he was finally able to break through on his Me Against the World album. Right before he began working on his follow-up album, he spent a year behind bars.

Rap music was not the enterprise that it has become today, so Tupac was unable to post bail, himself. Instead, Death Row Records CEO, Suge Knight, came to bail him out. Following his release, Tupac recorded the classic album, All Eyez on Me. The album is still relatable to today’s times despite Shakur being long gone.

Due to the fact that times have changed, T.I. was able to handle his situation easier than Tupac fifteen years later. Immediately following his release from prison, T.I. began recording new music. Soon, the music took the form of his comeback album. Finally free from the prison walls and the legal troubles, T.I. has titled his album King Uncaged.

When T.I. compared himself to Tupac Shakur, he did not mean the overall legacy. T.I. meant that his album will end up having the same effect on 2010 as All Eyez on Me affected 1996. T.I. plans to create the best post-prison rap album in history. Most people credit the rawness of Tupac on All Eyez on Me to his personal feelings after being behind bars. With T.I., fans have come to expect that anyway.

But, after being behind bars seven months, the people are curious to hear what T.I. has to say. He plans to release King Uncaged towards the end of summer.

Read more...

T.I. draws Tupac comparisons on New Album

Ever since 2006, T.I. has been compared to Tupac. A lot of those comparisons come from his recording on the Pac's Life album. Other comparisons have come from the emotion that he puts into his music. Not too many rappers display the passion that T.I. does.

Most of this passion comes from the death of his friend and partner, Philant. His death is what feuled a lot of the material on T.I. vs. T.I.P. and Paper Trail. Now, with the release of his next album, King Unleashed, around the corner, T.I. is opening up. He said this album will complete the series.

T.I. has compared this album to Tupac's 1996 classic, All Eyez on Me. He said that his story started in 2007 and it is set to end with this album. Following the release of this album, he begins the next phase of his career.

Read more...