The 5 Reasons Tupac is Still Relevant
Written by Dr. Jonathan Brownlee
On May 25, 2020, George Floyd was brutally and senselessly murdered in the street in front of a small group of onlookers. This is not the first time such a tragedy has befallen a black man in modern America. The disregard for black life by individuals in positions of power and the massive unrest which ensued calls to mind the beating of Rodney King and the subsequent revolts that engulfed Los Angeles, California. We have seen this before. At the time of the LA riots, Tupac Shakur was already a rapper known as much for his social and political commentary as for his music. In an interview about the LA riots, Tupac said, “This is a time for America to look at how they look at minorities… Either we stand, or we all fall.” It seems that America is still trying to decide.
Tupac’s words are as relevant and true as they were the day they were spoken, and Tupac himself is arguably still the most impactful rapper (culturally) of all times. The article Why the ‘Tupac Lives’ Conspiracy Refuses to Die claims, “One of the main reasons the late rapper still feels so omnipresent is the enduring conspiracy theory that he didn’t succumb to gunshot wounds sustained in a drive-by shooting on the Las Vegas Strip on 13 September 1996,” but I believe that the reason most people say Tupac is still alive is because what he represents still lives.
Just a few weeks ago, I noticed my older cousin wearing a Tupac T. She wasn’t wearing it because she believes in some conspiracy or record company marketing scheme; it was because she believes in Tupac’s perpetual value and what he means to the culture. (That day, my cousin told me she named her daughter Justice because she repeatedly watched Poetic Justice during her pregnancy.)
Tupac embodied a lot of things, but for me there are five primary traits that he expressed to the highest degree, so much so that they have transcended his physical existence and personal flaws. And the conspiracy about his death being faked is more or less a handy excuse to bring him up in conversation. Tupac represents: 1) Black masculinity 2) Honesty/Truth to power 3) Anger 4) Complexity, and 5) Unfulfilled potential.
The first two traits which Tupac expressed to the nth degree are black masculinity and a willingness to state truth to power. Tupac often expressed himself in toxic, ultra-aggressive, profane, and politically incorrect ways. This fact cannot be denied. His rhetorical approach was the definition of “strength and aggressiveness,” often to the extreme. Still, his level of honesty and willingness to take on the powers that be when discussing topics like racism, police brutality, and income inequality took an extreme amount of bravery and courage. “Every time I speak, I want the truth to come out,” he said.
By talking about police brutality in songs like Holler if Ya’ Hear Me, there was a target on his back, and he received condemnation from the highest officials in government like Vice President Dan Quayle. With statements like, “The police ain’t nothing but a gang, the National Guard is a gang, the Army is a gang” and “They got the money for war, but they can’t feed the poor,” it was clear that Pac was willing to speak his mind about society more freely than most.
Tupac always kept it 100. Condemnation could not stop him. His willingness to speak on social injustice lifted him above the realm of rap, and placed him in conversation with other black public intellectuals and activists like James Baldwin, Malcom X, and Fred Hampton. His encounters with the police, the legal system, and the prison system gave him a unique level of credibility when speaking about systemic injustice in America. In 1993, Tupac was in a shootout with two off-duty police officers, and he was arrested and charged with aggravated assault. But even after the trumped-up case was dropped, Tupac still had numerous run-ins with law enforcement. As we still see in the unrest of 2020, dealing with harassment and systemic injustice leads to anger.
Pac was frequently angry. “My raps are filled with rage,” he said. His anger was not simply aimed at an unjust society, it was also aimed at his rap enemies. The conflict between Tupac and Biggie fed into the so-called East Coast/West Coast rap beef. He was fighting a war on two fronts. The strange thing about Pac, though, is that he was as kind and genuine as he was angry. His anger mixed with his compassion and generosity led to his unique complexity. How could Brenda had a Baby and Hit Em Up be made by the same person? How could someone talk about killing and unity and still be authentic? It’s because Tupac didn’t have it all figured out. We were watching a genius work through his/our issues in real time. He wasn’t a politician. He was a young black person trying to make sense of a crazy world. Rage and goodness where two sides of his personality that were constantly warring with one another, vying for dominance and attention.
Lastly, although Pac was incredibly prolific during his lifetime, he is the definition of unfulfilled potential. He made 5 albums, 50 music videos, and 12 movies by the age of 26. But we imagine what else he could have done. Imagine what he could have become musically. Imagine the level of acting he could have reached. Imagine what he might have said about the death of George Floyd. If he were still here, what might he be and where would the culture be? But the unfulfilled nature of a life cut short extends to the lives of countless black men who have been taken too soon. (My 27-year-old brother died this past year.) Tupac’s absence represents that void: black men lost too soon. We have seen this before.
I think that most people who talk about Tupac could care less about different conspiracy theories. But the conspiracies are a good way to make sure that his name pops up in conversations and in the media. Tupac reminds us of so much. When he is brought up, we are reminded of the plight of the black man in America. We are reminded of how dangerous it was to be so true, so complex, to have so many hopes and dreams, and to have those hopes taken away much too soon. We understand the rage he felt living in an unjust society. We understand that he contradicted himself because he didn’t have the time to work out all of life’s complexities. He was fighting for clarity under a bright spotlight. He wasn’t afraid to let us watch him struggle forward. And we never stop wondering how things might have been
