a hologram of him headlined coachella
Not a foundational artist for me getting into rap, and not one I fell in love with when I went back to explore some classics either.Always seemed too smooth to me, not that into a lot of the choruses and hooks on his tracks
A few standouts of course though and a real sense of presence, though with both him and Biggie the Best Rapper Ever talk never really grabbed me from my POV in 2010 or whenever I first tried them out. Just donāt quite get the mystique - 3/5
Think this is my fav track, Iām such a sucker for flutes in beats
Canāt say I know any songs other than California Love or Changes. I like both those songs but never really felt compelled to explore any further so abstain currently
Find 2pac such a strange one. Up there with Eminem in terms of the delta between my favourite tracks and a deluge of filler and recycled rhymes.
2pacalypse Now is thrilling and feels like it perfectly captures this tension between 2pac the āintellectualā, the empathetic young man, and the boiling rage at society.
Everything after that feels like it lacks quality control (although that might be more reflective of my general dislike of west coast production in that era) interspersed with moments of pure pac magic (Holla At Me springs to mind).
Iāve gone with a 3.
No interest in him or his music. Abstain/5.
eight years ago
The artist that got me into hip hop, arguably the artist that got me into music altogether. Having grown up listening to whatever played in my dadās car, the first album I ever bought was 2Pacās Greatest Hits when I was 11 years old, after trying a few record shops to get someone to sell me it with the big Parental Advisory sticker on the front. There was still relatively little rap music on the radio in the UK beyond a few big hits and it felt revelatory and real in a way nothing Iād ever heard before did.
I own every 2Pac album, all the posthumous shit, a load of bootlegs. Having sifted through all that, I wouldnāt disagree with the fact he never made a truly classic album. All Eyez on Me has the highest peaks but is overlong and spotty, Me Against the World and Don Killuminati are the strongest LPs front to backā¦
But those 3 albums were released within 18 months and contain more great material than most rappers will ever manage. He was definitely an artist struck down in his prime. He was definitely a problematic individual, but coming to his music after his death listening to his music felt like a character study of a man and his environment than an embracing of his actions. Nevertheless, thereās some dodgy stuff on All Eyez where heās denying the sexual assault.
I canāt really agree with folk who say he was an average rapper. Thereās more to rap than technical ability, wordplay and speed. 2Pac remains one of the greatest testaments to that. These days, I donāt listen to that much of his music, but at the same time, thereās a spot that he hits that no other rapper ever does. He emotes: guttural, wounded, playful, angry, remorseful. He wasnāt a singer, but he had a wonderful, and unique voice. Thereās a reason his music continues to resonate with each generation while more technically capable peers fall by the wayside.
For being one of the first artists I really loved, and for occupying a unique space in music, itās a 5/5 for me.
California is a fucking CHOOON!
2Pac, Dre, George Clintonā¦ Perfection! Wish theyād been able to record more together, this is so much fun.
What a way to open a record after getting shotā¦
They say pussy and paper is poetry, power and pistols
Plotting on murdering motherfuckers before they get you
Picturing pitiful punk niggas copping pleas
Puffinā weed as I position myself to clock Gās
Another abstain, only know the pure big hits, but think I preferred them to Biggie. Shocked to hear he was a rapist
articulate fucker too, the fact that this is nearly 30 year old is heartbreaking, esp. as heās talking about Trump. thereās nobody culturally today as potently outspoken as he was back then. as a cultural figure heās 100/10
Never got into his music too deeply. Back then, you picked a side, and Iām sure people like BIG and Prodigy rest easy knowing a load of mostly white lads from Essex had their backs when shit popped off.
Only heard California and I think itās crap
personally just really dislike vocoder in anything that isnāt explicitly about sci-fi robots, Iām sure he was a good rapper outside of that
Turns out this duel thread thing might have been a terrible idea, sorry!
Think maybe doing them back to back rather than simultaneously would have been better in hindsight, to give each their dues. Was a nice idea in theory though!
Nah - think it was a great idea given how intertwined their careers were. Just wish I could get a bit more involved tbh
Gotta try these things! As with everything to do with these threads, it absolutely doesnāt matter.