Tupac Shakur
by Vibe Magazine

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Book Reviews of Tupac Shakur

Book Review: This book has it all: pictures & words...
Summary: 5 Stars

"This is my last interview. If I get killed, I want people to get every drop. I want them to get the real story." - (VIBE, "Ready To Live" - April 1995)

Writer Kevin Powell really gets to the heart of things in this interview with 'Pac from Rikers Island.

"When you do rap albums, you got to train yourself. You got to constantly be in character. You used to see rappers talking all that hard [stuff], and then you see them in suits and [stuff] at the American Music Awards. I don't want to be that type of [person]. I wanted to keep it real, and that's what I thought I was doing. But now that [stuff] is dead. That Thug Life [stuff]...I did it, I put in my work, I laid it down. But now that [stuff] is dead."

I can't help but wonder...would Tupac still be alive had he stuck to this quote back in 1995? Would the Notorious B.I.G still be alive? Would they be friends?

There were so many facets to Tupac. He was hard...perhaps the 'realest' rapper to ever live. To say that Tupac Shakur was charismatic is an understatement - his sheer presence had the power to electrify a room. His lyrics were insightful, and his visual package had his female fans in a trance. He was truly a legend.

I (like many others) practically grew up on Tupac. I remember when he landed the role of "Bishop" in 'Juice' (he was still a relative unknown that fall of 1991); how he got to star opposite Janet Jackson (lucky dude!) in 'Poetic Justice'. In music, "I Get Around", was the joint in the summer and fall of 1993 - and it is now a classic.

Then in 1994, the trouble really started. He got shot up; sent to Rikers Island on a sexual assault charge, yet released a new album anyway. Tons of stars turned out for him to shoot the "Temptations" video (dang, Pac had a lot of friends, huh?). Then the infamous Source Awards of 1995 happened - the real powder keg of the Bad Boy/Death Row feud. The letters back and forth - the finger pointing...(I'll leave that at that).

That whole East Coast/West Coast rivalry proved once and for all that hip-hop (as DMX says) is not a game. On that note, all the shadiness, all the unsettling moments, and the unsettling quotes are documented on these pages as well. Read it, and draw your own conclusions - I just hope we never return to that state of affairs. It was most likely a very tenseand scary time to be a music journalist in hip-hop...from the outside looking in.

That being said, I'd say that this is a great place to start finding out more about Tupac. He seemed to be an extremely lovable guy. He was engaged to Quincy Jones' daughter - and he was friends with classy ladies like Jasmine Guy and Jada Pinkett-Smith. Obviously, Tupac had class...but like everyone else has been saying, he must have just turned into his "thug-life" image...and just like his character "Bishop", he died way before his time. Gone too soon.

Summary of Tupac Shakur

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