2PAC a.k.a. MAKAVELI
(1971-1996)
The life and death of Tupac Amaru Shakur is the most told strory in the hip hop world these days, and for this reason there is little point in adding a full biography about this Brooklyn-born, Oakland-raised rapper whose name has become synonymous with both "gangsta" rap and the West Coast rap scene. I will however say that anyone checking this page who might think that 2Pac was greatly overrated as a rapper, needs to check theyself, and get laced up on the game.
If any one album truly sums up his skills and inner thoughts, it's "Me Against the World", which was recorded at a point in Tupac's career when his vocal, writing and delivery skills were at a peak. He displays a wide range of emotions and opinions, and it is a MUST have addition to ANY rap CD collection, let alone any west coast rap collection. It was also the time before he was signed to Death Row and his ego started getting the best of him and his public persona, among other things beginning the darkest period in hip hop history, the East-West rivaly culminating in Tupac's and B.I.G.'s murders (NO i do not believe either of them are still alive , hiding out somewhere....).
Although he was born in the East, 2Pac is generally considered the epitome of a "West Coast" rapper, and the WESTSYYYDE!!! wouldn't be complete without a section dedicated to this man. If any lesson should be learned, though, from his sad yet inevitable demise, it's that there are too many forces working against the Hip Hop culture in general (Dolores C. Motherfucker, Al Gore, etc.) to have inner confilct (East-West, Death Row-Bad Boy, whatever) that often ends in actual violence, only strengthening the white man's case against rap music. It's a vicious cycle that's gotta stop. That's what Tupac Amaru Shakur's legacy means to me and what it should mean to anyone who wants to see rap music live on. (LP-1991) |
 (LP-1993) |
 (EP-1994) |
 (LP-1995) |
 the 7-day theory (LP-1996) |
 (LP- 1997) |
 (LP- 1998) |