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From what I read, his so-called homies Nigel and Trevor set him up with the rape case, and they definitely had something to do with his getting shot. Yo, Pac, I'm not calling you stupid, I just think you should have been more cautious witht he people you choose to call your homies. You've been around! Without those two, you wouldn't be in the situation you're in now. It's sad that black brothers can't unite, that they must fight and destroy each other. If what you said in your interview about amking us all proud is tru, then more power to you, black brother. Remember, true friends are like diamonds, precious but rare; false friends are like autumn leaves, found everywhere. Keep ya head up, nigga! Still getting love from your sistas! 

Sherena 

 For all the compassion I feel for Tupac, I keep asking myself a question that should be addressed by hip hop and rap fans who support Tupac: Would he be changing his thuglike ways if he weren't facing the nest few years of his life behing bars? i hope that Tupac meant what he said in his interview and I wish him all the luck that I have to give, but something keeps telling me that if Tupac hadn't taken his unfortunate fall, he'd still be out there smoking weed, insulting people, and carrying on like he was prior to his sentence. I'm a fan of Tupac's, so I'm hoping that I'm wrong, but I've got feeling that I'm not. 

Kessa Cocknell Ethelsville, AL 
 

 

With Tupac being incarcerated, I understand what he must be going through, beacuse I am also incarcerated. here's a poem of encouragement I wrote for him: 
 
 

KEEP YA HEAD UP, 2PAC

To the rapper who makes much sense,
2Pac Shakur don't you ever quit
Life has its obstacles, God knows it does,
with the rhymes you wrote it shoed
much love. Some were positive and 
some were life as we saw it on
the streets the we fight. now it's
time to do your thing, get it together,
come out and say: It's a new me now,
I've saw the light, I must help my
young brothers and sisters to save 
their life.
I'm proud of you and the changes
you've made.
stick with your word, stay strong
and brave

Amira Bush Goochland, VA 

 

 

Tupac has to take responsibility for his actions or lack of the same. He should have done something besides leaving that woman in a compromisisng position in a room full of men. Black men are going to have to learn to assert themselves and challenge other black men by stopping them when it comes to harming our women. The test is, if you wouldn't allow this to happen to your mother or sister, why sit by and allow it to happen to any other woman? Black men have to stop condoning the negative behavior of their brothers even if it makes them look soft. 

Carol Richardson Carson, CA 


Tupac has learned more about himself than he has ever known, now that he is not smoking bud or drinking. Many of my homies met him and said he was a straight punk or an asshole because he disrespected almost everyone he came across and he was only acting hard because that was his image. But hearing him say that he was always under the influence and that he shouldn't have been acting that way, I guess he now realizes his mistakes 

Veronica Castillo Inglewood, CA 


C'mon people. Tupac's talking that same ol' jailhouse bullshit that all niggas locked up are always talking about. The bottom line is that if Tupac hadn't gotten locked up, his ass would've still been out here doing the same foul shit he was doing before. He srikes me as just another phony nigga trying to be hard like every other gangsta out there. Tupac needs to start being his own leader and stop following behind other motherfuckers. He gets no sympathy, respect, or props from me! 

Gispel P. New York, NY 



I am truly proud of Tupac Shakur for the wonderful change that he has made. I commend him for finally developing a more positive outlook on life. These days it's not easy for kids to be postive about their futures, partly due to all of the gun-toting, drug-slangin' gangsta rap that isn't supplying these listeners with a solution, or even a right and a wrong. Tupac was right when he said, "We need to be more responsible for our lyrics." It's all right to rap about reality, but we should educate in a positive way. The "role models" in music that are representing the streets need to start teaching the good in life and stop glorifying the drugs, and the disrespect of women. That "Thug Life" shit needs to be dead. It's not ever going to get us anywhere. Tupac realizes it, and he truly should be an inspiration to all that might be heading in the wrong direction. 

Jared Hurtz Laguna Niguel, CA


 
Copyright © 1995 VIBE Magazine
May 24, 1995