---“We
remember Tupac Shakur as the son of a fighter, and as a young lion. We remember
his passion for equality born from justice, and justice born from honest
confrontation of racial and class inequalities. We remember him as a protest
artist who used words to conscientise and to resist the claws of White
supremacy, a system that fed on the dehumanisation of Black people. May the
memory of this young revolutionary artist remain in our minds, for through his
work, he has earned his immortality”--- Malaika Wa Azania
Yo, Pac
I have not written in a while so
please forgive me in advance if there should be any visible rust from these
writings.
First and foremost let me thank you
for being the thorn on which the rose that I became was able to grow from. Let
me thank you for the hunger and passion that you demonstrated in every single
record that you have ever played on (Yes! Every single one). I would like to
thank you for being the rebel that you were, for riding against the tide,
weathering multiple storms in your life and for keeping hope alive for the
Black child that chose Hip Hop only as a tool for escapism. Thank you for
igniting the radical in me, for sharing your thoughts through words despite
your militant efforts being frowned upon at that time. Thank you again for
being the visionary that you were and for liberating my mind long before I knew
I was a slave captive to numerous systems.
Secondly, allow me to salute the
legend that you were and still are to this day. I hail you dear Pac, for
leaving behind a legacy in Hip Hop that no industry rapper has managed to fill
up to date and probably never will. A legacy that does not amount to record
sales, how well you spat or the entendres that you summed up in your tracks. Your legacy can never be measured by rap
industry standards and for as long as Hip Hop exists, your name will never be
erased from the origins that pioneered its suppleness.
I do not recall the exact moment
that I fell in love with you Pac, but I do know that just like everyone else
who grew up around my era, you were the only rapper that I know that was able
to cross musical boundaries in ways that only you knew how. I still remember
how my cousin brother- a self confessed House Music fanatic and DJ would come
alive every time your song played on the radio or television. Although it was
through him that I was initially introduced to you, our real official
introduction would only come much later- at a stage where my love for Hip Hop was
more prevalent. I will be the first to admit that in those early days, I never appreciated
or listened to your music much, to me you sounded just like any other angry
rapper that my young ears had been exposed to. It was only later that I began
to listen and understand the sermons that you preached through rap music; it
was much later when an epiphany dawned on me that you were not just another
rapper trying to hit the big time but you were in fact a prematurely sent angel from a black-nationalism heaven of sorts.
More than all the music you have
put forward, more than your curious and rebellious nature- that perpetually
refused to believe that the Black race was indeed inferior to any other race
and would thus be subjected to being treated as second class citizen- I want to
take time out to appreciate the confidence that you have instilled in me. If I
love you for nothing else, it will be for your efforts to inspire every black
child who was raised under pressing circumstances towards a better life. It was
not only in the lyrics you spat but in everything that you stood for and spoke
for that I and the troubled youth of my generation learned that we possessed
the power to overcome any situation regardless of how hopeless it seemed.
In an attempt to describe your
character, Eric Dyson in Holler If You Hear Me says that you told the truth
although you struggled with fragments of your identity. I could not agree with
him more. You chose to shine a light on the black community although at times
you found it difficult to locate or even comprehend your own, you represented
an entire race of people by re-installing faith in the notion of Black Pride and
Consciousness at a time when Hip Hop was mainly engaged by many only for
commercial benefit. You told stories that would later remain timeless in what
you understood to be mere studio vents; you stood for a truth that many lived
to ignore.
Today dear Pac, I would like to honor
you for the impact you have had on me personally. It was not only in your music that I learned
to speak my truth but also in the opinions you expressed outside the booth.
It was your life lived inspired
that gave birth to this platform- a revolution for all of the concrete roses
that are yet to discover their greatness. It was you that taught me to embrace
all of my damaged petals and to celebrate my tenacity and will to reach the sun! Long Live the Rose That Grew From Concrete When No One Else Even Cared.
Until next post,
Afrika Rising, Peace & Revolution...
