“I sit and wonder whether half the critics of Tupac know who he was. I go around school and hear people say, “It was about time for Tupac to die.” It has been so easy to criticize him, what with his criminal record, and the violent messages in some of his gangsta rap music. People need to recognize that Tupac didn’t have the “silver spoon” life many of us have. He had a very difficult life and worked his butt off to make it in the music and entertainment industry.
Tupac’s music sent mixed messages. For example, in “Keep Your Head Up” and “Dear Mama,” he tried to instill in his people the hope that they would live to see better days, that if they put their heads to it, they could succeed in being anything that they wanted to be. In other songs such as “Soulja’s Song” and “Strictly 4 My Niggaz,” he makes it sound really cool to kill people. I’m not sure why. Maybe it doesn’t matter; most people just listen to the beat and the music, not the lyrics.
Tupac was mostly positive
In my opinion, Tupac probably was a very positive person for the most part. Those who knew him well, loved him. I also think that he was under pressure not to sell out. He couldn’t condemn the gangster life because he would be backstabbing all the homeboys that he grew up with, his only family (other than his mother) when he was young and struggling in life.
It’s really easy to knock Tupac. The truth is he had a terribly tarnished life. He was no angel. But things weren’t easy for him. When he was struggling to make it, he found himself sleeping on recording studio couches, doing tours at hotels, and penny pinching. I’m not going to justify Tupac’s actions but he wasn’t given anything for free. He didn’t have much except his dope flow and voice; he had to work for his achievements.
Throughout his career, Tupac was under a lot of pressure to “keep it real.” Even after he made it, he lived the “Thug Life,” words which he had tattooed across his stomach. He lived his life violently and not surprisingly, died violently. Whether he was a good or bad person is really irrelevant. Good or bad, he is a legend in the rap scene.”