Music Tupac Shakur

MyOnlySolskjaer

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Not done discussing him, some people were calling him overrated in the Kendrick Lamar thread and thought we can move things to here. Also a good chance to re-share some classics.

To me he's the greatest to have ever done it. If there are any LA residents, I'd highly recommend going to his museum exhibit (Wake me when I'm free).
 
TUPAC WAS A GREAT RAPPER BUT A DIFFICULT PERSONALITY
HE CLASHED WITH B.IG. BECAUSE HE SHIFTED TO LA
EVEN THOUGH HE SIGNED TO DEATH ROW IN THAT POSITION
TOUGH PERSONALITY?
HE STILL WON PLENTY OF AWARDS AT LOCAL AND NATION LEVEL
NATION LEVEL
NATION LEVEL
NATIONAL LEVEL
NATIONAL LEVEL
 
horsechoker said:
TUPAC WAS A GREAT RAPPER BUT A DIFFICULT PERSONALITY
HE CLASHED WITH B.IG. BECAUSE HE SHIFTED TO LA
EVEN THOUGH HE SIGNED TO DEATH ROW IN THAT POSITION
TOUGH PERSONALITY?
HE STILL WON PLENTY OF AWARDS AT LOCAL AND NATION LEVEL
NATION LEVEL
NATION LEVEL
NATIONAL LEVEL
NATIONAL LEVEL
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:lol:
 
top five of all time for me

I love watching some of his old music videos just to look at LA in that era

 
The best rapper or made the best music?


MyOnlySolskjaer said:
Not done discussing him, some people were calling him overrated in the Kendrick Lamar thread and thought we can move things to here. Also a good chance to re-share some classics.

To me he's the greatest to have ever done it. If there are any LA residents, I'd highly recommend going to his museum exhibit (Wake me when I'm free).
Click to expand...
 
horsechoker said:
TUPAC WAS A GREAT RAPPER BUT A DIFFICULT PERSONALITY
HE CLASHED WITH B.IG. BECAUSE HE SHIFTED TO LA
EVEN THOUGH HE SIGNED TO DEATH ROW IN THAT POSITION
TOUGH PERSONALITY?
HE STILL WON PLENTY OF AWARDS AT LOCAL AND NATION LEVEL
NATION LEVEL
NATION LEVEL
NATIONAL LEVEL
NATIONAL LEVEL
Click to expand...

Stop shouting
 
i personally believe “i wake up every morning and i ask myself, is life worth living should i mess myself?” is the greatest lyric he never wrote.
 
Wasn't even the best rapper when he was alive so calls for him being GOAT show how overrated he's become.
 
OverratedOpinion said:
Underrated actor.
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Yeah I was gonna say. I think he was a better actor than a rapper (was great in Juice and that film with Tim Roth). Would probably have gone on to win awards (and marry Jada instead of Will ;) )

VanDeBank said:
It's an insult to actual rappers like Rakim, Nas, Biggie, Kool Keith to call Tupac the rap goat.

I get that people like his music. My (white) mom does too.
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Agreed. He can't hold a candle lyrically to any of those guys and numerous others.
 
What's interesting is that he considered himself to be an actor who made albums on the side (Gridlock'd interview on youtube). He actually made more films than albums while he was alive.

I think he was an average actor but a complete natural as a rapper.
 
CassiusClaymore said:
Agreed. He can't hold a candle lyrically to any of those guys and numerous others.
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Jaae said:
I think he was an average actor but a complete natural as a rapper.
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He was a born musical genius, like Kurt Cobain, that just had that power of connecting with people through music. People are missing the point if they try looking at their work from a technical perspective.
 
I lot of people seem to think just saying words really fast that rhyme is good rapping these days, this mostly happened after the Eminem era.

I can't take people seriously who say he wasn't a good rapper his flow was incredible and knew the right words to say at the right time which made you feel his lyrics. In this respect there are not many that match him.

Everything he touched would turn into magic whether it was AEOM packed with well known producers or Makaveli where he used producers that people haven't even heard of. And to do it in the space of a year is rediculous.
 
VanDeBank said:
He was a born musical genius, like Kurt Cobain, that just had that power of connecting with people through music. People are missing the point if they try looking at their work from a technical perspective.
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Well yes he obviously did connect with a lot of people through music and that's an admirable thing to have accomplished. I just take issue with the idea that he was the 'best to have ever done it'.

I bought and listened to pretty much any hip-hop that came out in the 90's (it's peak imo) and Tupac's well down the list of stuff I'd throw on now to relisten to.

I think it was more about the image and package with him than the quality of his work. His peak hit right when gangsta rap was all that anyone wanted to listen to and he was pretty much the West Coast antidote to the NY sound that dominated the scene back then.
 
Couldn't believe the disrespect in the Kendrick Lamar thread. Undisputed GOAT. An insane number of classics cut way too short. He'd have double/triple that had he not been murdered, such was his ability.
 
horsechoker said:
Twista was ahead of his time
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:lol:

I mean going by this criteria Logic should be up there as one of the goat's too but there is way more to rapping.
 
2mufc0 said:
:lol:

I mean going by this criteria Logic should be up there as one of the goat's too but there is way more to rapping.
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Going by your own criteria you mean? Nobody else said fast rapping was the be all and all (does nothing for me personally). I believe they call that a strawman argument.
 
CassiusClaymore said:
Going by your own criteria you mean? Nobody else said fast rapping was the be all and all (does nothing for me personally). I believe they call that a strawman argument.
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It would be interesting to hear what your criteria is then?
 
MyOnlySolskjaer said:
Not done discussing him, some people were calling him overrated in the Kendrick Lamar thread and thought we can move things to here. Also a good chance to re-share some classics.

To me he's the greatest to have ever done it. If there are any LA residents, I'd highly recommend going to his museum exhibit (Wake me when I'm free).
Click to expand...

Hip Hop/Rap died after the golden era of the ‘90s, now it gotten so over commercialised its become a parody of itself.
 
Tom Van Persie said:
So many classics





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I think this song encapsulates Pac's style, energy, story telling, flow and emotion. Not sure how anyone can listen to the second verse and say he wasn't a good rapper.
 
2mufc0 said:


I think this song encapsulates Pac's style, energy, story telling, flow and emotion. Not sure how anyone can listen to the second verse and say he wasn't a good rapper.
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I don't think anyone is arguing he isn't a good rapper, rather disputing his GOAT status.

He'd probably make my top 10 but wouldn't be in my top 5.
 
2mufc0 said:
It would be interesting to hear what your criteria is then?
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I don't really have a set criteria as such. Just stuff I like more than other stuff. Could be the production, could be the flow, could be some clever lyrics. All of that and more.

Someone else said above that he connected with people and I can't really argue against that. Just not really with me as such.
 
b82REZ said:
I don't think anyone is arguing he isn't a good rapper, rather disputing his GOAT status.

He'd probably make my top 10 but wouldn't be in my top 5.
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Fair enough. I don't think there is an undisputed GOAT anyway it's so subjective and mainly comes down to personal preference.

I was just challenging the opinion he wasn’t actually a good rapper when the evidence proves otherwise.
 
He was the total package really.

A bit like a popstar, you don't always have to be the greatest singer in the world or write your own songs, but you have to be able to have the charisma and aura to pull it off.

Tupac had that in bundles. Combine that with some of the most memorable songs of his era, he was a superstar.

The intro to AOAR still gets people hyped 30+ years later.
 
2mufc0 said:
I lot of people seem to think just saying words really fast that rhyme is good rapping these days, this mostly happened after the Eminem era.

I can't take people seriously who say he wasn't a good rapper his flow was incredible and knew the right words to say at the right time which made you feel his lyrics. In this respect there are not many that match him.

Everything he touched would turn into magic whether it was AEOM packed with well known producers or Makaveli where he used producers that people haven't even heard of. And to do it in the space of a year is rediculous.
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Nail on head. He was talented as feck but somehow it's become the popular opinion amongst hip hop nerds that he wasn't very good.

I actually find Biggie to be overrated as an artist. Brilliant MC but I found Ready to die to be a bit boring and LAD had some great songs but too many fillers. I guess we never saw Biggie at his peak musically.
 
He was brilliant but I think the Biggie feud raised his profile above where it would have otherwise been, whereas Biggie was the best irrespective of anybody else.

Comparing him to Kendrick Lamar though, well there is no comparison. Great actor too.
 
Never wrote a rhyme as iconic as “you know the rules, let the jewels go smooth”
 
He did rhyme enemieeees with henneseeeeyyy a lot.

I thought he was generally very good.
 
VanDeBank said:
He was a born musical genius, like Kurt Cobain, that just had that power of connecting with people through music. People are missing the point if they try looking at their work from a technical perspective.
Click to expand...

Absolutely.

2mufc0 said:
I lot of people seem to think just saying words really fast that rhyme is good rapping these days, this mostly happened after the Eminem era.

I can't take people seriously who say he wasn't a good rapper his flow was incredible and knew the right words to say at the right time which made you feel his lyrics. In this respect there are not many that match him.

Everything he touched would turn into magic whether it was AEOM packed with well known producers or Makaveli where he used producers that people haven't even heard of. And to do it in the space of a year is rediculous.
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Also this.

Eminem has never rapped better from a technical perspective. His music has also been pure garbage as of recent, because hip-hop is more than how many syllables in a line you can get to match.

Back to 2Pac... His best work was Me Against The World. Perfect balance between his thug persona and his talent as a poet and thinker. His earlier work was a bit too rushed and forced. His later work was drenched in Death Row or late life nihilism (he either foresaw his early death or faked it and is in Cuba living large)... MATW was just the perfect album. Lyrics, beats, message, emotion, had it all.
 
I don't care about today's mumble rap or Eminem's machinegun shitty fast rap.

Give me 2pac songs all day. Great voice and flow.
 
11101 said:
He was brilliant but I think the Biggie feud raised his profile above where it would have otherwise been, whereas Biggie was the best irrespective of anybody else.

Comparing him to Kendrick Lamar though, well there is no comparison. Great actor too.
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In what direction are you favouring this non comparison? We either completely agree or I think you’re insane :lol:
 
My personal all time greatest, but I was brought up as a child listening to him with a dad that loved him as well so I understand it's a very biased view.

I prefer the story telling versions of rap and it's why I don't understand the criticism that he is overrated due to the gangster rap stuff he's done. If anything I prefer the more melodic and deep Pac than anything else.
Brenda, Keep your head up & dear mama are just masterpieces
 
Plenty of great tracks but he has always seemed to inspire a pseudo-religious following of people convinced he would have changed the world had he not been slain.

A bit like Elvis, a fine artist but I could never understand the awe/zeal he inspired in some fans. Maybe a form of charisma to which I don't respond as intensely?

As with all musical artists, Tupac made more forgettable (non-noteworthy) tracks than classics. Still worthy of being in the discussions about best or favourite rapper but not the unimpeachable genius some would have you believe.

I feel much the same about Biggie. Maybe some of their iconic status is lent from the fact that they were at the pinnacle of the genre just prior to rap/hip-hop fully crossing the counter-culture threshold into ubiquitousness. In a blurry mind with hazy memories it is quite easy to conflate the deaths of the two with the commercial embrace/takeover of the genre that developed over the following few years.
 
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