Still One of the Best CDs on Shelves Today

Tupac Amaru Shakur. When you hear the name, you think of the legend, the legacy, and the talent of the man. Greatest Hits. From the CD, you think of accomplishments of Tupac, not only during his career, but of the success story of his life itself. In a way, the poetry of his music weaves the story of his experiences and his hope, going from "Me Against the World" to "Until the End of Time". But when remembering Tupac, keep in mind not only the memory of the talent and legend of Tupac, keep in mind not only the legacy he left behind. When remembering Tupac, please endeavor to commemorate his refusal to succumb to the easier way of a drug-dealing life and his decision to live the right way. Not only did I buy this album because his music is great, but also to pay my respects for a great man who kept his head up in the darkest of situations.

Every song on this album has specific meaning, from the first song, "Keep Ya Head Up", to the last, "Heartz of Men". In each of these songs, he comments on his relationship to each topic and reminisces to what it was like in his time and what he'd like it to be in the future. In "Unconditional Love", he says, "Though we were born without a silver spoon/ My broken down TV/ Showed cartoons in my livin' room...". In "Dear Mama", he bluntly states, "Shed tears with my baby sister/ Over the years/ We were poorer than other little kids..." In "Changes", he cries out, "'It's time to fight back,'/ That's what Huey said/ Two shots in the dark/ Now Huey's dead..." In this sample of his music, he reminisces. Though it may sound depressing, out of what may sound dark and morbid, from "Unconditional Love", he gets, "My mission is to be more than a rap musician/ The elevation of today's generation, if I could make them listen/ Prison ain't what we need/ No longer stuck in greed/ Time to plan, stratigize.../ No pleasure in the suffering/ Neighborhood would be good if they could cut out all the bustin', the liquor, and the weed, the cussin'/ Sendin' love out to my block...”. From "Dear Mama", “There’s no way I can pay you back/ But my plan is to show you that I understand…/I appreciate how you raised me/ And all the extra love that you gave me…/I wish that I could take your pain away/ If you can make it through the night/ There’s a brighter day…”. And from “Changes”, he says, “It’s time for us as a people to start making some changes. Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live, and let’s change the way we treat each other.” This is the kind of music I respect and appreciate; music that reflects the thankful thoughts of a man that at first glance may seem unforgiving, but really of a man who appreciated what he had, though what he had was probably sparse.

When considering the quality of the songs on an album, I believe that you have to consider the following: 1) Lyrics; 2) Sound quality; 3) Message. Because the songs on this album were released before Tupac’s death, some of the songs’ sound quality may be relatively low. For example, in “Keep Ya Head Up”, when Tupac pronounces “s”s, it sounds almost like “f”s. Otherwise, the songs on this record have absolutely no problem whatsoever. They could not be any better lyrically, where he clearly expresses his feelings and thoughts through a well-built barrage of words, and sometimes to built tone, profanity. And message-wise, if every MC was as good as Tupac, the world would not hate as much on rap. In his songs, he hates on racism and prejudice while keeping above all moral, God, and family. Tupac, however, does sometimes express his opinions rather strongly, so if you are a person who does not appreciate flat-out, callout insults, you are the one exception to everyone else I would recommend Tupac to. Otherwise, messages in real rap do not get any realistic than ones by Tupac.

As my conclusion, I will note that Tupac will always be remembered as a man with a shadowy, yet forgiving and morally upright personality. He expresses indirectly this personality very well through his songs, and I fully recommend this album to anyone who appreciates rap and has a heart. “Buried as a G/ That’s how the whole world’ll remember me.” Pac, we’ll never forget you or your rhymes.