Tupac Shakur. Born 1971 and died 1996. He was gunned down in the streets of Las Vegas. That’s the story, and to this day rap fans across the world mourn his death. But did that actually happen? Was he actually killed? Could he still be alive? What if there was evidence supporting the fact that Tupac was still alive, and never was gunned down that night eighteen years ago?
If you do any research into this topic, literally just google “tupac conspiracy” you’ll find thousands, if not millions of websites and youtube videos and forums dedicated to providing proof for both sides of this argument, that Tupac is dead, or that he’s actually alive. People have their own opinions. I don’t. I’ve looked into this subject a little bit, but I haven’t formed my own opinion. The plan is to do this blog and make my own opinion.
Music has always been a huge part of my life. Growing up I listened to classic rock, and once I started high school I expanded my tastes. Right now, you’ll find on my iPod everything from Britney Spears to Florida Georgia Line to Blink 182 to Kendrick Lamar. I listen to everything. Tupac, or as is stage name goes, 2pac, has always been a huge section of my iTunes. Looking now, I have 370 songs by him. Tupac’s music is part of every playlist I have that includes rap, and once I heard about this conspiracy regarding his death, the idea has always intrigued me.
People nowadays tout Tupac as one of the greatest rappers of all time, if not the greatest. A question arose wondering if Tupac was considered the greatest when he was alive and rapping, or only posthumously awarded the title. To answer that, we have to dive into Tupac’s life when he was rapping. During his career, he wrote songs that had impeccable flow, that were about living the “thug life” yet everyone, from people living in ghettos to people living in suburban neighborhoods could relate to. He wrote songs about life and struggling and achieving dreams. People could argue that rappers today rap the same thing, but all you really here are lines about sleeping with women and making money. Tupac wrote songs about falling in love, about his love for his mother, about helping the poor. He was a social activist who constantly fought for people’s rights in the ghetto and for black rights. So yes, Tupac was considered the greatest rapper of his time. Dr. Dre was good, but never known worldwide, Biggie was amazing but never achieved the popularity levels of ‘Pac, and Snoop Dogg was still up-and-coming at the time but he quickly fell off the map. To this day, rappers are constantly rapping about Tupac and even they say he’s the greatest.
Another question posed about this idea was the fact that there was a lack of crime scene evidence and whether the legend came from just hope, the lack of evidence, or a mixture of both. I think it was both. The crime scene evidence, or lack thereof plays a significant part in this, but so does hope. Rap fans now and then revere Tupac, and everyone always hopes and prays that a loved one would come back from the dead so it’s not surprising that people would hope and pray for a leader of the rap community to come back from the dead.
So even though I haven’t even touched the surface of this conspiracy, of this hip hop urban legend, there’s still so much to think about.
Hey Andrew! just read this blog post (obviously). Believe it or not, I am actually a pretty big tupac fan myself. The idea that he wasn’t gunned down 18 years ago, maybe that he is even still alive, has always been fascinating to me. I thought this was very well phrased, and it really grabbed my attention. One thing you might consider changing would be to add a few hyper links to sites. You stated ” literally just google “tupac conspiracy” to find thousands of hits for whether or not he is dead. Might be easier if you added a link. Besides that, sick post, i’ll definitely be checking in to see how the rest goes. Keep it up broski!
-Jeremy
Thanks for the comment Jeremy! I think it’s awesome you’re a Tupac fan, I know there are certainly a lot of people out there that listen to him. I’ll definitely include more links next time to help people follow the post and provide further research. Thanks again!
Andrew,
This is probably one of the topics that always comes up when the team eats dinner, that and crew and how we almost died from ergging (machine we use to row when its cold outside) all day. The team is also torn apart as to where or not he is really alive and if he will appear this year according to the conspiracy. It would be rather awesome if he did come back from death, imagine the reaction, he did have a concert not to long ago where it was just his hologram, but we still have more than half a year to find out. I like your overall topic because 2pac is one of those rappers you need to have in your playlist in my opinion and is in my work out music playlist and has a way of getting ready for a hard day of work. I also like how you set it up from giving a quick bio leading with giving the conspiracy and ending with how you feel about the topic. As far as giving you a little constructive criticism, I will agree with Jeremy about simply adding some link to those pages that talk about the conspiracy in order to allow a reader that knows nothing about this to get more background info. I myself did not add any links and is something I will defiantly use on my next post. Overall I’m excited to keep reading your blog and see how you choose a side.
P.S this will be brought up next time at dinner
TrillZ
-Edwin Zavala
Hi Andrew,
I think this post did a great job of giving background information on your topic, on your opinions, and on yourself. I really feel like I was, as a reader, properly introduced to the blog.
The only thing I would be careful with moving forward in your blog is drawing too many comparisons between Tupac and Biggie, as that might upset some people. I know it’s hard to avoid doing , but you can at least try to avoid proclaiming one to be wholly better than the other.
I did a quick google news search for articles about Tupac and conspiracy theories, so I thought I’d share the links with you. A few weeks ago, an article came out about a Tupac impersonator who frequents Celtics games. My question (for you, for the author, and/or for the impersonator) is wy is he, or why would he, dress like PAC?: http://www.thepostgame.com/blog/throwback/201403/tupac-shakur-lookalike-attends-celtics-game-sends-crowd-frenzy
Recently, a man wearing only boxers and boots, claiming to be Tupac, let loose on some police cars in Philly. Again, why Tupac? Why now? http://guardianlv.com/2014/03/tupac-shakur-attacks-police-station/
Lastly, an article was written recently about why people believe in urban legends and conspiracy theories. You might find it informative: http://www.todayszaman.com/news-342499-conspiracy-theories-wherever-you-look.html
Okay, keep up the good work!
~Christina K.
I have been left in tears ,hopefully more everyday and more than that ,he comes to claim his throne .#THUG LIFE
Believe or not he is still alive, death row occestrated the whole plan before putting it to action,watch eye for and eye music video in about 3minutes 20seconds is we’re you could see PAC sing da last verse of da song, again another song I’m alive can u feel me 2020…In no time will get to see it was fiction.Dont compare the living with the dead…