Click play to get into an “Empire State Of Mind”.

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Hopefully the clock never strikes midnight on this young lady. She’s worked very hard to get where she is and I’m proud to say I was around at the beginning before she became a household name. The power moves she’s made in the past two and a half years is something to applauded.

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This might be one of the realest hip-hop verses ever recorded, to me at least.

Look, I don’t give a fuck again

Thoughts in my head, lookin like a nigga’s stuck with them,

Wishin it abruptly ends, but God woke him up again,

Everything is seeming is so unfair, So unclear,

Trynna reach out, no ones there,

4 Walls tellin him go run where? No one cares,

Screamin this too shall pass, ridin on fuel without gas,

Bills pilin up with out cash, tryin to maintain and out last,

Pray for me, keep tellin niggas patiently, wait for me,

Keep tellin my haters wait and see,

I’m busy tryin’ to fill the vacancy,

Though a long time it’s taken me,

Mothafuckas keep mistaken me,

Mistakenly, they caging me,

Niggas never had no faith in me,

It’s like I’m one semi from death,

I’m just a few pennys from debt,

I got no identity left, victim of Identity Theft.

My problems are never new, it’s revenue,

Keep blamin them it’s never you,

Keep tellin baby girl Im gonna leave and never do,

Cause even when a nigga needs space,

when you’re lookin’ for a little lee-way,

Somebody put it on replay,

it’s like it gets louder with each day,

Pray.

“4 Walls” Verse 1 by Joe Budden

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This is just my humble opinion. I’m sure if you ask a hundred different people you would get a hundred different answers.

5. Changes – 2Pac

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How something this great can be number 5 shows just how great Tupac is. I went with the acapella because it speaks to how powerful the song is; you can listen to it without a beat and still feel it.

Standout line: “It’s time for us as a people to start making some changes. Let’s change the way we eat, let’s the change the way we live, and let’s change the way we treat each other……”

4. Letter 2 My Unborn – 2Pac

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Like so many Pac songs, this is one of those that I love to just listen to on Summer evenings. Windows down, stereo up – just me, my thoughts, and this powerful track. The beat, the chorus, and of course Pac’s vocals give it all the makings of a classic song.

Furthermore, the concept of writing a letter to your unborn child is one that resonates with me; I go about my day as if I have a child on the way and everything I do is for him, her, or them.

Standout line: “Been shot 5 times but I’m still breathing, living proof there’s a God if you need a reason”

3. Me Against The World – 2Pac

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Here we get to the dark side of Pac; complete with whispered ad-libs and all. He came to bring the pain, as he proclaimed on the hook. I can only imagine how many drive-by shootings this song might have inspired. Pac was one of those people that sometimes could lose it. This song shows someone who was ready to die and to kill. He felt betrayed, he felt threatened, he felt he was backed into a corner. If you know anything about strong minded individuals you know putting them in a corner brings out their best and their worst. This was Pac at his best and worst.

Standout lines: “When I die, I wanna be a living legend”. “All you busta’s is jealous, pull your gun out and blast. I dare you n*ggas to open fire, I’ll murder that ass”. “Busta shot me 5 times, real n*ggas don’t die”. “My only fear of death is reincarnation.”

2. Keep Ya Head Up – 2Pac

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This was 2Pac at his finest. Using music to reflect and empower. The Five Stairsteps “Ooh Child” sample couldn’t have been utilized any better. Like Marvin, like Curtis Mayfield, and so many others, 2Pac was able to make songs that spoke to those who felt lost while making it catchy enough to have Pop appeal.

Standout line: “Tupac cares, if don’t nobody else care”

1. Dear Mama – 2Pac

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Number one easily. The song starts off with Pac stating to his mother, Afeni Shakur, “you are appreciated”. Once again Pac samples a classic tune, “Sweet Sadie”, to help him get his point across. The point on this one was simple – he understands that his mother was far from perfect but nonetheless he appreciates her.

Standout line: “And even as a crack fiend mama, you always was a black queen mama”

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Sometimes when I’m alone
I Cry,
Cause I am on my own.
The tears I cry are bitter and warm.
They flow with life but take no form
I Cry because my heart is torn.
I find it difficult to carry on.
If I had an ear to confide in,
I would cry among my treasured friend,
but who do you know that stops that long,
to help another carry on.
The world moves fast and it would rather pass by.
Than to stop and see what makes one cry,
so painful and sad.
And sometimes…
I Cry
and no one cares about why.

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June 16, 2010. Tupac Shakur would have been 39 years old. He was tragically murdered almost 14 years ago and still to this day his music, words, influence, and legacy lives on; probably will do so forever. Why? Because the man lived life with a purpose. He had his fun, he messed with women, smoked and drank, but the true essence of Tupac was to stand for something.

Me personally, I hold Pac in a very high regard. His music, his acting, his passion for women; all things that I admire. It’s ironic that Pac was a poet because this particular website was started to serve as a platform for free-writing, creative discussion, artwork, and of course poetry. I’m guilty of sitting back and hoping others would believe in such a platform and help me get this website off the ground. It’s had it’s moments and I thank all those who’ve helped up to this point but if there’s anything I learned from Tupac it’s that we can’t wait for anything or anyone. We get one world and one life.

So with that said, I plan to give this passion project the proper attention it deserves, starting today. It may be photo’s, it may be videos, it may be poetry or music, but it’s going to always be something that’s going to help someone somewhere some time.

R.I.P to Tupac and thanks for the reminder.

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