Brian A. Gnatt
Daily Arts Editor
Tupac Shakur wasn't a model citizen. To say he enriched society or left a beautiful mark on the world would be a crock.
Over the past few years, when the 25-year-old rapper and actor wasn't in jail, he was in court, or busy finding new ways to get back there. Charged with too many offenses to count, most famously for sexual assault, Tupac pushed his hard-edged gangsta image to the limit.
Whether what he said or did was the real Tupac Shakur, or the multi-platinum gangsta rap star 2Pac, it made no difference because his brazen attitude is what most likely got him killed. Unless it was a random act of Las Vegas violence that left four bullets in the rapper's body, Tupac died a victim of his own work.
The gangsta life Tupac lived up and glamorized caught up with him. Whether the relentless self-promoter realized it or not, he couldn't say what he wanted and get away with it forever. And whether Tupac was a real gangsta or not, people took what he said as his word - Tupac - not 2Pac the rapper and entertainer, but Tupac Shakur, the real person. Not just an image on TV or a digitally mastered sound on a CD, but flesh and blood that died Sept. 20 in a Las Vegas hospital.
The reality of the situation is that artists - whether rappers, authors or painters - are responsible for what they say and do. Whether it's in their work, their cocky attitude or glamorous lifestyle, artists are responsible for their actions. Part of the game of life is learning what buttons you can push and get away with, and which buttons may lead to further problems.
Tupac was most likely killed because of something he said or did in his gangsta lifestyle. But where does the fine line between entertainment and real life lie? When Tupac said, "I fucked your bitch, you fat motherfucker," to the Notorious B.I.G., referring to B.I.G.'s wife on "Hit 'Em Up," shouldn't he have expected some type of retribution?
As far as rap wars have been in the past, artists used the mic to blast each other - not guns. Dr. Dre and Eazy-E shot insults at each other back and forth on their records, but the feuding ended there. They realized that they were in a business - the record "business." Behind closed doors, especially near Eazy-E's death last year, the two rappers cleared the air of their past problems and broke their chain of badmouthing each other.
But that's why Tupac's death is so significant in the world of gangsta rap and popular music in general. No longer can artists have free reign on each other and expect to get away with it. Talking trash about people on albums shouldn't be used as a cheap and easy way to sell records.
The question remains: Are these rappers artists, or are they simply street punks - trigger happy gangstas the public chooses to use as its window into the violence of the oh-so-glamorous ghetto? If they are in fact real gangstas, what are they doing in recording studios? If they are the thugs they claim to be, then why are they wasting their time in the entertainment business?
The even better question is why does America, and especially the white suburbs see gangsta rap as "dope?" Gangsta rap's glorification of violence is something that suburbanite kids see as entertainment. Shootings, rape and other violence isn't something the American public should be supporting, and by buying gangsta rap records, that is what we are doing.
Why are we supporting these sex offenders and murderers by buying their glorified stories of sex and violence? Should we encourage these artists and the kids who buy their records that a life of violence is profitable? When we purchase gangsta rap records, we the people are encouraging and promoting the violence that graces rap albums and inevitably the streets of this country. The rappers aren't going to censor themselves, and it's not the government's job to outlaw records either. But as the consumers who support the gangsta rap industry, we should put a stop to it.
For all the rappers out there who mouth off to sell more records, Tupac's death should send home a sobering message. And to the kid who looked up to Tupac as a role model - as a powerful black man and a level of success and power to strive for, take a good look at the reality of Tupac's situation. The rapper proved himself a hard ass and established his credibility. He was dope, hard as steel, but not bulletproof. Now he's dead and it makes no difference at all.
- Brian A. Gnatt can be reached over e-mail at bgnatt@umich.edu.