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According to AMG.com, "2Pac became the unlikely martyr of gangsta rap, and a tragic symbol of the toll its lifestyle exacted on urban black America. At the outset of his career, it didn't appear that he would emerge as one of the definitive rappers of the '90s he started out as a second-string rapper and dancer for Digital Underground, joining only after they had already landed their biggest hit."
This 2003 documentary film, "Tupac: Resurrection," directed by Lauren Lazin, is about the life of slain rap artist Tupac Amaru Shakur, and is both a testament to his career and legacy and is also an insightful look into 2Pac, the man behind the controversy.
There's no question of the impact of 2Pac's legacy on rap music, and all of music in general. He's sold almost as much posthumous material as Elvis Presley and Jimi Hendrix combined. As a fan of the hip-hop culture and rap music, I have nothing but love for 2Pac, even though my greatest admiration of him has always been his music and his message, never his media-exaggerated persona and seemingly contradictory philosophies.
But at the same time, it's very distressing for me to realize that he is best remembered for his death, much rather than his life and achievements, such as his "Thug Life" code and "One Nation" project, which was aimed at squashing East/West beef and curiously enough still hasn't gotten off the ground.
"Thug Life" and Black Panther political rhetoric were his signature. His "don't-give-a-f**k" attitude permeated his early rap career on records like "2pacalypse Now" (1991) and "Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z." (1993), all of this following his brief stint with rap/"P"-funk heroes Digital Underground. His black militancy stance did of course catch the furor of every moral-minded politician in America, as he did also join the ranks of every other rap artist who came under fire by the anti-rap circles active in this country.
Even after seeing this film, I'm reaffirmed in my beliefs about 2Pac's depth and message as an artist. He was one of the most gifted rappers that the industry has and ever will see. His performances in films like "Juice" (1992) and "Above the Rim" (1994) were thematically deep, intense, and incredibly "real," almost too real for some people to handle.
Of course, 2Pac and his friend, the Notorious B.I.G., had beef, put their respective coasts on the map, and were both killed seven months apart from another - 2Pac died on September 13, 1996 (the day after my 11th birthday that year), six days after being wounded in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting; the Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a Los Angeles drive-by on March 9, 1997. Both men came to be recognized in subsequent years as the tragic symbols of the East Coast/West Coast rivalries between artists and a lesson to future generations about not just mo' money and mo' problems, but the entire industry as well.
They both died so other artists could continue in hip-hop. I can recall television interviews from the time with other prominent rap artists, such as Nas, or Lord Jamar of Brand Nubian, both of whom seemed hardly overcome with any kind of grief over the murder of 2Pac, but were lamenting the fact that people were now idolizing him because of the fact he was dead.
Lazin's film offers some careful and thoughtful insight into the slain rapper's revolutionary and troubled life, from being born a month after his mother, former Black Panther Afeni Shakur, was released from jail after having to face a laundry list of bogus conspiracy charges, to his impoverished upbringing, his rap and film careers, and finally his death and resurrection, as 2Pac himself narrates his own story from beyond the grave.
2Pac wasn't perfect and I think that was something he frequently acknowledged and this film, using hours of archive footage and his songs, allows for the audience to see the different sides to his personality. Even in today's world of 2005, I'm still a bit angry with him because of the so many mistakes that he made, and letting his ego and emotions get the better of him especially when he seemed to know better.
He made a number of contradictory statements in his songs and image, and committed a number of harmful actions against himself and others, many of which may or may not have played into his death. For me, it was his getting involved with Marion "Suge" Knight, Death Row Records, and the whole East/West rivalries that brought about his downfall, and 2Pac seemed to recognize that his own demise was imminent.
Also, his frequent court troubles, like the alleged sexual sodomizing of a female fan in 1994 and his fight with the Hughes Brothers on the set of "Menace II Society" (1993), were also detrimental to his character and image. But again, I still respect 2Pac because he took the time out to acknowledge his mistakes and at least try to correct them.
Lauren Lazin has directed a skillful and poignant film that lets its deceased subject matter speak for itself. The life of Tupac Amaru Shakur is an intense study of progress and change seen through the life of a revolutionary artist who tried his best to change himself and the troubled world that he lived in.
10/10
score 10/10
dee.reid 9 May 2005
Reprint: https://www.imdb.com/review/rw1077044/ |
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20-2-2021 00:58:08