TUPAC (NUMBER 7)
Tupac, has always been a Rap Artist I so much admire and his music really inspire me a lot. Those days when I was at the Federal Polytechnic Bida (1996), before moving into a University, I have always love his music and that of his greatest enemy Notorious B.I.G. There was no gig then that you would not be thrilled with their songs. I happened to always mime one of his tracks All Eyez on Me then, at most of the shows I performed and Mode 9, who happens to be one of the greatest Rappers we have in Nigeria now did the Paintings (Posters) of such Shows on Campus.
I feel I should use this opportunity to showcase this opportunity to write few things about him on my blog. After leaving the Tyson fight on Saturday September 7, 1996, Tupac was allegedly shot 5 times. He lived through the shooting and was taken to a nearby hospital. He was pronounced dead on Friday September 13, 1996. Friday the 13th was a very suspicious day and there were never any pictures released of Tupac in the hospital. It could also be noted that, in the song "Life Goes On", Tupac raps about his own funeral. The driver of the car in which Tupac was riding, Suge Knight (the executive producer of Death Row Records), didn't show up for questioning about the shooting.
Tupac's alias is Makaveli. Though the spelling is different from Machiavelli, meanwhile Machiavelli was a 16th century Italian philosopher who advocated the staging of one's death in order to evade one's enemies and gain power. In Machiavelli's book Discourses Upon the First Ten Books of Titus Livy, in Book 2 Chapter XIII he says "a prince who wishes to achieve great things must learn to deceive". This is Machiavelli's main idea and is the connection between Tupac and the writings of Machiavelli.
The title of the new album by Makaveli (Tupac) is The 7 Day Theory. He was shot on September 7th; and survived on the 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and"died" on the 13th. Hence the title The 7 Day Theory. Tupac's album All Eyes on Me was released on Feb.13, 1996. Tupac "died" on Sept.13, 1996. It is quite a coincidence that the two dates are exactly 7 months apart. Tupac officially died at 4:03 PM i.e 4+3 = 7. Also he "died" at an age of 25 years. 2+5 = 7. Therefore, I could simply say, it seems as if, seven is Tupac's number and which happens to remind me that I have always love the number 7. Infact, is really my number and there is no doubt about that. As a Nigerian Juju maestro (Sir Shina Peters) would say, “ 7 7 7 is a number Oluwashina”.
Thanks for checking on my blog once more. I will be very glad if you could drop a comment before stepping out. Mind you, try to check on this site again tomorrow because you might find another interesting topic. Thanks once more.
posted by Kenneth Paul-Ohia at Tuesday, March 07, 2006
1 Comments:
Oga Kenneto! Nice blog. Just taught I should drop some notes on this Tupac topic cos he's one of my greatest mentors. Believe it or not, 2Pac is still very much alive. How do I know? Cos he lives in my heart. 2Pac was not just a musician, he was an educated activist. He did his things with pride and realism. He was always painted by the media as a GANGSTA but u need to dig deep into his life to find out who he really was. He was a brilliant, artistic, and complex, individual. For one thing, I like him cos he always expressed how he really felt about everything. He neva hid anything. His music showed that. For another thing he was very hardworking. He released an average of 3 songs everyday in the studio. Apart from R.Kelly, I don't know of any other musician who is so hardworking. And it's evident today cos 10 years after his "suspicious" death, he's still releasing albums. Speculations had it that Suge Knight had him killed cos he could not see a talent like 2pac leave his record label after the agreed contract. But we will neva know cos 2pac had many enemies in his lifetime. Many still argue that Biggie was a better talent than 2Pac. I refuse to believe that and I think anyone who listens well to 2pac's lyrics will recognize that 2pac's lyrics were more than just flows or rhymes like Biggie. His lyrics passed on messages. Songs like "Keep your head up" and "Dear Mama" clearly reveal this. And my best song ever... "Life Goes On", reveals the ever ready-to-die life of 2Pac. As for predicting his death, I don't think that was a new thing. While he was alive he always talked about dying cos of the life he lived. Infact he woke up everyday ready to die. The issue of Friday the 13th, Makaveli and others are not enuf to say he planned his death. I believe Tupac is too brave-hearted to fake death for so long. One may dislike him for his lifestyle, but when u look at the conditions under which he grew up, you will praise God for who he became before he died....
I could go on and on talking about this guy. I love him so much and I pray that somehow he's alive cos his death is a waste of talent.
For anyone who is interested in knowing about 2Pac, i recommend the movie "2Pac - Thug Angel" (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0314806/) and u can see more info at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2pac.
and like he would say... life goes on.
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