by Anonymous

---

    Tupac a music artist that raps about his life, feelings, and experiences. the older generations think that rap is gibberish, but do they actually listen to the words? Tupac talks about his mother and what kind of a person she was, and how the ghetto really is. In the early 1990's tupac lived in Marin City, California's craggy slums. Tupac went to Oakland alot and then Oakland was known as Coke-land. Tupac often talks or raps about his life in the ghetto, his mother Afeni Shakur, got caught buying dope and Tupac states when he was told that he lost all respect for his mother. In the rap industry it was every man for himself. Tupac had Rape and Sodomy charges against him with charges pending from coast to coast.
    On November 29th when Tupac was 23 he had been convened to deliberate charges of sodomy, sexual abuse, and weapons possesions. After this Tupac was shot 4 times and his manager once while heading to Harlem, Tmes Square's Quad recording studio. Tupacs 30,000 dollar ring was nabbed, and 10,000 dallars of gold chains.
    things got hot and Tupac was at the top of the rap industry and his death in 1996 left everyone in aw. with the battles in the rap industry between Too Short, Biggy, Snoop Dogg, Dre, and Suge Knight, someone decided their wasnt room for Tupac and someone else deserved to be on top. i Quote Tupac when i say "I beleive that everything you do bad comes back to you. So evereything that I do thats bad, I'm going to suffer for it. But in my Heart, I beleive what i'm doing is right. So i feel like i'm going to heaven."
    In His Music you can hear the anger and real life of one man and how life truely is for people. you just got to listen, and maybe things will make sence.

---

?????????
by Will Johnsen

---

How many of you know what Hip Hop is??  for those of you who answered "Music" you are in for a wake up call.  Hip Hop came out of the drug and crime infested Bronx of the 70's.  It is a culture and like all cultures it has its own defining style of music what we call rap.  New York in the 70's was a bad place.  Police and political corruption allowed the crack epidemic to begin and explode.  The drug game was never better, cops looked the other way, and some even helped you out.  The mayor and the rest of city hall was busy pocketing money for themselves thus causing the city's deficit to double in for years.  The Bronx was where the heart of it all was.  Then other brought some flattened cardboard boxes and started break dancing. Those were the first to pars of the Hip Hop culture:  The DJ and the B-Boy or B-Girl.  Afrika Bambaataa, a leader of the notorious Black Spades, saw these block parties as a way to END VIOLENCE among themselves.  Then came the culture's art form: Graffiti.  Last but not not least came the emcee.  Today hip hop is a billion dollar plus industry and I'd be surprised if ten percent of all the heads who buy a hip hop album are aware that Rap is actually the least important part of this amazing culture.  I'm writing this because I love hip hop and I look at it today and am afraid.  I'm afraid that the Nelly's, Chingy's, Ja Rule etc.  are going to ruin this wonderful thing that's been around for thirty plus years.  Hip hop's not all about being shoot nine times or how much gold you got or how many girls you can sleep with.  Sure that stuff is great at a party but that doesn't take much skill.  Hip-Hop heads used to care who spit the hottest line or who had the tightest flow. Today I know one kid who I could talk to about that and who cares.  So if anybody reads this and you have even a remote interest in hip hop then come talk to me.  I love talking about all kinds of music and I want to show anybody who is interested a whole other realm of Emcee's who actually  have something to say and they say it with tight rhymes and a dope flow.  To get you  started look for anything byAtmosphere, Brother Ali, Sage Francis, The Roots, anything from the label Definitive Jux or Anticon.  I could go on forever but I'll stop there and tell you to just come talk to me about it.  I got websites after websites you can check out I got mixes with their stuff I can tell you stores that sell it all.




Note:  If you wish to send us an editorial or a note you MUST include a name.  If you would like us to put it up on our page as anonymous include a note at the bottom of your page.  Thank you.