2Pac's Impact: 15 Years Later

This past Tuesday, September 13, was the fifteenth anniversary of the death of Tupac Shakur. I wanted to write something to commemorate the occassion but it’s nearly impossible to write something that hasn’t already been written about the man, his music, his antics, his death or his legacy. He was the most popular artist of his genre and still hadn't reached his artistic peak when he was killed. Two of his albums reached #1 on the billboard charts after his death and he has sold a total of 75 million albums worldwide. That is astoudning for any artist; for a rapper, it's mind-blowing. His constant predctions of his untimely end have led some to call him a prophet, while others believe it is a case of life imitating art. Regardless, it's nearly impossible to find someone between the ages of 25 and 35 that does not have a strong opinion about 2Pac and many of those opinions have been repeatedly shared in every medium. In an attempt to be quasi-original, I’m going to take a look at how differently he, we, the music, and the culture would have been if he had not been cut down at the age of 25. This is far from a comprehensive list. There are many more examples, these are just the most glaring ones that have been clear to me for years. First up… 

• DMX & Ja Rule would have remained unknowns

Is it really any coincidence that in the first few years following Shakur’s death these two became wildly popular, using not only his formula but also his look? No one could replace Tupac. Hell, no one person could even succeed him…but two people could. Neither X nor Ja had the total package that ‘Pac had but, together, they cobbled together enough to become successful. Watch this video and tell me that it doesn’t look like Ja is dressed up as 2Pac for Halloween. Creepy. It’s also not a coincidence that both of them had been trying to get on for years and were ignored by everyone in industry until ‘Pac (and B.I.G.) died and a vacuum was created in the hip-hop genre. Bringing us to point two… 

• Jay-Z would not be the most recognizable rapper on the planet

In 1996, there were a few extremely well-known emcees – 2Pac, The Notorious B.I.G., Snoop Doggy Dogg, Nas – and groups – Wu-Tang Clan, The Fugees – and Jay-Z was not among them. He released a classic album that barely went gold. Meanwhile, that same year, 2Pac’s All Eyez On Me sold over five million copies. After the death of the two most recognizable artists from each coast, there was a void that needed to be filled. Surprisingly, Jay-Z, who still wasn’t important enough to have 2Pac actually rap about him (he was dismissed during the intro Makaveli album, while Nas was branded as the “ringleader” and had almost an entire verse directed at him), took the torch and ran with it. If you think Jay didn’t realize the opportunity that was presented to him, you’re either naïve or ill informed. Before naming his album In My Lifetime, Vol. 1, he originally planned to call his second album Heir To The Throne, Vol. 1, a nod of course to his friend and the previous “King Of New York,” Biggie, but also indicative of his feelings to the lack of leadership in the industry at the time. Naturally, that led to another, far less violent, disagreement… 

• Nas and Jay-Z’s feud would not have been such a big deal

The beef between Jay and Nas supposedly stems all the way back to the making of Reasonable Doubt, when Jay requested that Nas, who was sampled on "Dead Presidents" (a single released without an album), would record live vocals for the sequel that would go on Jay’s debut. Nas, the story goes, never showed up and Jay never forgave him. While the two would reconcile briefly after the deaths of 2Pac and B.I.G. (as seen in the picture below), the bad blood – and the competition – was still there.

We all know the rest – the two traded subliminal barbs for a few years before finally airing it out in late 2001. However, I maintain that if Tupac were alive, it would not have been nearly as momentous an occasion and, possibly may never have happened at all. We’ve already established that Jay would not have had as much success and, as a result, Nas probably would not have paid any attention to his comments. Nas was an island, taking shots at ‘Pac (“Fake thug/No love/You get the slug”) and B.I.G. (“There’s one life/One Love/So there can only be one king”) in the same verse. Furthermore, Tupac had declared war on everyone that wasn’t part of his camp (he even was beefing with Snoop while the two were recording in adjoining studios), specifically artists on the east coast so the last thing that two New York rappers would do is ignore a common “enemy” (for lack of a better term) to attack one another. Speaking of Snoop…

• Snoop Dogg would not be a caricature of his former self

In 1994, Snoop Doggy Dogg was on the cover of Newsweek under the title, “When Is Rap 2 Violent?” Now, Snoop is trying to set records for retweets and making Pepsi commercials. He stars in comedies and makes friends with everyone. He’s harmless. This was not a gradual transition over time due to age and success like it was for Ice Cube. Rather, Snoop completely changed in 1996 for two reasons: 1) He was tried for murder and 2) 2Pac was killed. Both reasons had Snoop, a Los Angeles Crip, by the way, scared for his life and, as a result, he decided to become a different person entirely. He went from angrily challenging an entire coast at an awards show to paying homage to B.I.G. rhyming over Death Row's most famous beats (a move many saw as a dis) by rhyming over Bad Boy's most famous beats (in a respectful way) and repeatedly working with Puff Daddy. We all know that Suge Knight was the impetus for all of the so-called “coastal beef” and he was prodding his artists to follow his lead (which 2Pac was more than happy to do after Suge bailed him out of jail) and Snoop began behaving differently once he no longer worked for Knight but, more simply, even Snoop’s music softened after Tupac’s killing. While he may have not had Dr. Dre supplying the beats, Snoop had DJ Pooh, a very capable producer, handle the majority of the sounds on his second album, and it felt…soft. Being tried for murder is enough to shake anyone but I truly believe that when he saw Shakur get killed, he felt like he needed to change or else he would be next. A major step towards securing his safety was his willingness to work with artists from other regions, especially New York. That reminds me…

• Many bicoastal collaborations would not have occurred. Or, they would have occurred much later than they did

As is the case with any example in hip-hop, Redman & Method Man are the anamolies. While the two coasts were apparently at war, 2Pac featured Red & Meth on his post-prison album, All Eyez On Me. This, of course, was the exception rather than the rule. While Dr. Dre was trying to unite the coasts before anyone else – The Group Therapy (Dr. Dre, RBX, KRS-One, B-Real, Nas) project, “Nas Is Coming” on It Was Written, The Firm album – everyone else was still hesitant. Not only had Tha Dogg Pound’s trailer been shot up while they were filming the video for “New York, New York,” but Mobb Deep and Capone-N-Noreaga had recorded a response (cleverly titled “LA, LA”) and filmed a video depicting Kurupt being kidnapped and tossed over the Queensboro Bridge. Now, the groups feature each other on their albums and collaborate often. There was a period of time in the late 90’s where you couldn’t have a hit record unless it sounded like something from the South and, oftentimes, artists such as Jay-Z would feature those artists simply to get in on the trend. I’m not saying that 2Pac would have stopped other regions from being successful but he knew how to sell records and he was possibly the most influential artist in hip-hop when he died. While he may not have been able to stop artists from working together, he would certainly have had a problem with someone like The Game doing so. That sounds exactly like another artist that also had a problem with Game working with other artists…

• 50 Cent would be stocking shelves with Vitamin Water instead of owning it 

Much like his mortal enemy Ja Rule (and DMX), 50 Cent owes his entire career to Tupac Shakur. He is another artist that was struggling to make it on the scene while 2Pac was around. If 2Pac were alive, he would still be struggling. Instead, after being dropped from his record label, 50 became a household name after surviving nine shots and flooding the mixtape scene, leading Eminem to sign him and make him a multimillionaire. He is never hesitant to brag about surviving that attack. Where have I heard that before?

“Five shots couldn’t drop me/I took it and smiled” He actually gave the middle finger, but that wouldn’t rhyme as well. Everyone criticizes Ja and X for their blatant biting of ‘Pac’s style but why doesn’t anyone ever accuse 50 of doing the same? When the Eminem/50 Cent vs. Ja Rule beef was in its height, the Shady Records camp recorded a cover of ‘Pac’s "Hail Mary" and called Ja “Mockaveli” to illustrate how much he wanted to be Shakur. The song was hot but the irony must have been lost on them because 50 Cent was no different. Not only did he use the I-got-shot-so-that-somehow-proves-I’m-a-badass swag, but he – and so many others – also modeled his albums after 2Pac, in an effort to delicately balance the songs that were aimed at each gender and, in the rarest of feats, those that managed to strike a chord with both. That may be the most enduring part of Shakur’s legacy…

• He taught the entire industry how to make an album that both men and women could enjoy

2Pac claimed that he played the rough cut of his album, Me Against The World, for Biggie and, the next thing he knew, Big’s Ready To Die sounded exactly like ‘Pac’s album. Puff and Biggie would later claim that they were heavily influenced by The Chronic and, to a lesser extent, Doggystyle, so perhaps the truth is somewhere in the middle. What is clear is that something happened with Biggie between his first single ("Party & Bullshit") and his first album ("Big Poppa"). ‘Pac’s claim that he told Big to, “Rap for the bitches” because they buy albums and dudes will follow what the women do so that they can impress them, makes a lot of sense. 2Pac knew how make songs for women that didn’t sound corny but also didn’t alienate his more hardcore fans. Before him, the songs were blatantly directed at women while being completely ignored by men (LL Cool J’s whispering "I Need Love" is the ultimate example). I’m not claiming that Tupac started the trend, but I will vehemently argue that he was the first one to perfect it. Songs like, “Keep Ya Head Up,” “I Get Around,” “Temptations,” and “How Do U Want It” were a far cry from “Death Around The Corner,” “Holler If Ya Hear Me,” “Hit ‘Em Up” and “Against All Odds,” but they were still embraced by even his most testosterone-filled fans because he did it without sounding like he was pandering or begging. Before 2Pac, did anyone think that a love letter an emcee wrote to his mother could somehow not sound cheesy? Or that a song forgiving friends and enemies alike would not sound weak? Just as Rakim changed the entire direction of hip-hop in the mid-80’s, 2Pac did the same in the mid-90’s. He made a song for every emotion – anger, fear, happiness, sadness, elation, depression, sexiness, confidence, arrogance, ignorant, consciousness, proactive, lazy, whatever – and fit them all into a single album.

The man was a poet, a reactionary, a hothead, an enigma, a contradiction, a visionary and virtually an orphan. But more than anything he was a man. 2Pac didn’t have the relaxed confidence of Jay-Z or the frenetic energy of Busta Rhymes or the coolness of LL. He had all of that. He, like all of us, was filled with raw emotion and feelings, some of which he couldn’t fully express. He made songs about women keeping their heads up and he made songs about why they’re bitches. He made songs about starting a revolution and creating a new civilization and he made songs about making money and killing people. He felt what we all feel but he put pen to pad and words to tape and gave those emotions a voice of their very own.

Maybe you’re not a Tupac fan. Maybe he rubs you the wrong way. Maybe you don’t like his voice or his cadence. Maybe you hate his beat selection. Maybe you’re confused by his pro-Black militant rhetoric followed by his blatant greed and materialism. Maybe you don’t like the scattered nature of his music. That’s fine – there are different tastes for everyone. I can accept many people not being a fan of him. However, I cannot accept anyone claiming that he didn’t leave a lasting impact or that the music industry would be the same today had he lived to see his 40th birthday. It simply would not.

And we’re all worse off because of it.

Pierzy writes a weekly NBA column during the season, as well as columns revolving around other sports, hip-hop, movies, TV shows, food, beer, marriage, and so many other topics. You can follow him on Twitter here.