Spring Break
What would Tupac do?
Stephen Ortiz
Issue date: 4/9/09 Section: Focus
On Friday night, at UConn's annual spring concert, Treach of Naughty By Nature paid his respects to one of the greatest rappers to grace a microphone, and an old friend of his, Tupac Shakur.
The two were very close in the early '90s, first working together in the film "Juice," in which Treach landed a cameo role. This led to a long friendship between the MCs. When Shakur died in 1996, Treach recorded a tribute song to him and immortalized his image with a tattoo on his left arm.
If he were alive today, Shakur would be 37 years old. Now I understand this is a heavily debated and exhausted topic, but as I watched Treach and Vin Rock - both of whom are now 38 - open for 50 Cent, I couldn't help but wonder, where would Tupac be today if he had made it through that Las Vegas shooting 12 years ago? Who would he be? Would his legacy mean the same thing as it does now? Would Notorious B.I.G. have been shot and killed just six months later in L.A.?
I have none of these answers; no one ever will. But I do have a few ideas.
First, there's the Snoop Dogg route. Snoop, Long Beach's favorite godfather of rap, has had an established career since first appearing on Dr. Dre's 1992 "The Chronic." The following year "Doggystyle" was released and since, he's been in dozens of films and has sold over 13 million records on his own. Snoop has survived the ultimate test of time, something few artists have managed to do successfully. I would like to think Tupac could have followed a similar path.
Next is the career of Dr. Dre, who collaborated with Shakur on 1995's "California Love." Dre has managed to stay a household name, yet at the same time out of the picture. He's only released two solo albums in his career, yet finds success in overseeing his Aftermath Entertainment label, the home of Eminem and 50 Cent.
Finally, there is the obscure '90s artist, essentially the opposite of the Snoop Dogg route. These artists made a legacy for themselves during the late '80s, early '90s rap explosion but have since been invisible in the industry, failing to change with the times. Artists that could be categorized here include Big Daddy Kane, Naughty By Nature and Digital Underground.
The two were very close in the early '90s, first working together in the film "Juice," in which Treach landed a cameo role. This led to a long friendship between the MCs. When Shakur died in 1996, Treach recorded a tribute song to him and immortalized his image with a tattoo on his left arm.
If he were alive today, Shakur would be 37 years old. Now I understand this is a heavily debated and exhausted topic, but as I watched Treach and Vin Rock - both of whom are now 38 - open for 50 Cent, I couldn't help but wonder, where would Tupac be today if he had made it through that Las Vegas shooting 12 years ago? Who would he be? Would his legacy mean the same thing as it does now? Would Notorious B.I.G. have been shot and killed just six months later in L.A.?
I have none of these answers; no one ever will. But I do have a few ideas.
First, there's the Snoop Dogg route. Snoop, Long Beach's favorite godfather of rap, has had an established career since first appearing on Dr. Dre's 1992 "The Chronic." The following year "Doggystyle" was released and since, he's been in dozens of films and has sold over 13 million records on his own. Snoop has survived the ultimate test of time, something few artists have managed to do successfully. I would like to think Tupac could have followed a similar path.
Next is the career of Dr. Dre, who collaborated with Shakur on 1995's "California Love." Dre has managed to stay a household name, yet at the same time out of the picture. He's only released two solo albums in his career, yet finds success in overseeing his Aftermath Entertainment label, the home of Eminem and 50 Cent.
Finally, there is the obscure '90s artist, essentially the opposite of the Snoop Dogg route. These artists made a legacy for themselves during the late '80s, early '90s rap explosion but have since been invisible in the industry, failing to change with the times. Artists that could be categorized here include Big Daddy Kane, Naughty By Nature and Digital Underground.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Marla R. Stewart
posted 4/09/09 @ 2:41 PM EST
I think Tupac would be doing a small amount of each of the things that you listed. I believe he would still have some type of influence in the music industry as far as producing (the Dr. (Continued…)
MR bib
posted 4/12/09 @ 3:14 PM EST
I totally agree!
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