The Past Meets The Future?

The world of media has been taken by storm with the feud between Drake and Kendrick Lamar as fans reminisce Tupac vs. Biggie.

In 1996, the world of rap was much different as the hey day of today’s legends were churning out hits such as Wu-Tang Clan, Mobb Deep, Snoop Dogg, and more. Tupac was incarcerated and Notorious B.I.G. was in battle for King Of New York with the likes of Nas. No one would ever think that by the fall the industry would lose one of its biggest stars ever.

Today we have Drake who is a popular rap artist who has commercial appeal with women and represents a whole country. His origin in the entertainment world was as an actor on Degrassi High. Tupac performed in the Baltimore school of arts with childhood friend Jada Pinkett-Smith.

Kendrick Lamar represents Compton and the west coast as Tupac represented the bright lights of Hollywood California as well. Notorious B.I.G. also had a whole coast depending on him ruling the mecca of hip hop by being the King of New York against the artist formerly known as MC New York. The irony of Tupac being born in the east coast, but made in the Bay Area and latter days being in Los Angeles is not lost.

PROPHETIC DEATHS?

Tupac Shakur was unable to have a life past the young age of 25, while Biggie didn’t get to see 25 as his untimely death came at 24. Drake has been reigning supreme on the Billboard charts for over a decade and has been competing with certified legends such as Michael Jackson with records. He is relatively at an older age for a rap star with such dominance at 38.

Tupac died on the anniversary of Biggie’s album “Ready To Die” on September 13th in 1996. The project hit the Billboard charts and peaked at number 15. Notorious B.I.G. died and soon had an album entitled “Life After Death.” The comparisons at the time could not be ignored as Tupac’s last music video saw him in heaven with other legendary entertainers such as Redd Foxx, Miles Davis, and Sammy Davis Jr.

REMEMBER REMEMBER THE 5TH OF NOVEMBER

Tupac’s demise created a storm of controversy about the impact of hip hop with its streets presence. The iconic hip hop artist would shock people with his last studio album entitled The Don Killuminati: Makaveli The 7 Day Theory by appearing like Jesus Christ on a cross. The image was to represent him being crucified in the streets and in the mainstream media at the time. It came out 53 days after his Tupac’s death and Machiavelli’s birthday being 5/3 (May 3rd) which was the day Kendrick Lamar released a diss song towards Drake entitled 6/16 in LA as that number also coincides with Tupac’s birthday on June 16th.

Shakur was an avid reader and it was ironic that his last album release date would concur with the Guy Fawkes Day. He rebelled against the England establishment and some of the men who were with him were killed on November 5th.