Today marks the 10th anniversary of the death of Tupac Amaru Shakur. I remember when I heard about his shooting, I was sitting in an airport on my way back from London. It was a very memorable moment...I remeber thinking that it was so sad and hoping he would pull through. When I found out he died, it hit hard, it just seemed so unreal. I grew up in the Bay Area and so as you can imagine, I was one to be included in his legion of fans. I've affectionately been called "Tupac's little sister" for my love of him and my home state of California...

Tupac was unlike any other rapper, there was something so much deeper and true fans understand that he was so much more than 'Thug Life.'

As Nekesa Moody, AP Music Writer writes:

"No rapper is as complex, as multifaceted, as challenging. A handsome and charismatic actor, a violent felon, a brilliant songwriter, a reckless celebrity, a misogynist and a visionary — Shakur still fascinates from the grave."

"I want to be in the future known as somebody," Shakur once said. "I want people to be talking about me, like, 'Remember when he was real bad?'"

And we are still talking about him, almost more intriguing in death than in life, he left a legacy of musical ingenuity. However, he was more than just what mass media termed as a 'gangsta rapper,' he was a brilliant poet, a socially conscience intellectual, and a talent to never be forgotten.

A radio caller today called him the "Malcolm X of our Generation," which can be debated, however I understand the thought of him as one that pushed boundaries as one Malcolm X did. During the Civil Rights Movement, Malcolm X's theories were not widely accepted and was seen as a radical leader as well as was revered in death and not always in his life. Tupac too can be defined as radical and has been revered far more in death than in life as a musician, poet, and actor.

The key to this story is that the more that we learn about the life and spirit of Tupac we see that he was so multi-faceted and did not allow himself to contained in one box.

However, it may be the words of Shakur -- often overshadowed by the controversy that dogged him -- where his brilliance is most notable. Rather than becoming dated, songs like "So Many Tears" and "Changes" still speak to the despair and pain that remain very real in urban America.

If you want better insight into the life of the revolutionary Tupac, stop by your local Blockbuster and pick up Tupac: Resurrection...is one of the most prolific documentaries I've watched.

So to that I say 'Rest In Peace,' Tupac...








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