Wednesday, June 16, 2010
CONTEST: Win a Copy of Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon
On the occasion of what would have been hip hop icon Tupac Shakur's 39th birthday, The Kitchen and Perseus Books' Da Capo Press offer you an opportunity to win a copy of the 'Pac biography, Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon written by Tayannah Lee McQuillar & Fred L. Johnson III (PhD.).
Its a solid book overall and a very quick read that definitely put me up on some background and life story and career details about 'Pac that I wasn't aware of. The book kind of fell short in a couple major areas IMHO though: first, it was lacking any real first person research interviews or deep investigative reporting on the part of the authors, drawing heavily on secondary sources & interviews instead. Second, the analysis of Pac's music came across as really stiff and academic and not by a true hip hop aficionado which I could have let slide if it wasn't coupled with a few really poor rookie-status factual errors mark throughout the book. That being said, the book paints a pretty complete portrait of all the factors that led to the magnificent but contradictory mess that was the artist, Tupac Shakur and is worth your time still....
Here's the official plug:
"In 1996 Tupac Shakur, one of the most talented artists of his time, was murdered by an unknown gunman. Fred L. Johnson and Tayannah Lee McQuillar examine the theories surrounding his death and the story of Tupac’s lost legacy in this definitive biography.
For millions, Shakur gave voice to their stories, but there was also another side to him, revealed as his life spun out of control, as the whispered warnings from friends went unheeded and the denunciations of critics grew louder. Disturbingly, he sang and wrote about his impending death. When it came, it brought the music industry to its knees and ended an era when American rappers were leaders in using their art to speak the truth to corporate, government, and judicial power."
CONTEST DETAILS:
I'll keep it simple to win the book this time around: email me (subject line: '2Pac Book Contest') and tell me your favorite Pac album. Get me your email by midnight EST Thursday night/Friday morning and I'll announce a winner sometime on Friday.
If you aren't lucky enough to win the book, you can always BUY it via Amazon.com HERE
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Labels: 2pac, Tupac Shakur
Monday, March 08, 2010
Watch Nick Broomfield's Biggie and Tupac Documentary in FULL
I was incredibly delinquent in not sharing a lot of the great links I had found around the internets commemorating the anniversaries of Big L and J Dilla's passings but I'm a(n adopted) Brooklyn head, so there's no way I'm passing up acknowledging the anniversary of BIG's passing tomorrow, especially when I was just sent this by Mike at Snag Films:
"In 1997, rap superstars Tupac Shakur and Christopher Wallace (aka Biggie Smalls, The Notorious B.I.G.) were gunned down in separate incidents, the apparent victims of hip hop's infamous east-west rivalry. Nick Broomfield's film, Biggie & Tupac introduces Russell Poole, an ex-cop with damning evidence that suggests the LAPD deliberately fumbled the case to conceal connections between the police, LA gangs and Death Row Records, the label run by feared rap mogul Marion "Suge" Knight."
Click HERE for more details.
Semi-Related:
D-League feat. OhGinelle - "Juicy [Biggie Smalls Tribute '10]" <-- better than I was expecting to be honest!
Online:
Snag Films - twitter | website
Labels: 2pac, Documentary, Movies, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Tupac "2Pac" Shakur, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996: R.I.P.
Tupac Shakur: The Lost Interview, Pt. 1:
As much as he gets mentioned in the same breath as Biggie by fans & artists inspired by him alike, Pac is still one of most underrated ever in the game IMHO. Yeah, he had passion and charisma out the ass (n/h) but don't get it f-cked up, dude could spit bars too - real talk! 13 years later, he's still the benchmark artists aspire and his records sound as timeless as ever. Its a cliche to say it, but one can only imagine the artist and social figure he might have evolved into if his passion hadn't taken him down the route it did. He is truly an artist who is still missed and was gone too soon....
[VIBE.com via Miss Info]
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As much as he gets mentioned in the same breath as Biggie by fans & artists inspired by him alike, Pac is still one of most underrated ever in the game IMHO. Yeah, he had passion and charisma out the ass (n/h) but don't get it f-cked up, dude could spit bars too - real talk! 13 years later, he's still the benchmark artists aspire and his records sound as timeless as ever. Its a cliche to say it, but one can only imagine the artist and social figure he might have evolved into if his passion hadn't taken him down the route it did. He is truly an artist who is still missed and was gone too soon....
[VIBE.com via Miss Info]
Labels: 2pac, Tupac Shakur
Sunday, May 10, 2009
Video: Tupac Shakur - "Dear Mama"
Of course....
Happy Mother's Day to all the mom's out there!
Bonus:
Tupac Shakur - "Keep Ya Head Up" [Yahoo! music video]
Labels: 2pac, Tupac Shakur
Friday, May 08, 2009
Vintage 2Pac x Live Squad appearance on The Box
Remember The Box? Shout to Bush mentioned by 'Pac in the video, I think I used to know that dude? Shout to them Live Squad boys and Big Stretch, RIP. [Hip Hop Giant]
Labels: 2pac, Live Squad, Tupac Shakur
Saturday, March 28, 2009
Video of Biggie & 2Pac Freestyling
I've never seen or heard this before but is it actually rare?
Labels: 2pac, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur
Friday, January 16, 2009
New music: 2Pac & Notorious BIG - "Resurrected (Bossasaurus Remix)"
Only right we do it up big for BIG on the day of the release of his biopic:
2Pac & Notorious BIG - "Resurrected (Bossasaurus Remix)"
Online:
Bossasaurus - MySpace | Website
Labels: 2pac, Bossasaurus, Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur
Tuesday, November 20, 2007
Tupac Assassination DVD (trailer)
For those who also think the government was responsible for 9/11 attacks:
I think this DVD is out already? Is it actually any good?
Online: Website | MySpace | Soundtrack website
Sorry, but my laptop crashed a couple days ago so my ability to post over the next while is gonna be severely impaired (and which also explains the light posting schedule over the past few days). It's probably better like this so I'm forced to focus more on my family for the holidays anyway!
Tweet
I think this DVD is out already? Is it actually any good?
Online: Website | MySpace | Soundtrack website
Sorry, but my laptop crashed a couple days ago so my ability to post over the next while is gonna be severely impaired (and which also explains the light posting schedule over the past few days). It's probably better like this so I'm forced to focus more on my family for the holidays anyway!
Labels: 2pac, Tupac Shakur
