Dare Olonoh

I have to admit, I’m starting to think that maybe Pac isn’t going to be making a return and might actually be dead because today is exactly eleven years after his death (September 13, 1996) and no sign yet.

Tupac has had a profound effect on my life. Too much of an effect to try and sum it up in a blog post but I will say this -

1) He was a great leader and I think that although many people disagree with many of his actions, I think that he had a genuinely great heart and at his essence saw himself as a servant for his people.

2) He was one of the most tragic figures of our generation. He had so much potential that was lost to petty violence. I feel strongly that Pac died as he lived - as a larger-than-life, in-your-face representation of young, poor, black people… so much potential lost to petty violence! I think that in many of his actions that America didn’t agree with, that’s what he embodied. They were either just too blind to see, or didn’t want to accept the truth.

R.I.P. Tupac.

I had absolutely no idea who he was until I read this NY Times article about one of my heroes, Rick Rubin. In the article, Rubin talks about a guy named Paul Potts who was apparently on the UK’s version of American Idol, Britain’s Got Talent. Here’s an exert from the article describing the youtube video and Rubin’s reaction -

“In the video, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man waited nervously backstage. When he faced the judges, he told them he worked at a mobile-phone store and wanted to sing opera. The studio audience looked annoyed — they clearly wanted to hear a pop song — and the judges were cold and dismissive. No one expected anything remarkable from this dull-looking, forgettable guy.

But then Paul Potts sang — “Nessun dorma” from “Turandot.” He had an improbably beautiful voice. “Where does that come from?” Rubin said as he watched. Tears were rolling down his cheeks. “I can’t look at this without crying,” he said. “His voice is so beautiful.” When Potts finished his song, Cowell said, “I thought you were absolutely fantastic.” The studio audience roared with approval, and Potts beamed. ”

Honestly, when I read that, I was skeptical. I didn’t doubt that Paul Potts had talent because Rubin’s track record in recognizing talent more than speaks for itself and I’d be a complete fool to think that I knew better than him. However, he is a very eccentric character himself, so I could see him crying at say… the power of the moon, or the feathers on a bird. But I have to admit, I was also brought to tears from this man’s performance.  It’s amazing.

Please watch it and let me know if it has the same impact on you. And if it doesn’t, let me know why you’re a cold and heartless person who can’t show emotion

I get this question a lot from people and this is the answer I always give them -

My top five rappers of all time (not necessarily in order) are:

Jay-Z - He’s just the best… nothing more to say.

Tupac - He was so much more than a rapper. He was a true leader, a gifted artist, a great entertainer and a real person that everyone wanted to kick it with.

Eminem - People sometimes laugh when I say this, but I think Eminem might be the most underrated rapper among hip-hop heads. He has done so much for the culture and the art form but people are quick to overlook it and chalk it up to him being white… “yeah, he’s good. But he wouldn’t have sold that much if he were black.” First of all - who cares?! Second of all, Jay-Z and 50 Cent wouldn’t have sold that much if they were white! Em sold that much because he’s a dope ass MC who came out and did himself rather than pretending to be someone he’s not. Period.

Andre 3000 - He’s one of the most creative, unique and real people to grace a mic. He’s gifted all-around musically and has the “rewind-me-back” factor going for him, too.

B.I.G. - You can tell how much he loved his craft from his music. It would have been great to see what kind of material he would have put out if he were still alive. I mean, think about the amount of confidence and charisma it takes to convince people that you have mad game with the ladies when you’re 300+ pounds and “black, fat and ugly as ever.”

Some of my favorite rappers that aren’t on my all-time list yet -

Kanye West (it’s hard for me to simply classify him as a rapper because he does it all from the production to the rapping to the performance… he’s really an artist through & through), Lupe Fiasco, Lil’ Wayne (it’s gonna be interesting to see how he develops as an artist cuz I know very few people were expecting him to show the growth that he has recently),  50 Cent and Common (and no, this isn’t a plug for Chicago rappers - it just happens to be that way).

Who are some of your favorite artists?