Kenya: Tupac May Be Dead, But His Music Lives On
January 20, 2007
Posted to the web January 19, 2007
Philip Mwaniki
Nairobi
The name Tupac Shakur resonates with hope, talent, rebellion and a thug's life - all in one. But the greatest image it brings to mind is of a person who has refused to let his death destroy his music legacy.
It is 10 years since he was gunned down after a Mike Tyson fight, and the world mourned the death of one of the music industry's greatest names, knowing that he had penned countless chart-topping songs. Besides, many music lovers the world over thought this was the end of the rapper and that the only legacy he had left behind was the songs he had recorded and released.
There are stories of Tupac, when he was alive, recording songs at three different studios, recording more than five a day before breaking off to shoot scenes in a movie and finding time to sleep while travelling. People who knew him well suggest that the frantic pace was because he knew his death was near.
"You could almost see it in his face," Snoop Dogg told an interviewer recently; "the knowledge he had - that death was closing in. A kind of haunted look would come up in his eyes ... a sadness that didn't have a name and was gone as soon as someone called him back into the here and now."
It was this obsession with death that enables fans to experience Tupac's music 10 years and 11 albums later. This is amazing, considering that he died at 25 and only five years of music making.
Some recordings from this prolific period are brought to light for the first time on Pac's Life, which was released in late November, and all of the tracks in the album, save one, are previously unheard of.
The album features artistes such as Ludacris, Snoop Dogg, Keyshia Cole, T.I., Ashanti, Young Buck, Lil Scrappy, Carl Thomas, Outlawz, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Big Syke and Papoose. The artistes and producers involved range from his close friends and colleagues to those who grew up on his music and were inspired and motivated by it.
"I say it every time - that Tupac left us the blueprints to follow, and without the amazing contributions made by everyone of these artistes, producers, musicians, everyone, I do not know how I would get this great task accomplished," says Afeni Shakur, his mother who is also the album's executive producer.
And as expected, the album was a huge success peaking on the Top 10 in the world charts, just like all of his other recordings. His most recent album, Loyal To The Game of 2004, charted at No.1 and was certified platinum.
The soundtrack to Tupac, Resurrection, on his life and times, also rated highly at No. 2 the same year. A foundation was also set up in honour.
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