tupac ---> eminem??

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Here's Charles Aaron in *Spin*, about *The Eminem Show*: "It's Tupac's greatest performance--Coming back as a white guy!" I don't get it. But maybe that's just me; I've always assumed that Tupac was completely humorless. So does anybody undestand what in his music actually is supposed to have pre-figured Eminem: Did he rap about having kids? Did he hate his mom? Was he really self-referential (I'm guessing maybe it's that...)? Or did he have jokes I just don't know about? Or what???

― chuck e., Friday, 6 December 2002 16:32 (twenty-two years ago)

Tupac loved his mama, even though she was a drug addict.

― hstencil, Friday, 6 December 2002 16:39 (twenty-two years ago)

He had a sense of humor, but he wasn't nearly as funny as Eminem. There is the Dre connection, but saying 'it's Ice Cube's greatest performance --- Coming back as a white guy!' seems more accurate (and not that accurate at that). He rapped about his mom (nothin' but love though), so I'm guessing that Aaron is casting "Cleaning Out My Closet" as a "Dear Mama" update. Of course figuring out what Charles Aaron means when he does his 'what the white boy means when he says yo' thing...*shakes head, sighs*

― James Blount (James Blount), Friday, 6 December 2002 16:41 (twenty-two years ago)

Surely it's just a lazy way of saying new angry battle-everybody conflicted iconoclastic rap monolith except white this time. 2pac was more localized to the West Coast camp (when you could still really delineate one) so therefore less omnipresent and, well, he does have humor but it's more of an effortless charisma bubbling about than outrageous lyric-stunts/wordplay. Maybe he's just flying off the "got a little 2pacalypse in me" line, but as hstencil implies, the mom-relationships couldn't be further apart.

― Honda (Honda), Friday, 6 December 2002 16:46 (twenty-two years ago)

No, I've always thought this, too. I think it's the rising tension trick you can hear in both of their voices, usually during the verse; the sense that the throttle is opening wider, and wider, and wider. Maybe other people do this too, though.

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Friday, 6 December 2002 17:13 (twenty-two years ago)

Charles Aaron's a crap writer who is too concerned with clogging up his reviews with oblique and lazy references. That's your answer. I mean, look at his review for "Fell in Love with a Girl" by the White Stripes:

"If Willy Wonka and Peppermint Patty played the punk-rock blues."

I mean, what the fuck does that even mean?

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Saturday, 7 December 2002 06:20 (twenty-two years ago)

He probably thought "hey uh wait a minute, Tupac was a movie star too!"

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Saturday, 7 December 2002 15:32 (twenty-two years ago)

yeh its just that Tupac seemed to be the most eulogised rap star out there just at the point he was shot dead (unless that 'prophet' tag came about only as a result of his assassination) whereas now that 'rap messiah' role has been claimed by Eminem - thats the only similarity as far as i can see

― stevem (blueski), Saturday, 7 December 2002 15:56 (twenty-two years ago)

Em calls himself "White 'Pac" on that Dupri dis track so it's not like Aaron made a huge amazing revelatory discovery or anything. Good call about the "lack of humor" thing, though -- if you're going to try to legitimize/belittle Eminem by trying to call him "The White [insert MC here]", even Ghostface makes more sense than Pac.

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Saturday, 7 December 2002 16:07 (twenty-two years ago)

i'd like to see an eminem-ghostface comparison

mentioning/imitating pac = token gesture to the streets

― boxcubed (boxcubed), Saturday, 7 December 2002 18:31 (twenty-two years ago)

Tupac's only contribution to the music scene was as a token member of Digital Underground.

― Mary (Mary), Sunday, 8 December 2002 22:40 (twenty-two years ago)

By that admission he is still heads and shoulders over *m*n*m, however.

― Mary (Mary), Sunday, 8 December 2002 23:01 (twenty-two years ago)

Mary Mary, why you buggin'?

― Nate Patrin (Nate Patrin), Sunday, 8 December 2002 23:04 (twenty-two years ago)

Alex: it means Charles Aaron writes for Spin magazine

― James Blount (James Blount), Monday, 9 December 2002 07:36 (twenty-two years ago)

same song > all of eminem's career?

― boxcubed (boxcubed), Tuesday, 10 December 2002 02:28 (twenty-two years ago)

"If Willy Wonka and Peppermint Patty played the punk-rock blues."

I don't care what this means, it's fabulous. That's a fantastic description of a band, though it makes very little sense in relation to the White Stripes (peppermint = red and white?).

― Ally (mlescaut), Tuesday, 10 December 2002 02:43 (twenty-two years ago)

But Ally m'dear, that's just it. It makes no sense. As a review it is positively inoperative. Oh sure....it tells me that Charles Aaron is more concerned with sounding pithy, but his cross-referencing doesn't exactly exude a Dennis Miller-esque grasp of the Zeitgeist. All Charles is really saying in this review is this: they dress funny and play punk-rock blues. Wouldn't even the layperson already know this? It's lazy and -- as you astutely point out -- it's even incorrect (peppermints are not red & white). Thus, Charles Aaron is a dolt.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 10 December 2002 18:24 (twenty-two years ago)

two years pass...

so what's the deal with the new Tupac "Loyal to the Game" album? almost fully produced by... Eminem.

― contribute, Friday, 14 January 2005 23:06 (twenty years ago)

Loyal to the Gnome

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Friday, 14 January 2005 23:09 (twenty years ago)

Alex, that was so stupid.

― Al (sitcom), Saturday, 15 January 2005 07:48 (twenty years ago)

The Gnome of Darkness? Andrew Eldritch?

― Ned Raggett (Ned), Saturday, 15 January 2005 07:52 (twenty years ago)

Isn't Alex's next record supposed to be called Loyal to the Flame?

― martin m. (mushrush), Saturday, 15 January 2005 08:23 (twenty years ago)

Or was that Honor the Flame? Loyal to the Fire? I get so confused any more.

― martin m. (mushrush), Saturday, 15 January 2005 08:23 (twenty years ago)

besides a crap play on the album title, no one has anything to say about the new record? or did i miss the thread about it? (couldn't find anything by search)

― contribute, Saturday, 15 January 2005 09:36 (twenty years ago)

Am I supposed to be excited by another "new" Tupac album?

― Tracer Hand (tracerhand), Saturday, 15 January 2005 17:00 (twenty years ago)

It's pretty clear at this point that they must have these things mapped out in advance - saving a few solid tracks for later releases. I kind of wish that they kept releasing stuff in a blatantly descending level of quality so that review guides would have that neat 5 star to one star trajectory until finally climaxing with Having Fun With Tupac On Stage.

― miccio (miccio), Saturday, 15 January 2005 17:03 (twenty years ago)

Tupac On Ice

― contribute, Saturday, 15 January 2005 20:45 (twenty years ago)

I've finally figured this out. This is one of those Futurama-style "Tupac's head" things, isn't it? I mean, the mouth can still move and spit out rhymes, even though his body is dead, but without the body there's no FEELIN'.

― Sean Carruthers (SeanC), Saturday, 15 January 2005 22:20 (twenty years ago)

Alex, that was so stupid.

Not nearly as stupid as a nation of Tupac fans still coughing up cash for bottom-of-the-barrel-scrapings practically a decade after his death.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Monday, 17 January 2005 07:01 (twenty years ago)

dude, you know you'd buy a sample of Jaz Coleman's stool if the oppurtunity arose.

:-P

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Monday, 17 January 2005 07:43 (twenty years ago)

xpost - how do you feel about Muslimgauze fans?

― contribute, Monday, 17 January 2005 22:56 (twenty years ago)

dude, you know you'd buy a sample of Jaz Coleman's stool if the oppurtunity arose.

Jaz isn't dead, though. He's still alive and well(ish) and making music. Y'know, unlilke Tupac (unless you believe those rumors that he's now a cab driver in Cuba).

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 15:21 (twenty years ago)

so you don't deny it then?

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 15:25 (twenty years ago)

This is kind of like when people used to say really fast "gaywad say what?" and you'd go "What?"

― David Allen (David Allen), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 15:30 (twenty years ago)

so you don't deny it then?

Well, ask me when he's dead. Until then, the point is moot.

― Alex in NYC (vassifer), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 15:33 (twenty years ago)

Loyal To The Game is pretty good.

― scg, Tuesday, 18 January 2005 15:47 (twenty years ago)

This is kind of like when people used to say really fast "gaywad say what?" and you'd go "What?"
-- David Allen (earwhig...), January 18th, 2005.

What?

D'oh!

― latebloomer (latebloomer), Tuesday, 18 January 2005 16:15 (twenty years ago)

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