To the Editor:
I am writing this letter in response to the article regarding Tupac Shakur's death in the Review last week, especially a comment in the article made by David Griggs, "He got what he was begging for. He showed blatant disrespect for East Coast music. He was trying to be a gangster, but learned the hard way." What the hell is that all about? That is some ignorant and disrespectful shit. Granted, Tupac did make a lot of enemies and his life, in my opinion, was leading up to his violent death, but no man "begs" for it or deserves it, particularly a Black man in America. Did the hundreds of thousands of Black and Latino men who died because of their views and ideas opposed each other beg for it also? Then for an "educated" Black man to say it makes it worse. Do men of color really hate each other that much that we have to disrespect each other when we can't defend ourselves or to make ourselves look "hard?" Please give me a break, no wonder our communities are so messed up and the white media is loving it.
As far as this West Coast and East Coast "beef" which was also mentioned in the article as a possible reason Tupac was shot, please grow up. I am from the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn, New York, the Albany Projects, and I love the East Coast. I have gotten into a few fights in my day over where I am from, but it is not worth killing or disrespecting a man's memory over. Tupac said a number of hateful things concerning the matter, but it was no different from anything I or anyone else has said over the issue. The only difference is that Tupac got paid for it and we don't. Also, has anyone ever heard of a publicity stunt? I'm sure some of it was genuine, but a lot of CDs and tapes were sold because of it.
Tupac was not an innocent victim by any means, as a matter of fact I thought he was a great hypocrite. Come on, how do you make a song about women "keeping their heads up" and on the same album talk about "getting around" and then being convicted of sexual assault? But, none the less, I still have respect for the man because he was a great artist and did what he wanted, good and bad. HE did what most of us were afraid to do and said things that we only say behind closed doors. I definitely did not agree with everything he did nor am I hurt or depressed that he died. As a matter of fact when I first heard about the shooting and his eventual death, I was not surprised and really did not care. As a matter of fact, I just thought to myself, "Oh well, another dead nigga in the street" (which is a problem itself because we do not seem to care about each other's well being), but I still mourned a little for another young Black man who died violently in another of America's streets, which seems to happen a lot when you're a Latino male from the inner city.
So, may Tupac rest in peace, I hope God judges him well and that he is in a better and more peaceful place than the cold and cruel world we live in. To all those ignorant people who still feel the need to disrespect a dead brother (who could very easily have been any of us), grow up because even though you may say that you don't care, you would not want to be disrespected when your time comes.
Copyright © 1996, The Oberlin Review.
Volume 125, Number 5; October 4, 1996
Contact Review webmaster with suggestions or comments at ocreview@www.oberlin.edu.
Contact Review editorial staff at oreview@oberlin.edu.