[Crispus Attucks Patriot]

Who? Makaveli tha Don, the Black James Dean?

Actually, he did have a powerful talent. There's no denying his bravura performances in "Juice", "Above The Rim", and "Poetic Justice" are magnetic. His virtuoso lyrics and smooth baritone told tales of violence in the ghetto that were unstintingly honest.

He is also a supreme object lesson to the many young Black males who emulate(d) him....

Those who LIVE by the gun DIE by the gun....i.e. Don't let this happen to you.

And yes, it was such a waste.

[metesky]

Oh, he was undeniably talented, but he wasn't the person he was trying to be or the person his public relations team tried to make him.

His mother, who gets a lot of bad press because of her Black Panther background, was(is) actually a pretty middle class gal who sent young 2Pak to ballet school. So he was a middle class guy and was way out of his depth with the boys from LA and Queens who were (and are) real gangsters.

Did you know that the first time 2Pak got shot he was trying to yank the piece out of his baggy draws and shot one of his own testicles off? Ouch! Eech! Ouch!