Many rap fans hold the date of March 9th in high regard, and rightfully so. Though few seem to remember September 13th as the anniversary of the day we lost a musical and cultural icon. Maybe it’s because Tupac Shakur was gunned down on September 7th and died six days later. It could be because to this day, some people still believe Pac is alive. Regardless, September 13th is the day— 18 years ago today to be exact.
Hard to believe that there are college freshman who weren’t even born when Pac was ruling the rap scene, flipping off cameras, shaking up the establishment…you know, being Pac. Though much of his behavior was sophomoric in those days, he was always a man of great substance and gave a host of poignant interviews during his brief period of fame. And though he lost his life at the extremely young age of 25, Tupac is still remembered as one of the top 5 rappers in the eyes of most all these years later.
Here’s a look at one of Pac’s most prophetic videos, “I Ain’t Mad At Cha”, a song off his double disc All Eyez On Me, that was released as a single exactly two days after his passing.
We miss you, Pac.
Of course, Tupac will forever be linked to Notorious BIG. The Brooklyn born Christopher Wallace burst onto the rap scene with his debut classic album Ready To Die, which coincidentally was released on September 13th, 1994. It’s been a full 20 years since it’s release. One record after another filled with lyrical venom from such a hungry young MC. Those old enough to remember were blessed to have been around for what can probably be considered hip-hop’s golden era (1994-1996). Ready To Die was a pillar of that era.
While I could embed a video of just about any track from this album, I’ve decided to go with the title track, for no other reason than that it’s the title track, on arguably the best rap album of all-time.
We’ll always love Big Poppa.