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26 years ago today iconic rapper and poet Tupac Amaru Shakur passed away from injuries sustained in a drive by shooting while at a stoplight in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996.
We here at Kiss would like to take the time to look through three of his most influential albums and talk a bit about how each one of them built the bases for his legendary status in Hip-Hop.
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2Pacalypse Now
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To kick off our rundown we take a look at Tupac’s first solo-album released in November of 1991 the poetically named 2Pacalpyse Now. On this project we see the creation of Pac’s strong creative voice that is used to tell stories that are funny, dark, and sometimes both. However like most things in Pac’s life it was not without controversy. After a Texas state trooper was killed by a man, his defense attorney claimed he was influenced by 2Pacalypse Now . This lead the then-U.S. Vice President (best known for not knowing how to spell potato) Dan Quayle to make this statement, “There’s no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society.”
BEST SONG: BRENDA’S GOT A BABY
All Eyez on Me
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Next we have the album with the unfortunate distinction of being the last project released while Tupac was still alive, a mere 7 months after the release of his fourth studio album he would be killed, this is All Eyez On Me. There quite possible might not be a more accurate album title in the history of music. Coming after his 8 month prison sentence this album came at a point in time where Pac couldn’t keep himself out of the headlines. This 27 song true double disk album is by far one of the wildest rides I’ve ever heard and marks the beginning of Pac’s ties with Death Row and it’s founder Suge Knight.
BEST SONG: I AIN’T MAD AT CHA
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
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The last album we are looking at is the first posthumous release from Tupac and an album that has spawned more conspiracy theories than YouTube illuminati truther pages. This is The Seven Day Theory, while the record is best known of all of the mysteries surrounding its creation and cryptic lyrics, what of gets over looked is that this truly one of Pac’s best (if not definitively) his best album. By this point in his career it seemed like the there was a possibility for Pac’s artistry to outshine his controversies but sadly this was not to be.
BEST SONG: HAIL MARY