Saturday, October 25, 2008

Tupac: Resurrection (2003)



A thug. A punk. An inspiration. The greatest rapper of all time. A menace. A detriment to the youth of America. All words used to describe Tupac Amaru Shakur. The words I use to describe Tupac? A fucking genius rapper. Tupac: Resurrection was directed by Lauren Lazin and made in close collaboration with Tupac's mother Afeni Shakur. It is the story of Tupac as told by Tupac. Through archive footage, interviews, live performances, and narration by Tupac, it is as genuine and you could ever possibly get. What I liked most about this documentary was how it declined to show Tupac like the media did during his life, but instead showed him as an intelligent man who was proud of where he came from. Tupac's intelligence is showcased in this documentary and his take on the world and all it's goings-on rang true. This man was definitely a fan of Philosophy and I think that shines through in this film.


The music used in Tupac: Resurrection is absolutely phenomenal. Whether you're a Tupac fan or not, you can not deny the brilliance of his lyrics, beats, and skills as a rapper. Even if don't think you enjoy rap, I strongly encourage you to take a listen to Tupac's "Changes", "Hit 'em Up", "Keep Ya Head Up", and "Thugz Mansion" to get your first taste of Tupac. If you're turned off by rap, I still believe you can like Tupac. I thought I hated rap for years until I first heard Tupac and I came back to the genre. It's great to see Tupac live in this documentary because I had not seen much of that. I loved how Tupac explained the feeling of going onstage for the first time and the joy he must have had on stage shows in his live performances. The music of the documentary never stops and each Tupac song flows into the next through each scene. I highly reccommend the soundtrack, especially for the tracks "Runnin' (Dyin' to Live)" and "The Realist Killaz"


Tupac: Resurrection doesn't show Tupac as some holier than thou kind of musical god. It shows Tupac's flaws and run ins with the law. Shakur is quick to accept and acknowledge his mistakes, something that is uncommon with many pop culture figures. Tupac clears up misconceptions about his career and troubles that were distorted over time. He has two sides of his personality that are seen in the documentary. The quiet, reserved, and introspective Tupac and the loud mouthed, trouble making, rebellious Tupac. Both sides are intriguing to watch. Love him or hate him, Tupac was a fascinating human being and it's a shame the trouble he caused caught up to him in a fatal way. In my humble opinion, the rap world has never been the same since Tupac was taken from it. The only rapper since Tupac who has been good is Eminem, but no one other than that. RIP Tupac Shakur: The rapper, the genius, the man who was proud of where he came from, the man who made mistakes, the man who changed the face of music, and the man.
1971-1996

10/10 for a fascinating, introspective, and unconventional documentary

“No man alive has witnessed struggles I survived”
-Tupac Shakur

PS. Thug life... :D

2 comments:

Kumar said...

2Pac fever is catching, eh? :P

Greyson Smith said...

2Pac fever is catching and it's all your fault! I mean, I've been a Tupac fan for a long time, but your blog post got me back into him big time.

Kudos!