Lennon, Hendrix, Biggie, Pac: some of the most iconic names in music history-artists who epitomize the very point of this blog, artists who made music that transcends people’s personal favorite genres and styles to become some of the most internationally loved artists of all time. Each artist’s music helps define their genres; combined, each artist’s music begins to mold an answer to the impossible question of “what is good music?” All had lives that were cut short, silencing their voices, but luckily for us the cliché that "music is forever" is true.
Tupac’s brilliance was that he balanced being a thug and a poet with an ease which made both sides equally believable. On “Broken Wings,” a track off of the posthumous album Until The End of Time, Pac seems to both be apologizing for the life he lives while admitting that he is who he is. One bar he is philosophizing, followed by another about drinking Hennessy: combined you get a fascinating picture of a man. What standouts most about this track is Tupac’s flow. Recorded soon before his death, his flow is masterful, rolling along with a forceful pace, not lingering over any syllables but hitting each word and accent with a controlled strength. Many of his songs are peppered with references to his own death, and this jam is no different, especially with its haunting last line, “maybe it’s the thug in me.” Maybe it was the thug in him that led him to be shot in Las Vegas, but lord know that thug also helped him become the artist that he was.
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