Troublesome 2016: 2Pac’s Legacy, 2Decades Later

My first exposure to music was at Virgin Megastore in Times Square.

RIP, Virgin Megastore. Classic NYC Times Square fixture.

My dad let us loose, and promised he’d buy my sister and I any cassette or CD we wanted. My sister instantly chose The Spice Girls’ “Spice World”.

Before Adele and Sam Smith, there was Spice. Five of them. They were a thing. A big thing.

Naturally, I opted for Busta Rhymes’ “Dangerous”. I was 7.

S/O to the big homie Bussa Buss. Or, why I am the way I am.

That day, I began a lifelong love affair and infatuation with hip-hop and rap. A few years later I discovered Eminem. A few years after that, in high school, I discovered my cousin’s treasure chest of Tupac classics.

I was new to the world of peer-to-peer filesharing, piracy and torrents. I downloaded everything in Pac’s catalogue. I memorized every word I could, read his biography, unearthed early GQ galleries of his style.

I rapped Brenda’s Got A Baby, Changes, I Get Around, Thugz Mansion, Letter 2 My Unborn0, I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto, 2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted, California Love, Ghetto Gospel, All Eyez on Me, Ambitionz As A Ridah, Only God Can Judge Me, I Ain’t Mad At Cha, Dear Mama, Hit Em Up (and the viral Barney meme version) and of course, Troublesome 96.

20 years later, I’m still troublesome.

Rest in peace and power. The GOAT of GOATs. Best rapper dead or alive.

new selfie, same SF Ali

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