Who remembers Tupac’s album Ready to Die? Tupac was one of the greatest rappers of all time. From “Brenda’s got a baby,” to “I get around,” and my all-time favorite, “Dear Moma.” Of course he does have other hits such as “All Eyes on Me” and “California Love.”

From the time that Pac first came on the scene until he died, his lyrics changed drastically and so did most of rap music since its inception. Music went from rapping about “These are the brakes” and “My adidas” to cars, guns, and “Hit ‘em up.”

The mentality of rappers of this era also seemed to shift from the “Humpty Dance” to “Me and my girlfriend.” In my view, it changed from a party mentality to a ready for war/ready to die mentality around the mid-90’s.

I chose to focus on rap music because music influences a lot of what we do, such as wearing our clothes backwards listening to “Jump, Jump” and making Tik-Tok and Instagram videos to “Beatbox” freestyles.

I often think about Tupac’s progression and what a “Ready to Live Capability” would have looked like for him. Would it be inline with Snoop’s? Snoop’s music has always been real chill and party music though from “Gin and Juice” to “Drop it like it’s hot.” He’s done some reggae and made a gospel album as well.

Maybe he would have transitioned back to the music of his earlier days. Or maybe he would have been on some Jay-Z, 4:44 album, enlightening type of music . Who knows? What I do know is that he had too much history and knowledge to be stagnant and inaffective to the culture.

Ready to Die Mentality with a Ready to Live Capability is about individuals accessing that mentality to push them forward, but wanting to live and see their children grow older and watching the world change right before them. It’s wanting to succeed and caring about the impact you are making in the community. It’s also wanting to go outside of your neighborhood to visit other neighborhoods, cities, and different countries. It’s wanting to change. Wanting more out of life. Most importantly, it’s putting action to those wants and words to create a sustainable reality.

Have you accessed your ready to live capability?

Songs referenced above:

“Brenda’s got a baby” – Tupa

“I get around” – Tupac

“Dear Moma” – Tupac

“All Eyes on Me” – Tupac

“California Love” – Tupac

“These are the Brakes” – Kurtis Blow

“My Adidas” – Run DMC

“Hit ‘em Up” – Tupac

“Humpty Dance” – Humpty/Shock G

“Me and My Girlfriend” – Tupac

“Jump, Jump” – Kris Kross

“Beatbox” -Spotemgottem

“Gin and Juice” – Snoop

“Drop it Like It’s Hot” – Snoop