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Thursday, September 4, 2008 | 8:51am
Blender Magazine: 2Pac The ‘Most Overrated’ of All Time
Consider the source.
In a shocking article in the October issue of Blender Magazine, the man considered by many to be the greatest rapper ever, 2Pac, has been reduced to…the most overrated.
But before you sensitive ass Pac fans get your panties in a bunch the list along with other “places, trends and other junk in rock” is part of the music rag’s attempt at tongue-in-cheek humor…allegedly. Now while Blender says that Tupac had “insane rock-star charisma,” he also “larded records with self-mythologizing, mediocre filler.”
A couple of things to note. Please keep in mind Blender is speaking to its core audience of white rock fans who were at borderline Hip Hop fans at best during the 90′s and clearly have since removed all remnants of 2Pac from their iPod playlists. I think the magazine’s brand of humor speaks to that audience and may become lost on a crowd like the Highbrid Nation and seen more as distasteful if not acusitory.
I’m surprised they would even go there given the considerable Hip Hip readership that subscribes. On the other hand the rag has been a breeding ground for black music controversy…remember the Alicia Keys article?
On the other hand as a true Hip Hop fan and child of the Golden Age of Hip Hop I would have to agree. I know, I know that’s blasphemy and not to speak negatively about the dead but I do believe to a large extent his MUSIC was overrated. His reckless, fly by the seat of the pants personality was I think what most endeared him to his fans. But his music was very good but clearly not qualifying of immortal status in my opinion. Since his death more than 10 years ago in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting he has released more than a dozen albums helping him sell more records than he ever did while alive, and also more popular.
Now CLEARLY he wasn’t the MOST overrated of all time. That honor would have to go to Lil Wayne in a landslide who in some type of strange irony was interviewed by the magazine on that same topic. Although the rapper listed Pac among his top five rappers, he then admitted: “I can’t front: I was never into Pac.” I’m glad he admitted that because apparently he was musically influenced by Sesame Street and Nursery Rhymes.
Now I know there will be some of you who will call me a hater, curse me out and throw rotten tomatoes at the stage but I welcome your arguments. I’ve laid out mine…lets hear yours.
FILED IN Editorials, Music, News
I’ve never considered canceling a subscription to a magazine before but I am considering it now. Any sane minded Editor and Chief wouldn’t publish this unless it was calculated to get attention and publicity, so I know it’s all bullsh#t anyway.
That’s absolutely ridiculous.
#1 – All the writers are entitled to their individual opinions. And it is made crystal clear that the opinions of those contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions onf the entire editorial staff.
#2 – He is right. Tupac is over-rated. Only after his death and during the East/West fiasco did people start to worship him.
Granted he has some good songs out there, but he never dropped a solid album, with back to back quality joints.
The fact that he was born in prison to a Panther, went to performing arts school, shot a cop and sparked a cultural civil war and basically foretold his death is what made him the greatest hip-hop CELEBRITY of all time. His rhymes skills were by NO MEANS the greatest. Then or now.
I bought 1 Tupac tape in my life, ’2pacalypse Now’. And then, I ended up trading it to my boy for a Das EFX tape. I came out on top.
Arablak, while I agree he is overrated, I would have to disagree with your comments. The fact that the only 2pac album you ever got was 2Pacalypse now says enough to me that you don’t know enough to be making judgements. He has at least two classic albums in his catalogue, and his most best songs aren’t the hits that got radio play.
Dru, I respect your opinion and affinity to Pac, but just because I only PURCHASED one Pac album, doesn’t mean I was never exposed to his later works. Everybody in my hood had some of Pac’s shit on deck. So I have given each album a fair listen. My cousins and friends love Pac, so I couldn’t escape the cat. None the less, I just preferred to listen to Wu-Tang, Boot Camp and Gang Starr. I always got to joints on Pac albums that I wanted to skip because the production and flow was lame to me. Being an east-coast teenager in the early 90′s, I wanted some razor-blade-under-the-tongue, boom bap hip-hop music. And Pac wasn’t making that. Dudes like Black Thought, Pharaohe Monch, Nas, Ras Kass and Ghostface had my ear. Premier, Pete Rock, Beatminerz & RZA were the main producers I was checking for. With all that dope shit out there, how could Pac possibly be the best? I’m just saying. Cuban Linx is better than any Pac album, in my eyes. So is Illmatic, Illadelph Halflife and Enter the 36 Chambers. PE’s “Fight The Power” crushes any Pac song ever made. These may be only my opinions, but they’re not far fetched.
Pac’s allure was his personality. Dude was very likable. No doubt. But there is a gang of emcees that are just better at rapping.
- Bliggs
“I’m glad he admitted that because apparently he was musically influenced by Sesame Street and Nursery Rhymes.” Nice stab.
I was never big on Tupac. Most of his music I wasn’t feeling at all. But then he had that song “Dear Momma” and Brenda has a baby or something like that… But everyone has their opinion. People get pissed off cause they take it personal. Maybe he is a little overrated. But he could battle with the best of them. I still have that Biggie/2Pac battle in the iPod. That was fire.
I got 7 mac 11′s about 8, 38′s 9 9′s 10 Mack 10′s the $hit never end, U can’t touch my riches even if u had MC Hammer & the 357 b@t*#es…definetly
-B.
Don’t get me wrong he was a beast. But like A Rod when you’re considered the best in the game its a lot to live up to and when you drop a dude or ground into a double play with the bases loaded in a pennant race you’ll get criticized as “overrated”
I agree, Pac was a great rapper & all…I ain’t mad @ ya, Dear Mama, Hit em’ Up, Me & my girlfriend, Toss it up, Hail Mary….but I can honestly say out of the 72,000 songs that he put out, I only really like a handful…and not too much of anything that he put out after he died…I think 2 pac was/is so popular b/c as u said he had a rock star charisma & he damn near prophesized his own death which is still eerie to this day…
-B.
the ol’ coast hopper, never was on his wagon..pauso
Pac then Biggie. Wit that said Pac was the greatest rapper of his time and no matter what anyone says we all know that 2 b true. He was always dropping hits on da charts, now i’m not ridding his d*ck but i think this is ridiculous that anyone would say he is the most overrated.
But you agree Lil Wayne is.
greatest? you off B
………isnt this the same magazine that had Fergie and Kelly Clarkson as Women of the year? LOL, this article is so riduclously stupid and ignorant I cannot believe there being allowed to print this. And not because there wrong, but how in the world can you call someone who died at the height of their career, overrated? Pac rapped about shit from a different era, and we been hearing it for the last 12 years but you cant fault the man for that. I agree that a lot of his posthumous albums are overrated as in there not the greatest shit since sliced bread but as a rapper to call him overrated is just straight out bullshit. If 2pac is overrated, you can only imagine what Blender must think of other rappers….
well said.
Off top, Rakim is the best of all time. Pac is/was great, but I gotta agree with Juan. His monicker is actually more popular than his music. He had some classics true, but he was also very controversal and we all know that sells records. All the shit with Suge and the East vs West beef contributed to his rise, but in my opinion, his best album was “Me Against the World”, before he signed to Death Row. Wayne is undoubtly the most overrated of all time.
Pac is the best emotional rapper of all time. You really felt him
“All I need in this life of sin is me and my girlfriend/down to ride to the bloody end is me and my girlfriend”.
While BIG was the best lyricists ever
“Blood rushin/ cuncussion/ aint nothin/ catch cases come out frontin/ smokin somethin/ sippin the white russian/ bitch in the benz bumpin /I laced her wit the basic/ six tv’s a system knockin mase shit/ face it/ we hard to hit/ guard ya shit/ for I stick you for the re-up /wipe the pee up/ lick shots woke ya seed up/ go in the ash tray spark the weed up/ long kiss”
I agree….I was just readin them lyrics thinkin damn that’s hot….can’t believe all this was said like 10 years ago…Can u imagine BIG in 08? (nodding head)
One of my homies said he wouldn’t fell off by now…i strongly disagree w/ lyrics like that…
-B.
U hit the nail on the head when u said “ten yrs ago” by now BIG would be rapping in some martian language we probably wouldn’t understand w/o the help of lean!
As sad as it is to say I think BIG might have fell off. Its hard to stay on top and as the music base shifts and money is with the younger audience a hustler like big might have been tempted to appeal to it.
U would say he is just a tad bit dragged a lil longer.
BUT, the BUT factor always POPs UP
is it cuz he’s dead, or he truely is one of the greatest of all time
http://www.SunriseSundown.BLogspot.com
Props to the author u bold brotha
aye what else did Blender consider OVERRATED!
…let me look up overrated..haha
verb (used with object), -rat·ed, -rat·ing. to rate or appraise too highly; overestimate: I think you overrate their political influence.
—Synonyms overpraise, overesteem, magnify
http://Www.Sunrisesundown.blogspot.com
Thanks for the props. They overrated “Pink Floyd” and “music we thought was hot in high school.” Like I said the list was just a silly thing and I think when they placed Pac at the top they weren’t thinking about the cult backlash the list would receive.
While Weezy is overrated he is the only one dropping riddiculous hits all year long with his real CD only coming out a few months ago. He has had hits out on the radio all year even though they where mostly appearences on others songs.
- Ok ur a goon but what’s a goon 2 a goblin
He is a goblin right now cause wit all the goons in da game right now they still can’t top what he is doing right now(Platinum in a week str8 crazy)
4PL u are right on both points
2pac was not overrated, what that dude did for hip-hop come on hes a legend
****ATTENTION ALL LIL WAYNE FANS!!!*****
WE ALL KNOW THAT WAYNE WENT PLAT IN A WEEK!!!
The overrated thing about Lil Wayne is his fans. Cause they’re wack for buying that many copies.
In my opinion BLENDER is in no way qualified to rate any MC as “over rated”. Such irresponsible jounalism, It makes me laugh!…. since when do they know shit about Hip Hop?….. and Lil Wayne? LMAO! Like whether or not he was into 2Pac or not matters at all. What a Joke!! … Blender needs to stick to what they know… (If they ever figure out what that is)
Why does it matter what a magazine says about someone you like? If you like his music, then it shouldn’t matter what anyone else says. why would you argue over your personal opinion and tastes? Who cares about what person A said about someone you like as an artist? Grow up, darkies.
If a magazine says he sucks then that is their opinion. You porch monkeys are too distracted with “hip hop nigga bizzness” while the white man is out there making business deals and holding conferences and doing all the wonderful things that white people do. They are just a pleasure to be around.
Blender mag is in love with Lil ‘Very Overrated’ Wayne!
Most overrated
Elvis
Madonna
Aaliyah
Britney’s dancing skills
Marilyn Monroe
Grace Kelly
PAC OVERRATED? HAHA IS LIKE SAYING THE KKK IS FOR BLACKS HAHA C’MON MAN WE ALL KNOW YALL IS BULLSHIT, PAC WAS A REAL LEADER AND HE TOOK RESPONSIBILITY FOR THAT, 2PAC IS BY FAR THE GREATEST RAPPER AND ARTIST OF ALL TIME, PERIOD!
“First nigga disrespect me first nigga gettin scarred”
Resist the temptation of the beast,
you’ll slip and loose your grip
and forever fall a sleep.
The venom is contagious, beware of its spell
what you thought would be heaven, turn’s out to be hell.
I wonder if she knows the devils taken off her clothes, deep into her soul
slow, now he’s in control.
Poppas doing worse, a victim of the deadly curse
wouldn’t be the first to leave the ghetto in a hurse,and oh how it hurts.
The children pay the biggest price,
never get the chance to grow up with a happy life.
Blame it on the rock, but we know that’s a bunch of crap
someone’s at the top supplying us with much crack.
Keep them in a daze,don’t let them see the other way
let’em all get paid,wont live to see another day.
See they never got a breath of the sunshine,
now the kids addicted and only hit it one time.
We are destined to be dead as a nation,
don’t let it come to this, resist the temptation.
Gamble for your soul with the devil
you wonder how low can you go, before you reach the lowest level.
As everybody sits and stares,
there’s no use looking in you eyes cause there isn’t anybody there.
And though it may make you wanna cry,
got you stealing from your family and you don’t even know why.
I guess you think they will understand,
you feel cold, cause you sold your soul to the dopeman.
Now there’s no turning back, in fact
it’s decided that would live and die for the crack.
You got no friends cause you cheated them all,
you feel lonely,low,defeated and small.
No one was there when I took the wrong path,
and nobody cared if I died in a blood bath.
But is this my destiny?
tell the lord they got my mind, but he can have the rest of me.
Cause I’m ready to end it all,
one bullet to the brain, forgive my sins and all.
I didn’t mean to be a bother,
a failure as a son, a husband and a father.
I wish I could turn back the time,
go back and let it find why I let it crack my mind.
And my only explanation, it came to this
resist the temptation
HAHAHA, MAN, THATS WHY EVERYBODY SAYS “HIP HOP IS DEAD”, ‘CAUSE LIL’S RAPPERS APPEARS WIT TRAT CRUNK STYLE SHIT…, C’MON 2PAC WAS ANS STILL THA GREATEST RAPPER MC POET ALL OVER THE WORLD FUCKAZ!
2PAC OVERRATED…PLEASE, IF HE WAS LIKE DAT WHY THE OTHER RAPPERS THTA PASSES AWAY ARE NOT OVERRATED??? FUCK BLENDER MAGAZINE NEWSPAPER OR WHATEVER IT IS
Only a fool or someone who lack taste will deny 2PAC as the GREATEST in Hip-Hop infact in Music. He should be worshipped more than Elvis or MJ. he should be identified with Bob Marley.