Hip hop star Tupac Shakur dies on September 13, 1996 of
gunshot wounds suffered in a Las
Vegas drive-by shooting.
More than a decade after his death on this day in 1996,
rapper Tupac Shakur remains one of the most recognizable faces and voices in
hip-hop. A steady stream of posthumous album releases has kept his name near
the top of lifetime sales rankings, and artistic efforts like the 2003 film Tupac:
Resurrection have kept his image and music current among fans who were far
too young to have seen and heard him perform while he was still alive. His
recording career came to an end with his death at the age of 25, but like
another famous rapper with whom his story is intertwined, Shakur has only grown
in stature with each passing year since his still-unsolved murder.
Music by elton john Lyrics by bernie taupin Available on the album madman across the water
1971
As I awoke this evening with the smell of wood smoke clinging Like a gentle cobweb hanging upon a painted tepee Oh I went to see my chieftain with my warlance and my woman For he told us that the yellow moon would very soon be leaving This I cant believe I said, I cant believe our warlords dead Oh he would not leave the chosen ones to the buzzards and the soldiers guns
Oh great father of the iroquois ever since I was young Ive read the writing of the smoke and breast fed on the sound of drums Ive learned to hurl the tomahawk and ride a painted pony wild To run the gauntlet of the sioux, to make a chieftains daughter mine
And now you ask that I should watch The red mans race be slowly crushed What kind of words are these to hear From yellow dog whom white man fears
I take only what is mine lord, my pony, my squaw, and my child I cant stay to see you die along with my tribes pride I go to search for the yellow moon and the fathers of our sons Where the red sun sinks in the hills of gold and the healing waters run
Trampling down the prairie rose leaving hoof tracks in the sand Those who wish to follow me I welcome with my hands I heard from passing renegades geronimo was dead Hed been laying down his weapons when they filled him full of lead
Now there seems no reason why I should carry on In this land that once was my land I cant find a home Its lonely and its quiet and the horse soldiers are coming And I think its time I strung my bow and ceased my senseless running For soon Ill find the yellow moon along with my loved ones Where the buffalos graze in clover fields without the sound of guns
And the red sun sinks at last into the hills of gold And peace to this young warrior comes with a bullet hole
*****
"Ghetto Gospel" by Tupac Shakur featuring Elton John
[Chorus - Elton John:] Those who wish to follow me (My ghetto gospel) I welcome with my hands And the red sun sinks at last into the hills of gold And peace to this young warrior without the sound of guns
[2Pac] If I could recollect before my hood days I'd sit and reminisce, nigga and bliss on the good days I stop and stare at the younger, my heart goes to'em They tested, it was stressed that they under In our days, things changed Everyone's ashamed to the youth cause the truth looks strange And for me it's reversed, we left them a world that's cursed, and it hurts cause any day they'll push the button and yall condemned like Malcolm x and Bobby Hunton, died for nothing Don't them let me get teary, the world looks dreary but when you wipe your eyes, see it clearly there's no need for you to fear me if you take your time to hear me, maybe you can learn to cheer me it ain't about black or white, cause we're human I hope we see the light before its ruined my ghetto gospel
[Chorus - Elton John]
[2Pac] Tell me do you see that old lady ain't it sad Living out a bag, but she's glad for the little things she has And over there there's a lady, crack got her crazy Guess she's given birth to a baby I don't trip and let it fade me, from outta the frying pan We jump into another form of slavery Even now I get discouraged Wonder if they take it all back while I still keep the courage I refuse to be a role model I set goals, take control, drink out my own bottles I make mistakes, I learn from everyone And when its said and done I bet this Brotha be a better one If I'm upset, you don't stress Never forget, that God hasn't finished with me yet I feel his hand on my brain When I write rhymes, I go blind, and let the lord do his thang But am I less holy Cause I choose to puff a blunt and drink a beer with my homies Before we find world peace We gotta find peace and end the war on the streets My ghetto gospel
[Chorus - Elton John]
[2Pac] Lord can you hear me speak!! To pay the price of being hell bound...
Kudos to Ms. Volkmann for once again working hard to bring alive yet another important issue that needs to be further discussed in CarrollCounty.It is community journalism at its best.
“Explaining (the legacy of slavery in CarrollCounty) away by saying it was a practice of the times is unacceptable,” former Westminster Mayor Kevin Dayhoff said. “Slavery was wrong, plain and simple.”
Carroll’s future, Dayhoff said, lies in embracing its diversity.
“In order to go forward, we need to meaningfully address old wounds,” he said. “Done correctly, it can bring us closer together. A meaningful portion of the quality of life we enjoy today in CarrollCounty was built on the backs of African-Americans in bondage.”
The column that I have already filed with my editor for the Westminster Eagle for this coming Wednesday will also explore the subject of the legacy of slavery in CarrollCounty… and among my ancestors… Paradoxes and surprises abound…More on that later in the week.
On the issue of the Dred Scott decision; if you will recall this was the subject discussed between Maryland Blogger Alliance members Crablaw, Maryland Conservatarian, Soccer Dad and I last November 2006:
