Today is Tupac Shakur’s 50th birthday.
I turn 40 in 8 days. Just wow.
I knew that this book was going to be amazing when I saw Nikki Giovanni wrote the Forward (C U in Heaven). That same Nikki Giovanni, whom is a stellar voice for good, justice and echoing all powers of Blackness, wrote the forward of this book–who has a THUG LIFE tattoo as well! One more, two more, reasons to love Nikki. But, I digress.
The fact that this book exists reminds me just how adept Tupac was with a pen, and that he was a poet at heart–which I believe most rappers are. In the four sections of this book, we see, I saw–I remembered!–just how talented he was. Which made me miss him all over again. I read this book in his voice: loud, clear and confident in the truth he spoke.
Read this book. Recommend this book. Have conversations about this book!
There is no way to read this book and not remember how complex this experience known as Blackness is, and how it affects Black children. Afeni Shakur was know to speak about the power of art, and how art shapes our children! Nothing is so prevalent, so evident, in the life of her son.
Here are my recommended pieces (in no particular order):
If I Fail
Black Woman
And I Still Love U
Jada (Yes, that JADA!)
Government Assistance Or My Soul
In The Case of My Demise
If I ever wished there was a book on Audible so bad to be read by the author, it would be this. Rest on, Pac. Rest on.
The Ideal Firestarter 