Tag: Tupac

Bay Area Hip-Hop History: Pt. 1

On By spaceylifeIn Hip-Hop, Hip-Hop HistoryLeave a comment
MC Hammer

The San Francisco Bay Area is home to some of the most creative and innovative people around, and has always been a place accepting of peoples’ creative differences. Because of that creative energy, the Bay Area sound and slang is something that has inspired artists from all over. To understand this energy, we must go back to the first rapper to make it big time from the Bay, MC Hammer. Hammer was born and raised in East Oakland, and made his rap debut with his independent album “Feel My Power”. (I bring up the fact that he was independent because that is a common theme amongst many rappers in the Bay Area, and a part of the hustle attitude in the Bay.) He later released “U Can’t Touch This”, which would become the song he is best known for and propel him to be the one of the first pop rap stars ever.

Although the first rapper to make it from the Bay Area, MC Hammer’s music style is not what the Bay is known for. Enter Too Short. Too Short moved to Oakland when he was in high school and started playing drums in the school band. Along with one of his friends, Too Short began making “special tapes” where people would pay him for a custom song that shouted them out on the track. During this time, Too Short’s persona as a rapper became synonymous with the Pimpin’ lifestyle that was prominent in Oakland at the time. Although not officially a pimp himself, he was able to express the pimp life in such a way that earned him the respect of those who did live the life. To this day, Too Short has released 20 solo albums, with his song “Blow the Whistle” being an iconic song for those of us raised in the Bay.

The next rapper, arguably the most influential rapper of all time, is Tupac Shakur. Tupac moved to the Bay Area from the East Coast in 1988 with his mom and sister. His first big appearance on a song came in 1991; when he was with the alternative Hip-Hop group Digital Underground. He was featured on the song “Same Song” after which his skills couldn’t be ignored. It was after this song, that he recorded and released his debut album “2Pacalypse Now” in Richmond, CA, a city 15 minutes north of Oakland. This album has been cited as inspiration by Nas, Eminem, The Game, and many other artists.

Shakur would eventually move to Los Angeles and join Death Row Records with Dr. Dre, and become an icon for West Coast Hip-Hop. Although he is seen by some as a symbol for LA, he would forever claim Oakland, where he learned the game. Oakland became his adopted home, and he became Oakland’s adopted son.

Holograms in Hip-Hop

On By spaceylifeIn Class Lecture, Hip-HopLeave a comment

Holograms of artists at live concerts is quickly becoming a trend in multiple genres of music, especially Hip-Hop. The history of holograms in Hip-Hop goes back to 2005, when the virtual members of alternative rock/hip-hop band Gorillaz came to life on stage. During their scheduled performance at the 2005 Grammy’s, holograms of the virtual members appeared on stage, joined by Madonna in hologram form, being shortly followed by the live musicians and the real Madonna.

The next time a hologram was used in a live Hip-Hop performance, was in 2012 at Coachella music festival, where Tupac Shakur was brought back to life to perform with Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre. Tupac was killed in September, 1996, after a boxing match in Las Vegas, NV. The performance at Coachella was made possible by Digital Domain, due to a request from Dr. Dre for a virtual Pac to join him on stage. Although technically not a “hologram”, due to the fact that is was actually a 2-D image that was presented to look 3-D, it was the first time in nearly 16 years that anyone had seen the late Tupac on stage.

To follow up, one year later, two late Hip-Hop artists were brought back to life to grace the stage again. Both happened at the 2013 Rock the Bells concert in Los Angeles, CA. The first was Ol’ Dirty Bastard, of the Wu Tang Clan. The late rapper died of an accidental drug overdose in late 2004.

The other rapper who was brought back to life at the Rock the Bells concert, was Eazy-E, member of N.W.A. and founder of Ruthless Records. Eazy-E was one of the first gangster rappers in LA, and founded legendary group N.W.A. alongside Dr. Dre, Ice Cube, MC Ren, and DJ Yella. Eazy-E was brought on stage during Bone Thugs-N-Harmony’s set.

Another Hip-Hop legend who may have a return in the works is Notorious B.I.G. Biggie’s estate stated in 2016 that a hologram was soon to be in the works to keep his legacy alive. However, two and a half years later, and there has been no word on whether or not this project will ever be brought to life.There have been a few rumors of a newer artist who is said to become a hologram, XXXTentacion. The 20 year old was killed early this summer after visiting a motorcycle shop. Although news on this topic is slim, a short video has been leaked of this hologram.

https://youtu.be/snOexV8g2ks

With advancing technology, there is no limit to which artists will be brought to life next with holograms.