I like writing about writing. I find it calming, and so I do it often on here.
But what about singing about writing? Or rapping about it?
I don't consider myself a good singer nor rapper (although I've attempted to "remix" lyrics and written/performed original slam poetry before), but I have a good amount of reverence for those that do. Whether someone is or isn't actually isn't all that important in my eyes: it's the drive to be good at the artform that matters. Okay, that's a bit of a stretch: if your music sucks, I probably won't listen to it but you won't catch me trying to dissuade you from making it. One likes to believe in the freedom of music, after all.
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I want to pivot away from my Paramore fanaticism, at least for this post, and talk about 2Pac.
I should mention I'm not a diehard fan or anything. As it happens I've played artists like Eminem, 50 Cent, Kanye and the like a lot more over the course of my life; but I'm familiar enough with his music and his legacy. I only got into his music in my mid-twenties, though I was first exposed to him in middle school when there was a whole group of kids in my grade who were big fans, somehow. I've never even been to the States but I believe that his music transcends geographical borders and cultures. His uplifting of African-american subculture through art is truly inspiring, and it makes sense that a bunch of Canadian school kids would be into his music given the relatively barren Canadian Hip-Hop/Rap scene at the time.
He actually made a lot of music. When I downloaded his discography a few years back, there were so many albums! The sheer number rivalled the Pink Floyd and the Rush in my iTunes library. I don't really know what his biggest/most popular hits are other than maybe California Love. Often I'll find myself listening to a 2Pac song I've never heard before and thinking: "Wow, this is a killer beat!" and then I listen to the lyrics and I'm like: "Shit, these lyrics are lit!" and thus I slowly but surely get more familiar with his works.
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My favourite song currently is Ambitionz As A Ridah.
Given the title of this post, can you guess the reason why?
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Yeah, I've got ambitions as a writer, how could you tell?
Okay, so Tupac might not have been rapping about writing per se, but it's a hella catchy song nonetheless:
I won't deny it, I'm a straight ridah
You don't wanna fuck with me
Got the police bustin' at me
But they can't do nothin' to a G
Here, I'll embarrass myself with my censored "whiteboi" interpretation:
If I'm a straight writer - which I usually am -
then you don't wanna mess with me
Got the grammer police all riled up
But they can't do nothin' to a G
Till the next blog post,
Gabe out.
