Friday, October 22, 2010

fine man friday...

"Since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman, and our game from a woman. I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think its time we killed for our women,
be real to our women,
try to heal our women..."

this week's fine man friday is...
 tupac amaru shakur

Lesane Parish Crooks... 2Pac... 2Pacalypse... Pac... Makaveli... when Tupac hit the scene in the 90s with his flat top hair style, his intriguing eyes and a smile that melts the heart, he won me over. He was known for his controversial lyrics and lifestyle and though his rhymes consisted of explicit lyrics, one thing I always felt about Tupac is that... he loved women.

He sang about his love in songs like "Dear Mama" and "Keep Your Head Up" and in
Tupac: Resurrection, 1971-1996 he states "I love women. I'm not going to lie, I love women with a passion. Sometimes I just wanna call up Prince and be like "can we hang?", cuz I love women like he loves women."

Now why he had to go and add Prince to his mix?

There's more I can add about Tupac... for he was known for more than loving women but... loving community...
"We talk a lot about Malcom X and Martin Luther King Jr, but It's time to be like them, as strong as them. They were mortal men like us and everyone of us can be like them. I don't want to be a role model. I just want to be someone who says, this is who i am, this is what i do. I say what's on my mind."

and loving people...
"You gotta make a change. It's time for us as a people to start making some changes, let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live, and let's change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn't working so its on us, to do what we gotta do to survive."

He loved... and he thought it not punk nor puny but manly. He professed his love, openly and often and I appreciate him for it.

I end this post with a poem he wrote titled Jada...

u r the omega of my heart
the foundation of my conception of love
when i think of what a black woman should be
it's u that i first think of

u will never fully understand
how deeply my heart feels 4 u
i worry that we'll grow apart
and i'll end up losing u

u bring me 2 climax without sex
and u do it all with regal grace
u r my heart in human form
a friend i could never replace


6 comments:

Mizrepresent said...

Great post Kia! I feel the same about Tupac. Gave you a shoutout! Have a great weekend!

CareyCarey said...

Okay Kia, now we have something we can talk about. I mean, moving away from the fine man thang, Tupac was the man.

Many people are affraid to champion Tupac because some of his lyrics were... ahh... blunt. However, you found the jewels in his work. He always had a positive message, although, again, some would question his tone and choice of words.

I've been known to have a Tupac day. That's right, nothing but Tupac... all day long. I even have one CD that alternates between him and Biggie. Biggie is a different flavor, but I loved his style.

Keep Your Head Up, should be the black woman's national athem.

Don said...

Tupac was "that dude" who proved to me that being yourself is all that is needed in this world of ours.

He had as great of an influence upon my breathing spirit as any human that has ever lived, outside of Jesus Christ and my dad's mom.

And, trust me, that is saying alot.

There were times where I felt like he and I walked the same paths in life, and wore the same passions in life.

I still mourn the brother, his intellect, realness, talent, courage, compassion, fearlessness, you name it.

No matter what they say about Tupac Shakur, they can never take the game.


Great post.

KayC, The Quiet Storm said...

I loved 2Pac the first time I saw the 'Brenda's Got a Baby' video. I remember the MC saying "the world is screaming for this brother" and it was. He was raw, unapologetic and a highly talented poet.

And I must add...a Beautiful man of color :-)

Keep them coming Ms. KIA - loving these Friday posts.

Just Kel said...

Thank you Miz, I had a great weekend and thanks so much for the shout-out. That is so kind & I appreciate you for it.

@Carey... Aaah I knew you'd come to like my Fine Man Fridays. The one thing I really admire about Tupac is that he was and continues to be so candid. He knew the message needed to be rendered and he delivered.

@Don... I too mourn Tupac. I am not surprised that he had a great influence upon you. I can only hope that he continues to have an influence on many men. I can do some Jesus/Tupac comparisons but I think I'll let that ruminate first.

@KayC... Isn't he beautiful? I remember Brenda's Got A Baby too and thinking "wow" to myself - a cutie with a message. I can see why folks wanted Tupac to be immortal. No one wants the messenger to depart...

Don said...

No comparing Jesus Christ to a mortal being. I was stating how the effect that Pac's music had upon my spirit compared to the "inspiration" of Jesus's plight and the unconditional love shown by my Dad's mom.

You didn't really think I had compared the two, did you? Lol.

Here's a re-enactment video that might interest you: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RLtE4ll9h3c&feature=related