Is Tupac Shakur a Prophet?

[Postmaster]

For many many years I used to hate Tupac Shakurs music and basically everything he stood for, especially his gangster image. But the past couple of years there was a couple of his songs that grew on me and this grew and now I like a lot of his work. Some people especially in America consider him a prophet. Although I do not consider him my prophet, I want to say that he may well have been a prophet to some people and I acknowledge that he was a mysterious person. He considered himself a rose that grew from the concrete. For a child to have no choice but to be raised in a violent society and a tuff life it's only natural for him to live the way of his environment. In some of his songs he predicted his death and claimed prophetic vision. For the people who are born in the same situation as him, is he a light?

[Postmaster]

heres the lyrics to one of his songs

"Letter 2 My Unborn"

To my unborn child..
To my unborn child.. in case I don't make it
Just remember daddy loves you
[talking in background]
To my unborn child..
To my unborn..

[2Pac]
Now ever since my birth, I've been cursed since I'm born to wild
in case I never get to holla at my unborn child
Many things learned in prison, blessed and still livin
Tryin to earn every penny that I'm gettin, and reminiscin
to the beginnin of my mission
When I was conceived, and came to be in this position
My momma was a Panther loud, single parent but she proud
when she witnessed baby boy rip a crowd
To school, but I dropped out, and left the house
Cause my mama say I'm good for nothin, so I'm out
Since I only got one life to live, God forgive me for my sins
Let me make it and I'll never steal again, or deal again
My only friend is my misery
Wantin revenge for the agony they did to me
See my life ain't promised but it'll sure get better
Hope you understand my love letter, to my unborn child

[Chorus: sung, with 2Pac ad libs]
I'm writing you a letter
This is to my unborn child
Wanna let you know I love you
Love you, if you didn't know I feel this way
How I, think about you every day
I have so much to say

[2Pac]
Seems so complicated to escape fate
And you can never understand 'til we trade places
Tell the world I feel guilty to bein anxious
Ain't no way in hell, that I could ever be rapist
It's hard to face this, cold world on a good day
When will they let the little kids in the hood play?
I got shot five times but I'm still breathin
Livin proof there's a God if you need a reason
Can I believe in my own fate
Will I raise my kids in the right, or the wrong way?
Dear mama I'm a man now
I wanna make it on my own, not a handout
Make way for a whirlwind prophesized
I wanna go in peace.. when I gotta die
On these cold streets, ain't no love, no mercy, and no friends
In case you never see my face again
To my unborn child

[Chorus]

[2Pac]
Dear Lord can you hear me, tell me what to say
to my unborn seed in, case I pass away
Will my child get to feel love
Or are we all just cursed to be street thugs? Cause bein black hurts
And even worse if you speak first
Livin my life as an Outlaw, what could be worse?
Cause maybe if I tried to change
Who I'm kiddin? I'ma thug 'til I die, I'ma rider mayne
Touch bases, eat lunch at plush places
Regular criminal oasis awaits us
If there's a ghetto for true thugs, I'll see you there
And I'm sorry for not bein there
Just know your daddy was a soldier, me against the world
Bless the boys, and all my little girls
To the Lord I'm eternal, restin in peace
Please take care of all my seeds, to my unborn child

[Chorus - repeat to fade]

[2Pac over Chorus]
To my unborn child.. please take of all my kids
My unborn child.. to my unborn child
This letter goes out to.. to the seeds that I might not get to see
cause of this lifestyle
Just know that your daddy loves you, got nuttin but love for you
All I wanted was for you have a better life than I did
That's why I was out here on a twenty-four hour 365 grind
When you get to be my age you'll understand
Just know I got love for you
And I'll see you up there in the ghetto heaven
Cause ghetto heaven gotta be there.. haha, take care
Run wild, but be smart
Follow the rules of the game
I know that sometimes it's confusin
The rules of the game is gonna get you through it, all day everyday
Watch out for these snakes and fakes, friends comin down the way..

[Dondi]

I think Tupac played with his fate. He had gotten shot up once and survived, so it is no wonder that he would have allusions to his death. Some people fulfill have self-fulfilling prophesies. But he is no prophet. He just got caught up in the middle of it all.

[YO-ELEVEN-11]

I feel Tupac was a talented individual and one of the best poets in history. I feel that he was Prophet to and for his people. If you read in the bible the book of "Judges" you can understand what i'm talking about. His life was hard no doubt, but he over came most of his obstacles. All of his music, sent out messages of truth and consequence in society as well as in Life. Granted some of his music did not "sugar coat" some of the harsh realities in life, but most if not all his lyrics ring truth. I think his death was not from his life style but more like GOD simply taking him home.

[Dondi]

Originally Posted by YO-ELEVEN-11

I feel Tupac was a talented individual and one of the best poets in history. I feel that he was Prophet to and for his people. If you read in the bible the book of "Judges" you can understand what i'm talking about. His life was hard no doubt, but he over came most of his obstacles. All of his music, sent out messages of truth and consequence in society as well as in Life. Granted some of his music did not "sugar coat" some of the harsh realities in life, but most if not all his lyrics ring truth. I think his death was not from his life style but more like GOD simply taking him home.

What kind of Prophet was he? What was his message, may I ask? Truth and consequence is rather an understatement in Tupac's case. It doesn't take a prophet or intellectual genius to know that when you play with fire, you're gonna get burned.

[Postmaster]

Dondi think of all the super star rappers today that are still alive and multimillionaires of his time. Tupac died penniless and as a consequence of the way he lived. He is a light to those who are in his shoes. Something you were probably not born into. Who are you going to listen to when you live in poverty, parents on drugs and living a disfunctional life style?

[truthseeker]

Hind sight is 20/20.

There is hardly a prophet that was proclaimed as one during his life, usually it is the span of time over which the truth of the message still stands.

I think the quality within Tupac that would make one declare him as a prophet is that he understood the balance between life and death, heaven and hell, good and evil, and where he fit into that within the environment of his life. The ones that declare him a prophet are the ones that understand the environment that Tupac speaks of - Tupac helps to give these people clarity and understand their divine gifts within the chaos. To understand the prophet quality of Tupac is to understand the concrete that he has risen from and know first hand what it is to raise yourself up from ruins that seem to have no beginning, but to be dedicated to defining the end.

His music spans across cultures because, just like the old negro spirituals that Elvis brought into the mainstream - it is not that other cultures are beginning to like blacks and open up to the black culture, it is that the movement of oppression has broken the racial barrier and has become an economic situation that people of any color or nation can relate to.

[Dondi]

Originally Posted by Postmaster

Dondi think of all the super star rappers today that are still alive and multimillionaires of his time. Tupac died penniless and as a consequence of the way he lived. He is a light to those who are in his shoes. Something you were probably not born into. Who are you going to listen to when you live in poverty, parents on drugs and living a disfunctional life style?

So how does his failure and his death make him a prophet? What message did he preach?

Who am I going to listen to? I'd start with God, maybe seek solice in a house of God, with those people who have relied on God for their needs in the midst of want. I look to such scriptural passages such as Joshua 1:8:

"This book of the law shall not depart out of thy mouth; but thou shalt meditate therein day and night, that thou mayest observe to do according to all that is written therein: for then thou shalt make thy way prosperous, and then thou shalt have good success."

I try to live in the fear of the Lord and learn to love others as myself, including mine enemies.

[YO-ELEVEN-11]

Originally Posted by Dondi

What kind of Prophet was he? What was his message, may I ask? Truth and consequence is rather an understatement in Tupac's case. It doesn't take a prophet or intellectual genius to know that when you play with fire, you're gonna get burned.

Read the book of Judges in the bible.
The answer to your question lies there.

[Azure24]

No, to me Tupac is not a prophet. For example he does not have the qualites, for example he talked about revenge. But i agree with the other things he is a poetic genius.

[Penguin]

Just thought I had to place a post on this thread. Perhaps I am missing the point but how can a gangsta rapper, who has spent time in prison for criminal offences, tattoos of the word "thug life" and an AK47 machine gun on his body, songs that contain lyrics about gunning people down and the like be a prophet or a good example to follow exactly?? I don't know much about him but I have heard his early recordings were plagued with drugs, killings,vengeance etc. It is also bizarre in a way that he was in an incident after watching his best friend (Mike Tyson) fight, who also has a criminal record (for rape amongst others) With respect to the fans, I think Tupac was just a black gangsta rapper who made music that appeals to that sort of lifestyle, sold alot of records and nothing else.

[Postmaster]

Penguin.. I see your point of view and yes I agree.. But let's see how you would live your life in poverty, no father and a mother hooked on cocaine. One of this poems was called a rose that grew from the concrete and I'm sure many people would agree 2pac was. He probably wasn't a prophet to you, but he is a role model to many people that he can related to. He had some amazing views and foresight on many issues, political, religious, society, and of course his own death, you should read more about him. His life style laid on his consious ALOT! Just read what he had to say. He told everyone THUGLIFE stood for

The Hate U Give Little Infants F*cks Everybody

Mike Tyson was rised in the same enviroment as him as a child.. Literally Ghettos in New york.. You will find a harder time finding employment and finding decent shcools living there. You become outcast by some parts of society.

[YO-ELEVEN-11]

Originally Posted by Postmaster

Penguin.. I see your point of view and yes I agree.. But let's see how you would live your life in poverty, no father and a mother hooked on cocaine. One of this poems was called a rose that grew from the concrete and I'm sure many people would agree 2pac was. He probably wasn't a prophet to you, but he is a role model to many people that he can related to. He had some amazing views and foresight on many issues, political, religious, society, and of course his own death, you should read more about him. His life style laid on his consious ALOT! Just read what he had to say. He told everyone THUGLIFE stood for

The Hate U Give Little Infants F*cks Everybody

Mike Tyson was rised in the same enviroment as him as a child.. Literally Ghettos in New york.. You will find a harder time finding employment and finding decent shcools living there. You become outcast by some parts of society.

Sounds a little like the life of Barabbas..
Post, have you ever read the book "Barabbas" its good.

Try this one "NIGGA"
Never Ignorant Getting Goals Accomplished

Rap has a lot of code in it. Sort of like during the underground railroad.
Listen carefully and you can hear it.

[Postmaster]

The Lyrics to Me agains't the world by Tupac Shakur

Can you picture my prophecy?
Stress in the city, the cops is hot for me
The projects is full of bullets, the bodies is droppin
There ain't no stoppin me
Constantly movin while makin millions
Witnessin killings, leavin dead bodies in abandoned buildings
Carries to children cause they're illin
Addicted to killin and the appeal from the cap peelin
Without feelin, but will they last or be blasted?
Hard headed *******
Maybe he'll listen in his casket -- the aftermath
More bodies being buried -- I'm losing my homies in a hurry
They're relocating to the cemetary
Got me worried, stressin, my vision's blurried
The question is will I live? No one in the world loves me
I'm headed for danger, don't trust strangers
Put one in the chamber whenever I'm feelin this anger
Don't wanna make excuses, cause this is how it is
What's the use unless we're shootin no one notices the youth
It's just me against the world baby

Could somebody help me? I'm out here all by myself
See ladies in stores, Baby Capone's, livin wealthy
Pictures of my birth on this Earth is what I'm dreamin
Seein Daddy's semen, full of crooked demons, already crazy
and screamin I guess them nightmares as a child
had me scared, but left me prepared for a while
Is there another route? For a crooked Outlaw
Veteran, a villian, a young thug, who one day shall fall

Everday there's mo' death, and plus I'm dough-less
I'm seein mo' reasons for me to proceed with thievin
Scheme on the scheming and leave they peeps grieving
Cause ain't no bucks to stack up, my nuts is backed up
I'm bout to act up, go load the Mac up, now watch me klacka
Tried makin fat cuts, but yo it ain't workin
And Evil's lurking, I can see him smirking
when I gets to pervin, so what?
Go put some work in, and make my mail, makin sales
Risking 25 with a 'L', but oh well

With all this extra stressin
The question I wonder is after death, after my last breath
When will I finaly get to rest? Through this supression
they punish the people that's askin questions
And those that possess, steal from the ones without possesions
The message I stress: to make it stop study your lessons
Don't settle for less - even the genius asks-es questions
Be grateful for blessings
Don't ever change, keep your essence
The power is in the people and politics we address
Always do your best, don't let the pressure make you panic
And when you get stranded
And things don't go the way you planned it
Dreamin of riches, in a position of makin a difference
Politicians and hypocrites, they don't wanna listen
If I'm insane, it's the fame made a brother change
It wasn't nuttin like the game
It's just me against the world

Heh, hahahahahahah
That's right
I know it seem hard sometimes but uhh
Remember one thing
Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that
So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out
Keep your head up, and handle it

[YO-ELEVEN-11]

Postmaster, do you know what he was talking about in these parts of the lyrics?

Originally Posted by Postmaster

Can you picture my prophecy?

Originally Posted by Postmaster

Baby Capone's, livin wealthy

Originally Posted by Postmaster

Pictures of my birth on this Earth is what I'm dreamin
Seein Daddy's semen, full of crooked demons,

Originally Posted by Postmaster

And Evil's lurking, I can see him smirking
when I gets to pervin, so what?
Go put some work in, and make my mail, makin sales
Risking 25 with a 'L', but oh well

Originally Posted by Postmaster

With all this extra stressin
The question I wonder is after death, after my last breath
When will I finaly get to rest? Through this supression
they punish the people that's askin questions
And those that possess, steal from the ones without possesions
The message I stress: to make it stop study your lessons
Don't settle for less - even the genius asks-es questions
Be grateful for blessings
Don't ever change, keep your essence

Originally Posted by Postmaster

Through every dark night, there's a bright day after that
So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out
Keep your head up, and handle it