Big
Apple Shows Love for Tupac Shakur
June
16, 2004 | Coral Room | New York, NY
Written
by Monique Code To
say that Tupac Shakur was just a cat with a helluva flow
is an understatement of his talent
as an artist.
To say that he was just an icon is an insult to
the warrior that he was. Not only was he a warrior on
the mic, he was a legend in the minds and hearts
of young people everywhere. At
the Coral Room in New York City on June 16, 2004, everyone
from former Panther members to celebrities in the hip-hop
industry to everyday people like yours truly came out
on a hot steamy night to celebrate the Earth day
of Tupac.
This event was organized by the likes of special people
like Kamel Bell, the son of political prisoner Herman
Bell, Russell Shoatz III, son of Russell “Maroon” Shoatz,
Warrior Queen Sista Erica Ford of the Code Foundation,
and many others who volunteered their time to honor a
legend and a comrade all in one person: Tupac Shakur. The
event was also a fundraiser for Dr. Mutulu Shakur. As
most of you know, Dr. Shakur was a staunch member
of the Panther Party and the BLA here in New York and
is a
legend in his own right. Currently, Dr. Shakur is serving
a 60-year sentence for “Conspiracy to Aid Bank Expropriation.” He
was charged under the U. S. conspiracy laws known as "Racketeer
Influenced and Corrupt Organization" or RICO laws
- eight counts.
Dr. Shakur’s beautiful daughter Nzingha Shakur, who
has a beautiful singing voice, thanked the entire crowd
and artists who came out to show love for her brother Tupac
and her family as a whole. His son Mopreme (of Thug Life) gave us an update on his father’s situation.
He informed us that not only did they deny his parole,
the Board told him to come back in 15 years.
You can hear both of these talented people on Dr. Shakur's "Dare 2 Struggle" CD. Various music performers took the
mic that night and contributed their voices to the
cause.
Independent artists like Hasan Salaam and Immortal
Technique ripped the mic in their own special
way. Immortal Technique
spit the truth about how some folks who claimed
to have loved Tupac and were his “friend” did
not have no real love for him when he was here. No
investigation
needed for that one.
Dead Prez came through with the People’s Army/RBG
family to show their love for Pac. All of them represented
lovely by exciting the crowd with their educational
and inspiring revolutionary lyrics. Dead Prez even invited
Mopreme
and his Thug Life group to join them on stage.
By the way, I highly recommend you pick up
Dead Prez's new
CD “Revolutionary But Gangsta” and pick up
P.O.W.’s mixtape “The Street Report Vol. One. ” P.O.W.
consists of RBG family members Umi and Scribe. Their CD
is very good. A special message from Young Chairman Fred
Hampton, Jr. of the POCC is featured on it also. If you
get the opportunity to check out P.O.W. when they come
out West to the Bay, definitely cop their new CD if you
haven’t yet.
The most touching of the many tributes
given to Pac was from Treach of the group
Naughty
by Nature.
He
took us
back to when hip-hop still had a quality
message and it was fun to dance to. He
went from OPP
to Hip Hop Hooray.
For those of us who know what REAL hip-hop
is, we enjoyed the memories. Treach then displayed a tattoo he has
on his left arm of his beloved friend
while
he did
the song “Mourn You
Till I Join You,” his own personal tribute to the
good times he and Pac had together. Their strong, ambitious,
positive and determined attitudes made them the success
stories they were. Both artists saw the bigger picture,
and the future for them back in the ‘90s became
a milestone in the game called hip-hop.
Digital Underground even came through.
They felt the energy of the crowd
when they got
into “Round and Round,” one
of the many songs they performed with Tupac after 'Pac went
solo. Now, I confess. I urgently requested they do the “Humpty
Dance” before they left the stage. They DID and
the crowd lost it! We all lost our minds when the song
started
and sang along with them. We were definitely feeling
their vibe.
Digital Underground’s performance topped off
a great night of entertainment, tributes and information
that the
masses needed to celebrate the life of Tupac Amaru
Shakur the right way. Believe me when I tell you, Tupac
was certainly
smiling down on the event that night. Uhuru! Power to the People! Free
Mutulu Shakur! Free ‘em
all!
Written by Monique Code
E-mail: moniquecode@hotmail.com
 
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