Jamie Lee Lynn

What I love about hip hop is how it started. Let me take you back to 1979 in a chipper in Brooklyn. There were people looking for a lead singer for their band. They said they were going to be the next best thing and they were! So they heard a voice beside the stereo and said, “You can really sing like that?”. The man who was soon to be the man who made hip hop replied. pretty confused, “Do I know you?” One of the 2 singers said, “What do you work as?” He told them that he works as a waiter in the chipper. Then they said, “How would you like to be famous?” and he said, “What's the catch?” They say, “You’ve got to come to the studio and make up a song.” And that's where the first hip hop song came from; it was called Rapper's Delight by The Sugarhill Gang. The Sugerhill Gang were the first rappers ever and they were the most successful African-American group since The Jackson 5.

Rapper’s Delight played world wide and now they are around 50 years of age, and live in a nice mansion. You have probably learned if you want to get rich go to a chipper: really if you want to be rich, learn how to sing. Anywho, I say that half of current hip hop is a pile of poop where they just sound like robots. Back in the 80s and 90s, that was the golden age of hip hop. Don't get me wrong, half of hip hop now is good. But back then, all of it was good.

Like they had 2pac, Biggie and people like them. They were rapping about life in the hood. Now they rap about crime. Now people are already rich before they start rapping. They're supposed to start from the bottom and make their way up. That’s a good story. A bad story is about people starting from the top and getting higher. I don't like what they do now but I like old school rap. Think about it back in the 90s, 80s and late 70s it was the best time for hip hop. You had 2pac and Biggie and Eminem in his early days but I’m going to focus on the west side of hip hop, mainly on 2pac.

Tupac Omero Shakur born 1972, died 1996. This is Tupac’s story. He had a rough upbringing; being black in the 70s was hard. Tupac's parents were both active members of the Black Panther African-American civil rights party. So you think he is going to be a criminal but he wasn't. His mom dropped out of school but she didn't want her son to. So she made him work hard but he never went to college instead he joined the Digital Underground, a record company, at first he didn't do well but then got a promotion which got them on a national tour and then he went solo and recorded a few songs. When he went to pick up the cheque, some men robbed and shot him. The man I was talking about before Biggie was presumed to be the one who tried to kill him. Biggie was on the east coast and Tupac is on the west this started an east coast, west coast rivalry.

Tupac then got signed to Death Row which was the biggest record company in the 90s. It was where he met Shug Knight. He was the owner of Death Row and he was crazy. Everyone was afraid of him. Tupac was the best artist in Death Row and Shug turned into his bodyguard. That led them to go to a Mike Tyson match. After the fight, on their way to a party, he was shot and killed. He was only 25.

That was the life of Tupac Shakur. I picked Tupac because in my opinion he is the greatest rapper of all time. The reason I got into hip hop in the first place is because I love hip hop. It's the best kind of MUSIC. Mumble rap and pop isn't going to change that. New hip hop can’t change old school hip hop. I like old hip hop and I think if Tupac had never died hip hop would be the same. So R.I.P Tupac.