by Dr. Boyce Watkins, Your Black World
Most of us knew that Tupac Shakur was going to die. He wrote songs about his funeral, used imagery in videos that revolved around death, and described young black males like himself as if they had the life expectancy of 85-year-old men. Living till the age of 30 is a luxury that some feel they can’t afford, and hip-hop seems to celebrate death as if it is as inevitable as paying the IRS during the month of April.
When Tupac was murdered at the age of 25, the public’s shock was tempered by expectation. The artist had died “right on schedule,” and the same was true a few months later when Tupac’s nemesis, the Notorious B.I.G., found himself sitting in a truck riddled with bullet holes. Biggie had also written about his pending death, with his final two albums being called Ready to Die, and Life after Death.
Most gangster rappers in America are, unfortunately, “ready to die.” This is especially true in California, where gangs, drugs and guns are more prevalent than beaches and sunshine. Planning for the future is a fantasy world, for you are preparing for a day that many young black men do not expect to arrive. I just heard my god daughter casually tell me yesterday about a three year old who’d been shot in the head in her neighborhood this week, and another 17-year-old friend who survived after being shot in the head himself. At some point, I’m hoping that some of us will stop and realize just how abnormal all this really is.
