Rolling Stone magazine caught up with Tupac Shakur after a great performance in L.A to talk about the influence of his music and what it represents.
Rolling Stone: Tupac that was an awesome performance man I really enjoyed it
Tupac: yea man , I ‘ppreciate it, ‘ppreciate, I was just glad to be a part of it.
Rolling Stone: There was quite a variety of rapping styles and hip hop artist from different backgrounds, how do you feel about that.
Tupac: well you know that’s what hip hop music….that’s what rap is all about, you know what I mean. This is real life music representin’ not only da music of certain places, everyone out there represents a culture; black culture, inner city life, you know what I'm sayin’. So this was a great way of representin’ dat.
Rolling Stone: You’re a big part of the east coast vs west coast hip-hop rivalry, is that what your rap is about?
Tupac: The west coast east coast rivalry is just a small part of what hip hop music is really about, like I always been loyal to da west coast, but it’s not about yelling “Brooklyn in the house” or “Hollywood” at every ****** show. That’s not what music is about. But let me tell you one thing, why ain’t nobody got a problem with biggie startin’ beef in his music or any of the other rappers out there that start wars talking about the different gangs and such, but when I do it its suddenly a problem. All im tryna say is like…. Is this what were gonna be doin’ talking about where were from and call it hip hop.
Rolling Stone: How was it growing up in the inner city with a single mom, do you speak for this in your music?
Tupac: Man, okay, so like usually when you’re born, you’re born into a family, into a legacy that you have to live up to whether it be a family profession or a family name, you know, following in your father’s footsteps. There’s none of that where I grew up, not just relating to me, this was da case wid all da guys in the “outer city” as I like to call it cuz we’re left out. That’s how it is in the black community, you know, you have to build your own future instead of fulfill it. But the truth is that its not easy on a 18 year old or a 21 year old to build their own future, it’s a lot to ask. And I try to embody dat in my music and in my lyrics, you know what I'm sayin’.
Rolling Stone: rap has often been criticized for the accounts of violence included in songs, some of the most notable examples being “My Block” do you feel its necessary, or is it a use of dysphemism?
Tupac: Look its not about necessary or not necessary its just like, if I start rapping like everything’s peaceful, put your guns down, no violence and all that, that’s hypocritical, you get what im sayin’. If I didn’t talk about the violence, everybody would be actin’ like theres nothin’ wrong there’s no violence, which is far from the truth. I’m just tellin’ the story how it is how my community and my people suffer. Yea definitely it is a use of dysphemism cuz I don’t want my lyrics to nudge some people, I want my words to sucker punch them in the face, you get what I mean…. wake them up from their dillusional lives.
Rolling Stone: Tupac that was an awesome performance man I really enjoyed it
Tupac: yea man , I ‘ppreciate it, ‘ppreciate, I was just glad to be a part of it.
Rolling Stone: There was quite a variety of rapping styles and hip hop artist from different backgrounds, how do you feel about that.
Tupac: well you know that’s what hip hop music….that’s what rap is all about, you know what I mean. This is real life music representin’ not only da music of certain places, everyone out there represents a culture; black culture, inner city life, you know what I'm sayin’. So this was a great way of representin’ dat.
Rolling Stone: You’re a big part of the east coast vs west coast hip-hop rivalry, is that what your rap is about?
Tupac: The west coast east coast rivalry is just a small part of what hip hop music is really about, like I always been loyal to da west coast, but it’s not about yelling “Brooklyn in the house” or “Hollywood” at every ****** show. That’s not what music is about. But let me tell you one thing, why ain’t nobody got a problem with biggie startin’ beef in his music or any of the other rappers out there that start wars talking about the different gangs and such, but when I do it its suddenly a problem. All im tryna say is like…. Is this what were gonna be doin’ talking about where were from and call it hip hop.
Rolling Stone: How was it growing up in the inner city with a single mom, do you speak for this in your music?
Tupac: Man, okay, so like usually when you’re born, you’re born into a family, into a legacy that you have to live up to whether it be a family profession or a family name, you know, following in your father’s footsteps. There’s none of that where I grew up, not just relating to me, this was da case wid all da guys in the “outer city” as I like to call it cuz we’re left out. That’s how it is in the black community, you know, you have to build your own future instead of fulfill it. But the truth is that its not easy on a 18 year old or a 21 year old to build their own future, it’s a lot to ask. And I try to embody dat in my music and in my lyrics, you know what I'm sayin’.
Rolling Stone: rap has often been criticized for the accounts of violence included in songs, some of the most notable examples being “My Block” do you feel its necessary, or is it a use of dysphemism?
Tupac: Look its not about necessary or not necessary its just like, if I start rapping like everything’s peaceful, put your guns down, no violence and all that, that’s hypocritical, you get what im sayin’. If I didn’t talk about the violence, everybody would be actin’ like theres nothin’ wrong there’s no violence, which is far from the truth. I’m just tellin’ the story how it is how my community and my people suffer. Yea definitely it is a use of dysphemism cuz I don’t want my lyrics to nudge some people, I want my words to sucker punch them in the face, you get what I mean…. wake them up from their dillusional lives.
Your interview shows some good working towards language topics. There are a few conventions of the interview that might help in the future:
ReplyDelete1) Interviews generally start with an introduction that lays out the purpose of the interview. A random interview for no reason isn't typical. This allows you to centre your questions around a specific topic and to place your interview in a larger text (magazine/website) that has a readership that cares about your your topic.
2) Interviewers generally do a lot of research into who they are interviewing and the questions should reflect that thoughtfulness and consideration. This can be shown through asking specific questions that reference parts of the interviewee's work or life. You've done this a little, but there are more opportunities to have the interviewer state specific facts to get them out of the way and drive the questions deeper into language and community issues. Your interviewer probably would not use specific English jargon like dysphemism and would, instead, use a specific quote to drive the conversation.
3) Follow-up questions are generally used to help an interviewer drive to a deeper understanding and to clarify things that an interviewee has said.