Pac Marks #2: Hypothetical, Political, Lyrical (In That Order)
Apologies for the delay with the Pac series. There is really an overwhelming amount of information about this guy and I’ve been learning to swim in the deep end. But here we are back at the beginning with no rarities at all, just a quick post about “Same Song.” But with more to follow. Regularly, I promise.
Pac’s alignment with Digital Underground doesn’t make a whole lot of sense in retrospect, but neither does anything he did. DU was deeply politicized but everything they did happened through fiction and folly. Pac’s economy would later be come one of realness (or at least perceived realness) and that disconnect was never more apparent than here. In fact the oddest thing about Pac’s coming out party is how closely it was attached to this Akroyd/Chase/Candy vehicle about a sadistic judge and his “extremely Draculated” mansion. They don’t just provide the track for the soundtrack, Digital, and Pac by extension, are shoved into the film’s plot. Pac doesn’t kick his verse or have any speaking lines, but there he is dancing his ass off.
The verse itself is strong but not stunning. It’s simple and to the point, but in a sense that’s why it’s so impressive. That’s the Pacstyle, now formed and realized. Remember this is just two years after the mostly generic Strictly Dope stuff. But here he has an identity, he’s all charisma. The most interesting and maybe powerful Pac was awestruck Pac. Nobody wore surprise like him. He’s looking around like “WHAT THE FUCK AM I DOING HERE? Oh, that’s right I’m rapping about how famous I am before I am actually very famous.” Proto-Drake, but he makes it work. How often does a weed carrier get carried into scene on a giant chair by African man servants while spitting just eight bars on a soundtrack cut? But that was Pac, he willed himself into significance with this larger than life personality. Stardom, like an early death, was inherent. But – and this is very important – it was also something that had to be earned. He (a) shoved his stardom in your throat and the (b) justified that attitude through work ethic. There are two steps to this process and most of the fruit flies who flood my inbox daily only do the first. The great thing about the democracy of hip hop is that it does reward hard work maybe more than any other creative outlet, especially now in the post-Wayne mixtape flood era. But that work ethic isn’t something that can be faked.
Being far too young to remember for myself I am curious as to what the popular reception was to this verse. Forgettable cameo or next big thing? Somewhere in the middle? I assume it was the latter at best and this non-impact also speaks to Pac’s foresight. With him it wasn’t about a break out track or hit singles or a grand moment, but the cumulative effect. Small gestures building a larger body of work, chipping away to reveal different aspects of his real selling point – his very complex persona. In this way Pac saw the future.
Related: Shock G on Producing A Young Genius
