Thug Life Army

Last night I appeared on an internet radio program, W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio, and spoke with Kenneth Anthony Wilson on the topic of "WHY I DEFACED THE STATUE OF TUPAC SHAKUR’ and the second topic of the ‘spirited’ discussion was titled “Deconstructing The Hip Hop Generation".

The discussion was not really a discussion, as many of the ‘panelist’ and Mr. Wilson himself, were very passionate about the defacing of the statue of the hip hop iconic figure Tupac Amaru Shakur at the Center for the Arts Peace Garden in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

Mr. Wilson tried to explain his views on gangsta rap and hip hop and why he felt he had to do what he did to the statue of 2Pac. A few could see some of his points but still he had things so twisted that it was hard to follow his reasoning for his actions and his feelings about Tupac, Afeni Shakur, hip hop, gangsta rap, Death Row Records and of course this web site www.ThugLifeArmy.com .I was very surprised on how a man could twist things so much and have a perspective that seemed to demeaning to something he does not understand.

One of his main points was that promoting THUG LIFE is just raising thugs and that it is apparent by the state of our society today.

Well to blame Tupac, his mother, hip hop web sites, hip hop itself and gangsta rap for all the woe’s that society has to me seemed a little far fetched.

This program again proved to me that the mainstream press has done a great job of instilling the notion that Tupac was just a gangsta rap artist and a hip hop MC who never really contributed to society in a good way. Mr. Wilson like many others only know Tupac from his days at Death Row Records; and that was only 9 months of 2Pac’s life.

Many fail to remember that Tupac himself was a young black man who was killed in a drive by shooting. Many fail to realize the many things and the many people Tupac had helped and touched in his life; and in his death. His knowledge for a man of his age was incredible and his ability to communicate with the masses and to spread his words was groundbreaking.

Breaking racial boundaries and bridging gaps between different street organizations, Tupac made his mark not only in hip hop but in urban culture.

As I told Mr. Wilson, everyone makes mistakes and 2Pac made his fair share of them and we are not to idolize him but we should at least recognize him for his genius and his thought process. We can not focus on the negative and we have to look to the positive impact that Tupac Shakur had on urban culture and to the people he spoke to.

After attacking Afeni Shakur in his ‘press release’, last night Mr. Wilson also added the Honorable Min. Louis Farrakhan and the Million Man March to his list of things that are ‘wrong’ with society now a days. He also had things to say about other artists in hip hop and rap, and the point was made to him that if people are really that upset, then do not buy what the record labels are putting out. Sure some of the blame falls on some of these artists who are out to milk the culture to get theirs, while good conscious hip hop and rap artists are left to struggle to get their point and message out. But it also is the fault of the labels who put out music that tears down the community instead of lifting it up.

Even the major labels are having a hard time selling records now and if we stop buying the garbage they are forcing on us, that will make them change because they are not in the position to keep posting loses.

We need to hold not only the artists and the labels accountable but we also need to hold ourselves accountable; in what we support and promote. And as I see it Mr. Wilson was the true ‘thug’ in the defacing of the Tupac statue. He was the one who took things to that point – to destroy someone else’s property. To me that is a thug.

One of the panel members, author and rap artist Quisa Little, tried to state her view of the legacy of Tupac and the work at the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, but Mr. Wilson would not have any of what she was trying to explain to him.

All in all it was a very ‘spirited’ and a lot of topics were touched but no real advancement was made.

The shows host Bro. Ron Herd aka R2C2H2 Tha Artivist is doing some good work with his program and I look forward to building with him in the near future.

You can hear the archived show at the link below. R2C2H2 Tha Artivist is heard every Sunday night on Tha Artivist Presents...W.E. A .L.L. B.E. News & Radio. Be sure to check him out. Just don’t talk about it – be about it. Get involved and make a difference.

PLEASE VISIT: W.E. A.L.L. B.E. News & Radio - http://www.blogtalkradio.com/weallbe

Check out the archived show Theme: Nu Birth...Harvest Time... "Why I Defaced The Tupac Shakur Statue: The Deconstruction Of The Hip Hop Generation"

To read Mr. Wilson’s Original Press Release on why he defaced the statue of Tupac Shakur Visit –

http://www.thuglifearmy.com/news/?id=4406