November 17, 2000
The Rose That Grew From Concrete
2Pac crammed a prolific amount of work into a short lifespan.
Born to a mother who was pregnant with him while imprisoned for Black Panther activities, and gunned down in Las Vegas at the age of 25, 2Pac crammed a prolific amount of work into a short lifespan.
Four years on from a death he foretold as early as 1994's 'If I Die 2 Nite', and now confirmed here by 'In The Event Of My Demise', the controversial and often contradictory rapper has now released more product in his afterlife than when alive. This could breed cynicism, in an industry not unknown for the mantra that 'death sells', if this particular project wasn't so thorough.
'The Rose That Grew From Concrete' transforms poetry the artist wrote in his late teens into a modern musical celebration, and is a chance for those who generally prefer R&B sophistication to hip-hop grime to fully appreciate Shakur's gift for language.
We start in West Africa with Babatunde Olatunji and Sikiru Adepoju's digital juju crossover rendering of 'Wake Me Up When I'm Free', and then top guns like Mos Def (with his superlative male/female versions of 'Can U C The Pride In The Panther'), the radical Dead Prez, and Quincy Jones, bring 2Pac's words to warm life.
To show the scope involved, observe the musical distance between poetess Sonia Sanchez's 'When Ure Heart Turns Cold', Dan Rockett's pedal blues lament ('Sometimes I Cry') and Red Rat's humourous teenage love stylings on 'And Still I Love You'. A bravura effort, and nary a semi-automatic Uzi in sight.
Dele Fadele
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