ALUBMS I SHOULD HAVE BROUGHT WITH ME TO PRISON:
2Pac - All Eyez on Me

By Whitey Magee

With a name like Whitey McGee, people instantaneously assume that you're a racist. Not true. I love Muddy Waters, B.B. King, Leadbelly, Screamin' Jay, Ravi Shankar and all of God's marvelous creations. I did, however, have a less than enlightened opinion about rap. Until one day.

After years of listening to nothing but great classic rock music, the guy at the record store by my house snuck a 2Pac All Eyez on Me cassette inside of a Dear Mr. Fantasy jacket to see if I'd flip out. When I got home, I realized his error and trudged all the way back to the store in the snow, assuming no malice. Upon discovery of his motives, I thumped him over the head repeatedly with a Led Zep coffee mug, screaming unintelligibly about his lack of purity and respect for Steve Winwood and Rebop for allowing the "devil music" to touch even the container that once held an album produced by one of the masters.

Nonetheless, I went home, stared at the affecting piece of music for a few days as if it were the dark swirling entity representing everything sacrilegious about music and eventually decided to pop it in the stereo. It was either Sun Tzu or Johnny Cash who once said, "Know thine enemy."

I'm not sure what happened after that except that I remember allowing myself to switch discs and I started picturing 2Pac "rollin'." While I still have no goddamned clue what he was talking about, I liked it, almost feeling remorse for nearly decapitating my poor buddy who ran the record store.

Before long, I fancied myself one of those old white guys that rappers make fun of by having them say words like "crunk" and "pimp juice" on their albums. Regardless of how many people you know who live in "low ridas" wearing ski masks screaming "Thug Life" every time they pass, 2Pac knew his shit. Especially regarding the concepts of race and racism.

Pac always looked inside to see how he could improve life in the black community. He realized that "black" and "white" meant different things for him and his listeners. What sets 2Pac apart from other rappers is that he preached introspection and poetry as means to achieving more in the black community. Rappers these days are so blunt, but 2Pac had style. A style that ranged from booty calls to calling out a "bitch" to keep her "head up, legs closed, eyes open." There aren't many that go both ways on issues like this - maybe Curtis Mayfield or Marvin Gaye on their best days.

So, I guess the moral of the story is to live your own version of "Thug Life." Black or white, it doesn't matter. 2Pac's ideas are universal and demand a response from white society. I dunno, maybe its just time to start thinking WW2D? It's usually the answer you want it to be.