Tupac: The pursuit of masculinity BY Michael Leffler

There is a Tupac in all of us, no matter your ethnicity. That’s partially why his legend, his music, his messages will never die. There is a side of Tupac that everyone can relate with; if not the gangster mentality, than the love and appreciation for women, if not than the idolism of our mothers and their sacrifice, than the passion for the community, and the list goes on.

However, I feel Tupac became a victim of what the article described  “hypermaculinity.” This concept is something every man deals with one time or another, no matter who you are or where you are from. Reflecting on everything Tupac did both positive and negative in his lifetime, one thing was always common, no matter what perspective he displayed that day; the concept of hypermasculinity was always displayed.

One role Tupac played was Bishop, in the 1992 film Juice, always comes to mind when I think of Tupac Shakur. This is because he was playing the role of a young man in the inner city whose crew wants to gain respect, power and happiness (which is referred to as juice). However, his character Bishop cannot stop pursuing the power and respect and goes to extremes even killing to maintain the feeling of empowerment and the gangster attitude.

This comes to mind because Tupac was essentially acting a role that eventually became almost a mirror image of himself a year later. However, unlike the movie, I feel like Tupac’s rise to fame made him feel like he needed to assert his masculinity at the same pace. His over the top antics and his hypermasculinity almost seemed like an act as his fame grew.

Don’t get me wrong Tupac wasn’t fake he was one of the realest people in hip-hop’s culture. Tupac himself acknowledged his hypermasculinity as a way to get paid, thus making it seem like an act. He was incredibly smart, he knew he would have to put on a show overreact to the “East Coast/ West coast beef” as a way to maximize profit which was he ultimate goal. East Coast Rapper and rival Biggie even spoke to cameras in an interview that he asked Tupac backstage at an award show why he was doing what he was doing, he answered that he was just making money and walked away.

Tupac knew that hypermasculinity would sell; everyone wants to be the man. He portrayed himself as the man and people to this day people dress like Tupac, sing his lyrics, compared other rappers to him, get Thug Life tattooed on their skin.

Tupac accomplished his goal he made an impact, changed the world and left his mark forever. I even feel like Tupac acknowledge and foreshadowed his own death because he knew he would have to continue displaying his hypermaculinity and that he could never stop, until it would take his life. Which on September 13, 1996 it did. I also believe it may have been his goal for people to recognize this and hopefully learn from it and not become victims of their own masculinity.