GOAT: 2Pac
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What's a man to a legend and what is a legend to a man? How do you separate both ideas? Those are two questions that seem to summarize those that leave us too soon. The quintessential artist that can be described in this way is the man we call 2Pac. Or Makaveli. Or Mr. Shakur. Born on June 16th 1971, the New York City born rapper and poet would eventually take over the game of Hip-Hop and create a legacy for himself and artists around the world.
Commercial success
Even though we live in a streaming society, it's important to note that the commercial success of Tupac isn't a small feat, neither then or now. According to the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA), Tupac has sold at least 36.5 million records in the United States alone. While there are some caveats - which include the counting of All Eyez on Me as two, due to it being a double album - the feat is still great. Not to mention, he only has one of his three albums not going platinum, being his debut project, 2Pacalypse Now, which is completely understandable. While all this, someone would talk about the awards, he only really won two Soul Train awards in his lifetime, a reality that can be explained by his controversial image and the lack of respect for Hip-Hop.
Album Qualification
There are so many artists that have a large discography of music: none are quite as extensive as Tupac's. It's said that Tupac had a feeling that he wouldn't be in this world long, therefore he always wrote and was continuously in the studio, so that the message of Thug Life and his life, would not be wasted and forgotten. This led to four solo albums in four years, all of them of considerable length. There would also be his collaborative album with the Outlawz, released in 1994. However, with the seven albums that would be released posthumously, there must be at least one classic right? There is, which would be his last album released in his lifetime: All Eyez on Me. It's a powerful magnum opus of his knowledge and ability on the microphone. It's worth it.
Impact / Longevity
To be frank, Tupac Shakur can be easily described as being one of the great social revolutionaries of Hip-Hop, if not the greatest. His music, attitude and attire reflected that statement. He was black and proud of it. While his career only really spanned six years - from 1990 to his death in 1996 - the reality of his life and legacy have long superseded that short amount of time. He's the Che Guevara of Hip-Hop: revolutionary, someone who wanted to support the little man. And while some would disregard and even attempt to hide the bad stuff that he had done in his life, they're important to show the duality of his life. The power of a song like "Brenda's Got a Baby" and "Changes" come from understanding the struggles and fights that he got into with the law. Legendary.
Lyricism
An honest analysis of Tupac's lyricism can present that he wasn't as proficient a rapper as many other rappers in the list. He doesn't deliver insane wordplay and metaphors such as Jay Z and Eminem. On the contrary, he leans more on the imagery and the storytelling aspects to relate the story. That can be seen in songs such as "Keep Ya Head Up", when he says: "Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice / I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots / I give a holler to my sisters on welfare / Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care". It's in introspective lyrics such as that in which Tupac shines. It's emotionally vulnerable and powerful. Songs like 'Hit Em Up' don't make him since, if anything, they make him sound less powerful as a rapper and more insecure than anything.
In conclusion, where should one stand on the idea of the legend of Tupac Shakur? The man that he was? Maybe, the truth and brutality of everything that happened to him is part of the story and needs to be said. Hip-Hop is competitive, but maybe the idea of the GOAT, someone being above them all, supersedes the idea of the genre. Tupac was more than just a rapper: he was a poet, a dancer and an activist of the highest caliber. The beauty that we get in Tupac's music is that we can feel like we can grow and become better by listening to his music, and maybe that's what we need to do.