At a time when the energy and life force we call hiphop, clearly the biggest popular culture form on the planet, is at a serious crossroads artistically, spiritually, and politically, I was deeply saddened to read Chuck Phillips' recent Los Angeles Times article. In said article, it is suggested the Notorious B.I.G. paid handsomely to have Tupac Shakur killed. I think most of us are familiar with the now infamous storylines: Was there really an East Coast versus West Coast beef? Were Tupac and Biggie rivals, or was it Suge Knight and Sean "Puffy" Combs?

Whatever the case may be, I doubt that more than a few of us will ever really know the larger, uglier truths behind these two horrible deaths. In other words, what we think is the truth ain't necessarily the truth. However, as a professional journalist of 16 years, as a hiphop head of nearly 25 years, and as a political activist of 18 years, I say that we should never allow folks who do not have our best interests at heart to control our thinking. Never....

What purpose is served by such an article coming out right around the time of the anniversary of the murder of Tupac Shakur? How does such an article help to feed into all the other so-called beefs that have taken place in hiphop the past few years, be it Nas vs. Jay-Z, Jermaine Dupri vs. Dr. Dre, or, even, Snoop Dogg speaking out against Suge Knight? Who wins with these beefs when folks speak in the most vicious and incendiary language about girlfriends, mothers, families, killing each other, all of that madness and mayhem as if our lives are nothing more than platinum jewelry to be worn for a music video, then given right back to the source of our confusion? Or, better yet, when did our slave mentalities ever end? Also: does this article help to feed, clothe, house, and otherwise empower poor people, the very poor people, who over 30 years ago created hiphop in the first place? Does such an article lend to any healing and growth and empowerment in our communities, between this block and that block, this city and that city, this region and that region, this coast and that coast?

If we are just remotely intelligent we need to begin to ask ourselves these very serious questions. And why is this article (and part TWO is coming shortly) being forwarded all over the country, and why is this latest "revelation" about Tupac and Biggie more important to some of us than the HIV/AIDS epidemic, the prison-industrial complex, the on-going issue of institutionalized racism, poor school systems, alcohol and drug addiction, Black self-hatred, gender oppression, and more issues than I can cite in this brief statement?

As someone who interviewed the late Tupac Shakur on several occasions while working at VIBE, and as someone who also interviewed Suge Knight, Puffy (P. Diddy), and the Notorious B.I.G., and many others caught up in this sad saga in hiphop history, I strongly suggest to members of the hiphop community, especially younger Blacks and Latinos who have the most to lose from this on-going confusion and fear and jagged innuendo, to not believe the hype. At the end of the day the Los Angeles Times wins because these sort of stories sell tons of newspapers, help to spread twisted rumors and fears across the country, and, essentially, keep young people of color at each other's throats simply because we do not know what else to say or do. Some of us, including me, unwittingly participated in this several years back when Tupac and Biggie were alive. We thought we doing our jobs as journalists. Yes, and no. And some of us, including me, have fought our own brothers and sisters due to fear and ignorance, and, yes, self-hatred. But at some point enough is enough. Self-destruction in now realer than ever. And history is a boomerang: we don't watch out and it comes back to hit us upside our heads again and again and again.

In a sense, our historical and cultural and financial ignorance is being exploited, and because so many of us are stuck in a cycle of deep self-hatred, we fall into the trap of choosing sides, and cheering the downfall (and deaths) of our sisters and brothers.

As the rap group Dead Prez has said on a number of occasions,this is so much bigger than hiphop. Let us wise up and understand that the Los Angeles Times article is based on unidentified sources, flimsy timelines and even flimsier evidence, and represents the worst form of sensationalized journalism. Given the world we live in today, we should demand far more than this from people who claim to serve the public interest.

Founder/Chairperson, Hiphop Speaks

Hiphop Speaks The leadership we are waiting for is us.

Contact us: