My Adventures with Tupac...Brainchild gone ROGUE - Part II

Part I of the series here at http://black2afrika.blogspot.com/2015/06/my-adventures-with-tupacbrainchild-gone_19.html



A Spark
Battery in ya Back
One day while  on tour after a heated argument with LL over creative differences with the label, management and Todd against me; I wanted to do a booked show where fans were expecting us versus a bigger show in Atlanta where we weren't headliners and M.C. Hammer was also on the show. The label could not confirm if we would go on after him or not. Needless to say, the argument got heated as they all up ganged against me. They reminded me that I was only the 'Choreographer' and not in a position to run anything. As y'all already know, I stood my ground and never backed down. I was out of options as we all knew that Hammer was making a lot of noise and that he had copied LL's show format that I had created the year before. Russell had already offered a record deal to me to come out as an East coast "Hammer" with a stage full of dancers as Def Jam was really very impressed at how I had saved LL’s career & my impact on him as his image consultant. Although I turned Russell down, I wanted a contract to go in my direction as I was very different than Def Jam at that time. They didn’t like my own ideas for my career and well.......I didn't want to compete with a style that was originally mine and now passé to me. (My MC name was The Don.) Being that they didn't know if we would perform after Hammer, I felt the fans were more important in the FL show & as the ATL show wasn't expecting us, I took a walk to calm down & ran into Pac. As usual, he was happy as he was always smiling from ear to ear! He started to drop his latest verse in my ear before I got a chance to speak. The drop was 16 bars of rubbish, rhyming words like never before with no sense of direction. I listened with high exceptions but Pac fell short & I tore right into him with all the frustration, anger and annoyance I carried that had built up by my prior conversation with LL.

SPARK; I let him know in no uncertain terms that this grown Man biz not a game, Music is everything to me & I can't have BS in my ears! I went on to tell him when I'm dancing in a club I'm usually in the speakers dancing & I don’t like hearing bullshit lyrics. His verse was freestyle nonsense with no direction or point; just words rhyming.






https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=D_pGd2_mv-g (Til the End of Time by 2Pac)

I had heard him rhyming every day since we had met and so I asked him "why the sudden style changes?" Pac said he had just got a rhyming dictionary on the advice of Del La Soul. He was sounding like Das Efx meets Dr. Seuss or something to that effect and I told him to toss the rhyming book in the trash because he wouldn't need it. I also told him, "I never wanna hear you rhyming like Dr. Seuss again!"  He then asked "what if I can't find a word to rhyme?" I told him, "either make up a word or improvise" & so we began the recipe to create great songs! This is where WE made HISTORY! I broke down what qualifies to be a verse, style, persona, content, what I like to hear coming out the speaker & subject matter. All of this was new to Pac & so I had to give him examples & explain persona's. I knew Pac’s full range by this time and wanted to expand on his skills despite this setback with the rhyming book. I told him of the drama I just had with Def Jam/Russell & how quick they were to pull rank & then stoop to insults to win in a disagreement. I told him how Hammer had changed his show format & style in attempt to mimic me. On my first tour with LL (Walking with a Panther), I wore baggie gold pants that I had designed. As well, my outfits were made by Dapper Dan & we had a lot of female dancers on stage. ‘Hip Hop Bollywood’ & Hammer was so impressed, he came to our show twice and then got rid of the tight pants & James Brown image he originally had. He even hired a dancer to mimic & copy my high cameo hair style & named the dancer aping me, "No Bones" on account that I danced like I had no bones and made him put a fake cameo weave in his hair. I later found out from 'No Bones' himself that Hammer instructed him to dance like me and he was only hired because he had knee moves similar to mines. The biggest form of flattery is copying. Explaining this to Pac, my rage was 'off the meter’ and Pac took the full brunt of my anger, passion and growing distaste for this music biz. This was the moment I decided not to pursue a career as an MC because I didn't want anyone in control of my life. The Don was my MC name & I




loathe anyone telling me what I could or could not do since I was a child. I often witnessed the record company control over artists I worked with and how restrictive this all was. Pac suggested we combine our ideas for career moves and songs or at the very least, how I could help him reach his goals as I was very reluctant to being exploited any further. Pac always aspired to know what he had to do to achieve the title of the Greatest as he had searched his whole life to achieve that. Pac was very willing to know what needed to be done to become a Great MC & so I gave him my concept and ideas to become successful. This was the 'Spark’ or the beginning of creating ‘Tupac's’, the world’s greatest rapper. I shared my scientific recipe on how to be the greatest rapper of all time and how to live it out. I had a list of rules and regulations that would brand Thug Life styles but I also wanted to clean up the industry of corny rappers that copied my style like Hammer, Kwame, and Kid & Play. I explained how Kwame copied my Blonde Patch I had been rocking for many years and the difference since Kwame did ask me first for permission & I gave him the secret to getting a lighter shade. I also told him to make it a little different than how I was rocking mines. The Golden bwoy patch I created to signify my Egyptian heritage was known only to me and I never expected it to become an urban style. I originally started Blonde designs in my hair after a trip to Jamaica in 1985 but the first music video I choreographed for Dougie "Fresh in 1989 exposed it. By this time, all the dancers from LQ & IOU Dancers had copied my blonde designs I had started sporting back in 1985 & many were creating their own. As a born trendsetter, I often had my hairstyles copied by other people trying to look hip or urban. Pac was eager to know more. I further explained my Mafioso image and career accolades I planned to achieve. As a triple threat MC, I felt more expressions of talent would signify a Star MC's long lasting notoriety. Movies, Films, Television and Theater was always part of the recipe to 2pac.

When I returned to our camp LL informed me that I had won and that they could not convince him to go and so he passed on the ATL show. We went to FL with just the dancers & Deejay but no band.

Follow the link at http://youtu.be/qUIXrUSdLPw of the Don Hosting Rap City in 1990, Makaveli the Don of Killuminati the 7 Day Theory Album  



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rmTH9w8H1-s (Hail Mary)


I didn't see Pac for few days as back then, only spot dates were had. We were off doing a show in FL that I had to fight for against the label, management and LL but I won in the end. When I returned to the Budweiser camp, I recall Pos & the De La Soul crew asking me what I did to Pac! They said he hadn't spoken in two days & was looking for me! Tupac not talking for two minutes was unusual and everyone wanted to know what I did to him. I wasn't sure what to expect as often, my pep talks would land on deaf ears! I have never known Pac to be quiet for 2 minutes and so two days was unexpected. When he found me, he was very excited to drop his new song. He spit a couple of verses and waited for my comments of which I had quite a few. I told him good job on everything only not so preachy with the lyrics as no one wants to be preached to. The flow needed tightening up and his attitude needed to be more sure/confident but he got the point so I was pleased. He took the criticism well and lit up feeling poised and then ran off to join a water-gun battle that was starting.

How to be the Greatest


What it took to be known as the greatest was the theme of many conversations with Pac. I once told him that it wouldn't be an easy road because I had already seen the drama ‘rappers’ in the high life had to deal with. The Tragedy of Tupac began with the expectations and power that people place on you as an artist. Never knowing who to trust was my biggest fear & still he would insist I tell him what had to be done. Pac was always inviting and very friendly with everyone and I stressed to him many times to watch the company he kept and never trust anyone. I tried to explain ‘Yes Men’ to Pac & how to keep them honest. He couldn’t believe anyone would try to harm him when he was trying to do so much good. Picking my brain and bouncing lyrics off my dome like a soundboard, Pac knew if I liked his stuff with my NY swag & great taste in Music and it was all good. Pac insisted on knowing how to be the best and the greatest. I had a brain child who was eager to listen and learn. Pac often remarked that God wanted him to do this Thug Life thing as he felt we were on a mission from God. Unlike LL who was established as a rapper, Tupac was like new putty waiting to be molded into the greatest. LL Cool J expressed many of my personal styles & preferences in regards to clothes, music, character & lifestyle. As an Image Consultant, it was important that the artist I work with not only look good on the outside but also was mentally grounded on the inside. I gave instructions on manners, ethics, polite gentlemen behaviors and charm or charisma. People may not always remember what you said or did but they never forget how you made them feel was the message I taught. Spiritual oneness with the Universe allows for clairvoyance as you learn to project your thoughts to an audience. As a Rapper, you have a list of expectations among them; entrepreneur, leader, social representative and also as a responsible educator.

My influence goes back to the  Latin Quarters hanging with KRS1, Just Ice and Mel E Mel who taught me where a rapper's motivation came from. All this combined with my Rasta Bob Marley roots from living in Kingston Jamaica as a youth, made it all very clear about the idea of lyrical content. At that time in my career, I was known as the Preppy Thug because of my preppy style of dress & thuggish attitude. I always wore silk; only the finest Versace or Gianni Versace, usually referred to as Versace, an Italian fashion company. We were in Vegas when I first introduced Pac to Versace clothes. I really like the Gladiator Egyptian style as a lineage of Ra the Golden bwoy.





https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DMOroVdG3Cc (Golden Boy by Res)


The mall in Vegas had live statues of Gladiators and slaves that would come alive and walk thru the mall from Caesar’s Palaces. Gold being my favorite color to wear (and the color of my aura), I also had LL sporting yellow & Versace and as I was his stylist, my swagger was preppy ruffian b-boy for contrast. I guess my mixed blood of Italian & Jamaican shaped my taste with Egyptian heritage always present in my ideas. I styled LL for most of his press/radio/public appearances, sometimes straight from my own suitcase. Osiris is my Egyptian sign as the God of renewal and rebirth. I have a flair for setting trends & transform old and tired things into something new and exciting.








VERSACE - the logo of a high-end Italian fashion label and the Symbol Actually Means: Vanity and promiscuity will ruin you. The tale is about the dangers of lust and being too attractive. The point is, this high-priced international fashion house based their logo on a cautionary tale about the dangers of lust and being too attractive. Medusa's tale ends with her finally being beheaded. Her head was used as a weapon since even when severed from her body, it was still ugly and dangerous. Also, the blood that spilled from the head turned into poisonous snakes that infested the world. Tupac knew & understood the perils of his life and how Versace's line reflected his passion for fame & attention. It all gets deeper so STAY TUNED..................
                                                                


by Donovan Niccolo Henry

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                                                                   - to be continued -