Dre – the mastermind behind this hologram experiment – considering the fact that the very next song on the Makaveli album was Toss it Up, in which 2Pac thoroughly insulted Dre. Interesting fact: For some reason, the first words of the song “ Makaveli in this… Killuminati, all through your body” were removed. The hologram then sings the song Hail Mary. It was therefore probably the voice of an imitator making 2Pac say things he never said. This was obviously not 2Pac’s voice because Coachella did not even exist prior to his death. One of the first things the 2Pac hologram said was “What’s up Coachella!”. 2Pac was anything but an empty shell controlled by unseen programmers…but that’s what I saw at Coachella. Although it was somewhat interesting to see a 2Pac on stage in 2012, witnessing a dead person artificially re-animated and controlled by unseen programmers felt wrong. It was 2Pac – if he was stripped of everything that made him real, human and authentic and then infused with a bunch of synthesized computer hocus pocus. Sadly, that hologram at Coachella, wasn’t. All of his sides were apparent because, unlike most record industry artists, he was real. Like many compelling artists, the were many sides to him, like there are many sides to all of us. In interviews, he could be either loud, cocky and arrogant or soft spoken, smart and insightful. He could rap about gangster street life and, in the next song, rap about how he loved his mama. Like all of us, he had strengths, weaknesses and emotions. However, although he had a kind of “larger-than-life” aura surrounding him (which only amplified after his death) 2Pac was very human. He did not only sing gimmicky singles to sell records, he said what was on his mind – and what was on many other people’s minds. He spoke out about issues, he brought to light the reality of America’s underprivileged, he even called out crooked cops and politicians. He did not just record songs and act cool in music videos. He was an iconic character that represented an entire generation.
2Pac was more than a rapper signed to record label.