Lately I have been reminiscing my past, so that I could try to answer questions about my current life. We lived in an area where you would walk about thirty minutes before meeting people you would consider neighbors, other than my school friends my only childhood friends were my siblings.
After school I would forget about them and meet them the next day. As my siblings grew older, they put their attention towards school and their future and then I was left practically alone with no friends. Remembering my younger years helped me understand how I relate to people even as I grow older. Not having them around doesn’t bother me and when I have them around I make the best out of it.
Out of sight, out of mind. One thing I will forever appreciate about my childhood is the best friend I found. Music. I would play my dad’s CDs over and over and cram lyrics of every song on it. I would sit next to the radio listening intently to every song that played. Then one day I heard Tupac and my life became better.
Tupac was a poetic genius. Every piece of his lyrical prowess touched and still does the soul and the mind of everyone who resonates with his work. He used his spirit to deliver to us the best stories and messages of our lives. Despite his untimely death, his legacy remains strong and powerful to us over twenty years later. I am certain it will be so even in the distant future.
One particular song that resonates with me for the feeling of being alone, isolated or not as expected by society is Thugs Mansion. The lyrics to the song Thugz Mansion was straight forward based on the way Pac lived his life, the experiences he encountered and what he wished for. His lyrics depicted heaven, “a place to spend quiet nights, time to unwind.” Where he was with the people he loved and admired like Marvin Gaye.
However, heaven can mean anything else to the rest of us, in case we are trying to get away from the harsh realities of life. Feeling like an outlaw? Too school for cool? Maybe there’s a place with people like you. A place where people of common interest or who are too weird for the expectations of the society could meet. We cannot deny that in the age of the internet like minded people have been brought together.
However, it has not been enough as we cannot let our guard down for fear of judgement. We need “a spot where we can kick it, a spot where we belong, that’s just for us.” Like Tupac I also wish that one day I will find like minded people.
People who will hear before I speak, people of the same background, experiences and goals. However, I still appreciate the ones already in my life for the variety they bring but at some point, I need to be understood without having to explain. I need my version of the Thugz Mansion.