by OT
Welcome Beat Readers to The only magazine that keeps it one thousand with you and that’s because all of you make this even more special by keeping it one thousand with us, by sharing your stories, your truths and experiences. This is OT once again reporting live to you from the grand Land with the active volcanoes, yes sir, you guessed it, Nicaragua.
I’m going to go ahead and get straight into my spiel because I’m actually anxious to dish it out what I’m about to say. In Fact, You guys are barely about to receive this topic.
I’m going to go ahead and kick this off by saying, I am a huge 2Pac fan, and I do consider him to be The VERY BEST Rapper of ALL Time. His music is timeless. His music, depicted the struggle for not only African Americans, but for all minorities and all ethnic races.
When I first migrated to the United States from Nicaragua at the age of four, I obviously didn’t know a lick of English. As soon as I got to San Francisco though, I was immediately put on to the hip-hop music and culture. I embraced the hip hop culture right away because I identified with it. I remember being 5 years old and listening to NWA, Ice-T, Vanilla Ice was popular at the time, and of course over the years, The OG Bay Area Rap Scene blew up. Dr. Dre, Snoop Dog, McBreed, Rapping 4-Tay, Too Short, E-40 and The click, Digital Underground, which was a group where 2pac was a part of, and countless others.
I remember being like in 3rd grade when I first started listening to 2pac’s music. One of the first songs I heard was “Brenda Got A Baby.” What a powerful song and tribute to all the mothers and special women out there. All this rap music and culture allowed me to pick up on the English Language super quick. I practically learned the English language in my first year of kindergarten, and just kept getting better with each grade that passed, and with each new rap album that was released. By the 3rd grade, I was really fluent and speaking Ebonics too. Haha.
Man, 2pac was one of the most efficient rappers of his time, he kept dropping albums, “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.S” then the great all time classic “Me Against The World” and his album hit number one on the 100 billboard Awards Charts. It was at this moment in time that 2pac was found guilty of first degree sexual abuse that allegedly occurred in a New York Hotel Room and he went to Clinton Correctional to serve nine months of a four and half year maximum. For many of you who don’t know or haven’t heard 2pac’s story, it goes more in depth, and there are movies on it, documentaries on YouTube and Netflix, and books about 2pac’s life and also his uneventful and tragic murder.
So, I’m not going to give you guys the full story but it will be a brief run-down of what transpired through his life and his career. So, Suge Knight, came to bail out 2pac out of jail on a 1.4 million dollar bail and signed him to Death Row Records. 2pac was in the studio relentlessly now, and dropped one his best CD’s ever, a double disc album called “All Eyez On Me.” That album is certified diamond with over 5 million copies sold, and sold over 566,000 in its first week.
Then tragedy hit in Las Vegas and he was shot in a drive by right after the Mike Tyson fight on September 7th, 1996 and died less than a week later on September 13th. I remember I was at home. I was in the sixth grade and I was playing video games when I got tired of playing I don’t know it was like something told me, “put on MTV News” and the news flash pac had died. I thought he was gonna make it. You know, 2pac just got shot five times like two years prior. I thought he was going to sav it out. They hit him four more times.
I think the whole world thought that he would make it because at the time 2pac seemed immortal. He had been through so much up that point in his life, getting shot, getting double crossed by his homies, falsely accused and convicted of something he didn’t do. There were many haters 2pac had at the time, there were many, but there was plenty of people rooting for him to pull it through.
But that September day was a Friday. Remember, this was before the internet, Instagram, Facebook, YouTube, all that. I was diligently watching MTV News, every day, hoping that he would make it. With each day that passed that he remained in a coma, I remember feeling like he wasn’t going to make it. I had a bad feeling, and sure enough, that gut feeling that I often ignored throughout my young life, and have learned to trust it more often now that I’m older, proved to be right. He didn’t make it and I cried. I remember just looking at the TV along in my room in a house on Mission street that my mom and my step-dad (at the time, my sister’s dad) were renting.
You can call me a wuss, you can call me a sissy. I was a 6th grader at the time, but I felt a disconnect. I felt like the world lost a powerful voice. Someone, who was born in prison, came from nothing, and was able to make something of himself and represent for all the little people that come from the struggle and when I mean little people I mean for EVERYONE, Blacks, Latinos, Whites, Cambodians, Filipinos, Jamaicans, the poor, the educated, the once
So it was impactful for me. At the time, I had lost my best friend’s brother, due to gang violence. He was also an immigrant that had recently migrated from Nicaragua at the time, and he was shot and beaten at Crocker Amazon Park in San Francisco by rival gang members. I didn’t know it then, but these two deaths would impact me harder than I could ever imagine.
At this time, I had not heard one single peep about The Beat Within, but of course, The Beat started because of 2Pac’s death.
With each year that passed, hate accumulated inside my veins, that would eventuality lead me to start gang-banging. 2Pac’s music would play a critical role as it would be the anthem to every negative situation related to my life. 2Pac talked about getting double-crossed, backstabbed by his own homies, by members of his own community. 2Pac’s music represented something just more than just revolutionary for your average street kid.
I would eventually come to meet The Beat Within years later, where I would end up doing time in Hillcrest Juvenile Hall, The Ranch, got kicked out and back to Hillcrest again. My experiences with The Beat in the halls were always cordial and filled with a lot of respect. I remember Michael Kroll, clearly encouraging me to write whatever I wanted, if I wasn’t feeling the topics they brought in. I had already liked writing raps, poems, and getting that encouragement from Kroll, only made me enhance my passion for writing. I would write in the unit, during class, and sneak in a pencil in my room so I could stay up writing all night.
Now, I’m not going to get into further details from my past because I currently work for The Beat, so I’m going to fast forward in time till today. To me, The Beat Within means more to me now than ever and I’ll tell you why.
We now live in an era defined by social media, people taking pictures with filters where you can’t even recognize them. We live in an era where image is everything. We live during a time where everybody wants to be heard, seen and get recognition for all the wrong reasons. Back in my day, there were consequences for the things that you said, but nowadays everybody’s comments and voices on social media are usually filled with gossip, or hate, or something negative. Nowadays people don’t think twice before tweeting, sending a message even if it’s something that may be hurtful to someone else.
I’m not anti-technology. There are a lot of positive things that these platforms provide, but there are a lot of negative things that come with it as well, and most people don’t keep it real. Everything is all glitz and glamour. Instagram, FB, Twitter everyone is on there to hear the latest gossip, floss their latest shoes, flexing at the gym. There is nothing the depicts the struggle that we all face every single day.
There aren’t the many people keeping it one hundred and using that platform as a way to make a positive change in the world. Instead, you see people’s ego’s on display flexing muscles on their bodies, flossing their money and cars, videos of doing challenges(doing stupid things that could possibly hurt yourself) and there isn’t enough honesty. All for a couple likes?
I’ll tell you all what I like. I love the realness that all you writers bring to our pages each and every single week To The Beat Within. I appreciate all you who open up and tells us real stories about your life. I appreciate those men in The Beat Without, sharing their life stories, sharing their mistakes with us so we don’t make the same mistakes they made. Your stories, your truths, and your voices are the voices that everybody in America should be hearing. You guys represent the struggle that many continue face in communities all over the country.
Your writing inspires me to continue to do my best in everything I do. When I feel down, when I don’t feel like getting up in the morning, all I have to do is think about one your writings, filled with a positive message. I think of some of you that have lost so much and still continue to smile and have a positive attitude towards life. It make me feel grateful to be alive, and I am blessed to be a part of this writing community and share a piece of your lives. This goes out to all the guys and girls in all Juvenile Facilities, from Alameda, San Mateo, San Francisco, Sacramento, Albuquerque, LA, Santa Cruz and my special folks in Santa Clara County and much more.
It’s amazing how the death of one man, sparked Dave with the idea of this publication that has touched and continue to touch so many lives. I’m proud to be part of The Beat Within community to motivate and inspire others to strive for positivity and success.
In the famous words of 2Pac “I’m not saying I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.” I hope there’s a little spark going off in yours right now! One Love!