Even as we're jumping from one generation of Hip Hop influencers to the next, the impact of Tupac Shakur is unshaken. Often, Hip Hop is saturated with Top lists where artists name their favorite emcees of all time, and although Pac was taken from the world back in 1996, his music and activism continue to permeate pop culture and politics.
Jeezy is the latest Rap icon to reflect on not only being a fan of Shakur's, but a student. During his interview with Drink Champs, the Atlanta-bred star explained how Pac's catalog helped shape him in his youth.
"Every morning before school, I listened to all Master P, 8Ball, MJG, but my favorite was Tupac," said Jeezy. "It still is to this day because he stood for something. He had values, he had morals, he had integrity, but I had never seen that before. 'Cause my uncles would steal $20 out ya socks."
Jeezy went on to say that he wasn't able to learn those life lessons from the men who were supposed to teach him the way. "I couldn't get any information out of them," he said. "So, how I learned how to survive and navigate through the streets—and I want to say that because, these guys that's coming up, 90 percent of it, well, 10 percent of it is music, 90 percent of it surviving. It's survival, and navigating what's going on."
"I listened to Tupac as if that was my Bible. How to move, how to handle situations, and it was embedded in me. He was a revolutionary before I knew what that was. He actually had—he stood for something. And he would take those risks when everybody around me was so used to how they was livin' that they didn't want to try to live any better."
"My Bible, at that time, no disrespect to the big homie [Biggie], was every Tupac album."
Jeezy said he listened to Tupac every morning on his way to school, but he had to help his family, so he dropped out in the sixth grade. "But, I did that knowing that Tupac did what he had to do."
Check out Jeezy reliving highlights of his upbringing and career below on Drink Champs.
