2Pac’s father, Billy Garland, says he was "upset" about being labeled a “coward” on the late rapper's song “Dear Mama,” when it released back in 1995. Garland discussed the Me Against the World single during a recent interview on The Art of Dialogue. In the song, 2Pac raps, “No love for my daddy ’cause the coward wasn’t there," before remarking that his father is dead.
“At first, I was upset ’cause I’m trying to see you,” he said. “But then it hit me! One, I ain’t dead and so you really didn’t know ’cause if you would’ve known me then you would’ve known that I wasn’t dead. So I knew there that someone had lied to him from that point."
Read More: Who Was Afeni Shakur? Remembering Tupac’s Mother
2Pac In Concert
Garland continued: “And so later on when I found that out that someone did lie to him, that song made perfectly good sense. I understood it totally. When I hear it now, I laugh. I still love the fucking record. I love it, I do. I think it’s beautiful. I love all his music, though. I listen to his music daily — every freaking day, and I like it."
He also reflected on his relationship with his son and how 2Pac's fame prevented him from living a normal life. "I look in the videos and where he goes and I see him with the autographs, and I said, ‘That’s a different world,'" he said. "He could never be an individual that could relax in society, like he said he wanted to. He said, ‘Pops, I want to go home and watch TV but I know I can’t.’ He would tell me these things.”
2Pac's Father On "Dear Mama"
Elsewhere in the interview, Garland criticized Hulu’s Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni & Tupac Shakur docuseries. He complained that Director Allen Hughes misled him during their interview. Garland also wasn't happy with the implication that his son was bipolar, noting that it “broke my heart.”
Read More: Tupac’s “Dear Mama” Docuseries Gets Gripping Trailer
[Via]
