Every hip-hop fans know the name Tupac Shakur. Even those born long after he died have probably heard at least one Pac song. Even today, artists continue to use him a standard of excellence, a symbol of multidisciplinary expertise; remember, Pac rapped, wrote poetry, and acted. Now, another rapper, writer, and actor has compared himself to Pac - Lando Calrissian himself, Donald Glover. And while many artists generally catch flak for making the comparison, it seems like Donald Glover is well aware of the consequences. The Atlanta creator recently sat down with Esquire for an extensive interview, which eventually led to some Pac talk.
The discourse started when Glover asked interviewer Bijan Stephen "“Do you think Tupac was like, ‘I know exactly who I am?" When Stephen replied with a yes, Glover continued. “I know everybody likens themselves to Tupac a lot,” he explains. “I am the new Tupac in a strange way. I grew up similar. I didn’t have a mom in the Black Panthers, but my parents were very pro-black. Also, my mom made me go to performing-arts high school. She was like, ‘That’s where you need to be.’"
He continues, getting deeper into the psychology behind creativity and identity. "Sometimes you have to play a role for people to understand you, even though you’re far more complex than any of that. Sometimes it’s really hard to simplify that so people can eat it....Storytelling is just simplifying what’s happening to you. Life is just a story. Stuff that happens to you, you just put into story mode. I just take what’s there and put it into story mode on a smaller level so that you can be like, ‘Oh my God, that’s life! I totally relate to that.’ ”
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