Just a reminder: Today at 7:00 P.M. CST, Erik will once again be interviewed by Sheila Gale on her internationally renown radio show, The Sheila Show. Here’s the link:
http://InstantTeleseminar.com/?eventid=24454047
Be sure you share this with all your Twitter, Facebook and email contacts!
And now, let’s get a little wisdom from the poet extraordinaire, 2-Pac Shakur:
Erik: Mom, I picked the last one, so it’s your turn.
Me: Okay. Hmmm. How about Tupac Shakur?
Erik: Okay, be back in a sec.
Erik disappears, “poof”!
Jamie: This should really interesting, because I don’t know the first thing about him.
Me: Me neither. I know he’s some sort of rapper, but that’s it. I also think he was known to be an incredible poet.
Jamie giggles as Tupac materializes with Erik.
Jamie: That’s what he just said! He came in and said, “A poet!”
Me: I knew it! Oh my god, I must have channeled you, Tupac!
Jamie: That’s a trip! Yes, he said it, and you said it at almost the same time!
Me: Cool. And Rap stands for “Rhythm and Poetry,” right?
Jamie: Is that for real? I have never heard of that!
Me: I think so. That’s what one of my kids told me, anyway. They try to keep the old lady on the down low. So, hello, Tupac! It’s an honor to meet you!
Tupac (in a sing-song voice): Gooood Mornin’! How are you this fine day?
Me: Oh, it’s beautiful outside, beautiful indeed. I’m doing well, thank you. So, Erik, you ask the first question.
Erik: Okay. How did you know who you were, and when did you find that passion in your life?
Me: Great question, Erik!
(Pause)
Jamie (giggling): Oh, I wish I could imitate him. Even just his average speaking voice has a rhythm to it.
Me: Oh, really?
Jamie demonstrates the musical lilt to Tupac’s voice in a string of random syllables.
Tupac: I started working backstage—
Jamie: He’s showing me speakers, wires. I get the image of him setting up, plugging in.
Tupac: I could see all the creativity in all the people, there are so many other sounds besides what there is onstage. The clanking, the ticking, the dropping. So, I decided—
Jamie (puzzled): He was a dancer?
Me: Hmm. I don’t know. Maybe.
Jamie (skeptically): I never heard about that. He says he danced a little.
Me: Okay.
Tupac: Yeah, and that’s what led me into Rap. Getting around the right people. And I knew what I was interested in in life, because any kind of sound around me, I would always fantasize it to be something musical. I could even hear the music in—
Jamie: God, he’s showing me two people yelling at each other. Screaming! It’s bad news.
Me: His parents, maybe?
Jamie: That’s funny. I was asking the same thing. I asked him, ‘Is this your house? Where did you put me?’
Tupac: Yes. There was a lot of upset at my home. I never had a moment of stability, and so I took all these sounds that I could find—the passion in them. I don’t expect anybody to understand that.
Me: I think I get what you’re saying, Tupac. Everything has a rhythm and poetry to it, even the darker noises.
Tupac: Maybe that was just the core coping skills of a little boy.
Me: Maybe they were good coping skills for that little boy.
Tupac: Yeah, well, it got me everywhere I wanted to be.
Me: That’s exactly right. What beliefs did you have about death and the afterlife, and did those change after you died?
Tupac: Death was all around me, growing up. Illness, murder, accidental deaths, whatever. Pick a type of death, and I swear I can name someone in my life who has died that way.
I’m saving some for the book, including his thoughts about the afterlife, but I will share more tomorrow about his other philosophies, experiences, etc.
Again, don’t forget to listen to the interview Tuesday night and to use the social connect buttons below to share the love and knowledge!
Now, enjoy Tupac’s creative genius in “Dear Mama.”
