The People Made Me (Interview by Sway)

[Interview]

Sway: Ayy yo right now I'm chillin' with 2Pac. The Bay area's on right here, what's up Pac, how ya doing brother?

2Pac: What's poppin'? What's poppin'?

Sway: First off, I want to congratulate you on all your success man, 'cause I kind of watched you evolve, and you know ,and even though, you know, I think most people from the Bay area, even though we couldn't be there by your side, we kind of felt like every episode you went through in your life that we could only see through the media, we was right there, you know. And Brothers got a lotta love for you in the Bay, wanna know when you're coming back, for minute.

2Pac: I'm comin' back for sure... and I love the Bay. And Everywhere I go, and every episode I've been through, I always felt like I was sharing it, the good times and the bad with the Bay, 'cause you know they ones— I felt like whatever I am, the Bay Area had something to do with making me. So if I'm bad then they had something to do with making me, if I'm good, then they had something to do with making me. Between the East Coast, the Bay Area and LA and Baltimore, ya know what I mean? Made me who I am.. made me stand out. I owe them everything. It's not like saying like I got love for one block. I got love for those communities, those areas because everything about those areas made me who I am, and people from the little--the littlest you know crackheads to the biggest ballers to the teachers, to the principals in school, to the police that pulled me by the arm. Everybody- to the mama's on the block, everybody they helped raise me and I appreciate it. Because without a family, they helped me put my family back together, just by all my fans making me who I am. Now I've got a family again. When I started rapping, I was talking about broken homes and shit. Now everybody alright again, just because of my fans being behind me, you know what I mean? They make it more than just a fan-artist thing, they making it more like "That's our homeboy, we supporting him," and I appreciated that going to jail and making me number one, they made me number one, you know what I mean? and I appreciated that, and I appreciate them sticking up for me when everybody kicking me when I'm down and everything, that's love and I never trade that so for the Bay and Philly and all those areas man, all those ghettos and towns... I 'love y'all... don't let this East Coast-West Coast thing get to you. I love you with all my hear with everything. I do this for y'all. Just know that if it was you, you'd do the same thing in my position.

(That's KC)

( What's poppin' man? Come back here man. Oh okay... okay.)
That's KC, y'all. Doing the video for "How Do You want it"

Sway: Yeah, we kickin' it in the trailer with these fools right now, and it's setting off the hook, it's setting off the hook. On a serious note though, this is what I wanted to ask you man, 'cause it seems like every time you come up, like on with each album, something will set you back. Like the incident that happened in Berkeley back in the day with the police incident the trials you went through with the lady back east, and then the situation you're in now, you know. You getting caught up in the system. Every time you come up, it seems like there's something bring you back down. When you're caught up like that, what is it that goes through your mind, when you know you got millions of fans wondering about you?

2Pac: It hurts me in one way because they be lookin' at me saying "Damn you got everything why are you doing this?" And in my heart, I'll be like "Damn man y'all know I don't wanna go to jail, I'm just tryna live." On the other hand, it's like I can't really take it personal because I'm a reflection of the community, and all young Black males are going through that, young Black females, young white males... A lot of minorities periods is going through that going through.. tryna come up and then get pulled back five steps...
then you move make 8 steps then they pull you back 18 steps
To me it's not personal because they're all going through it. The only thing that makes it different and original with me is that people get to watch it from beginning to end like a soap opera. You get to watch mines and with everyone else, they get to hide and go to their homes and get over it. With me you see me doing it, dealing with my greatest pains. You see me get over things.
and go through things, handle my life, you seen it, everybody saw it. So that's what makes it different

Sway: Yeah, it's like your whole life is like an open book and after you got the incident getting shot in that whole nine. I mean what went through your head—I mean I read a lot of stuff and I hear a lot of stuff on TV, but I've been inclined not to believe everything you read in the paper, you know? and the things you see in the TV— I mean What went through your head when you got shot in New York and that whole complication that you had with the people you had it with?

2Pac: I can't front. It slowed me down. It went through my mind was "like damn I'm shot." I couldn't believe I could ever get touched. So now that's why I'm more careful, and ever more— Some people may say "disrespectful" but I'm more cautious because I have been shot five t— So I know what it feels like. It's like I'm cautious now, I'm not trying to be in that predicament. I know we all have choices to make and my choices have already been made even if I wanna change it.
What I learned in jail is that I can't be changed. I can't you know live a different lifestyle... this is it. This is the life that they gave me and this is the life that I made. You know how they say "you made your bed now lay in it?" I tried to move... I can't move to no other bed. This is it. Not for the court, not for the parole board, not for nobody. This is what they gave me. All I'm trying to do is survive and make good out of the dirt nasty, unbelievable lifestyle that they gave me. I'm just trying to make something good out of that. It's like if you try and plant something in the concrete..if it grow and the rose pedals got all kind of scratches and marks, you're not gon' say "Damn look at all the scratches on the rose that grew from the concrete." Your gonna say... Damn! A rose grew from the concrete? Same thing for me I grew out all of this, instead of saying "Damn he did this, he did this. Just be like "Damn! "He grew out of that?" He came out of that?.. That's what they should see.

Sway: That's exactly what I see because you know.. Brother you must be truly blessed to go through all these trials and tribulations you've been through and you're still maintaining. Even now they're still comin'. You got these demons and obstacles—[What's up with that] they just keep coming down harder and harder. I mean every time you turn around, you got somebody knockin' on your door trying to take something from you.

2Pac: They come harder and harder, and that's what kills me. It's like everytime I think this is it and I go all out to beat that and I win or I lose.. Then I come into the next one, it just worse, it's even worse. It's like the twilight zone that is like some evil, unstoppable shit that is just won't let me go. It's got its hands on me and just wanna see me fail. And in my mind sometimes when I get— When I'm drunk or I'm just laying down... I be thinking like "Damn is this true?.. Well I fail? Am I supposed to fail? I mean should I just stop trying and give up?" But then I be like "Nah, hold on! That's exactly what they're waiting for me to do'", instead of just say "This is too much I can't take it" and give up. So now it's a fun little game that I cry at sometime, I laugh at sometime, I smile, have good time and bad times. But it's a game. It's just game of life. Do I win or do I lose? I know one day they're gon' shut the game down but I have to have as much fun and get around the board as many times as I can before it's my turn to leave. And that's it

Sway: That's for real. We chillin' Tupac right now. We gonna come back with some more Tupac. We just loungin' in his trailer.