Ain’t no way Troy Ave is the new 2Pac or “NuPac!”

There is something to be said for delusions of grandeur and the limitless imaginations of man. The thoughts of men who chase the ghosts of the great men that came before them are a unique spectacle unto themselves. The legacy and impact of a bicoastal 24-year-old rapper named Tupac Amaru Shakur, popularly known as 2Pac, is one of unfathomable influence and intrigue. In death Pac is perhaps more effective in his message of “Thug Life,” and his outlaw persona. I wrote before in a previous post about the credibility of 2Pac and whether or not he was actually menacing “no fucks given” outlaw or a brilliant orator and hood poet. I think the tremendous impact his all too brief life had on academic institutions, pop culture, and without a doubt Hip-Hop as a whole is feat many have chased and none have succeeded in.

The latest contestant on “I want to be Pac” is none other than the troublesome Troy Ave. The Brooklyn-bred MC who is embroiled in a scandal after scandal has christened himself “the new Pac” probably because the two MC’s share a couple of things in common namely bullet wounds and court cases. This is where any comparison between the two stops! Troy Ave in no way, shape, or form can fill the shoes of the 2Pac if Pac and God came down from heaven and declared him as such! This dude is delusional to the max. Pac was not the best lyricist when compared to more skillful rappers like Biggie Smalls, but his words hit like a Mack truck. Troy Ave at best can be good for maybe a few clever lines that will undoubtedly be forgotten as easily as it they were remembered. Pac was an enigmatic star whose life was filled with drama and intrigue that rivaled the most intense psychological thriller.

Pac was a walking contradiction that rhymed about his mother being a “crack fiend” as well as a “Black Queen.” What are Troy Ave’s memorable or provocative lyrics? Pac, although a trained actor, never made those watching him feel as if he was in character. Troy Ave’s whole persona begs you to question his gangsta. In a recent Power 105.1 interview on the Breakfast Club, Troy explained that he yelled to the man who almost assassinated him in his luxury sports car, “you ain’t no killer!” as he popped the clutch to the car which caused a loud popping sound. Apparently this move was sufficient enough to scare the assailant and caused the shots he fired at Troy to land, but not kill him. This entire scenario seems like something out of the movies.

If you are in a car and have the chance to drive off as Troy admittedly was able to do, then why not do so? Why provoke the person you know is trying to kill you to make due on his intent? The whole interview fiasco raised a few eyebrows from proven rap artists who actually lived the life Troy portrays such as Mysonne. Pac was many things and made us feel on a visceral level unlike any rap artist before and for damn sure since. Pac is probably somewhere turning in his grave, his urn, or pacing back in forth in Cuba next to Assata Shakur perplexed that this subpar rapper Troy Ave had the gull to compare himself to him. The lesson here is to be yourself that way the needless comparisons won’t come back to haunt you.