-we recently caught up with the one and only Tupac "2pac" Shakur and he had some some answers for us regarding the perception of "thugs" in society and how he believes this sub-culture (which he proudly states he belongs to) is slowly deteriorating into a excuse for violence and crime.
-"Of course I'm a thug!" Tupac says. " I was one before it was cool!".
-In your own words what is a thug? "a thug is someone who is going through struggles, has gone through struggles, and continues to live day by day with nothing but them. That person is a thug. and the life they are living is the thug life. A thug is NOT a gangster. Look up gangster and thug. Not even CLOSE, my friend", "You don't choose the thug life, the thug life chooses you" - an iconic quote from tupac, "you don't choose to live a life full of struggles, jumping from bad neighborhood to bad neighborhood, your born into it". " Gansters are different, they are wanna be thugs, they embrace the thug life and by-pass the troubled up-brining that real thugs go through, they are sociopathic imitators, trying to act cool and wear the brand like it's something to be proud of. Thugs are the ultimate underdogs, they face so much difficulty, live the hardest lives, face the most unfair odds and in the end they are still there standing strong".
- "What are my views on modern day thugs?, oh I have a lot to say about them. There ruining everything It means to be a thug. Back in my days things were a bit different, sure you still acted tough and admittedly I did steal a few cars in my youth but I digress, even when I was younger things weren't looking good for thugs, it was already turning into a complete crime lifestyle"
-""These days thugs are synonymous with tough kids who commit crimes and enact violence, but what society doesn't see is the hard lives these kids live. From a young age they are surrounded by crime, fatherless families, minimal education and low-income households barely making it through day to day. Can you really blame them for turning out the way they do? The issue is that they have no support, there aren't any programs out there helping these kids, no one would, want to open up a "thug-help-centre" I mean they would look ridiculous, people would ask why they are trying to help thugs, they aren't the victims. But that's the thing, they are the victims, they are mis-understood and hated for it, they have nothin else to hold on to so they end up falling and slipping through the cracks into a life of drugs, crime and violence."
-"What do I hope for the future of thugs?, I hope that they get there lives together and at least try to make something out of themselves. Don't just embrace the thug life and act likes it's an excuse to give up. If anything it's a reason to push yourself even harder and try to get out of that life. Get a job, make an effort and most importantly stay strong".