1{A - The Michigan Daily Weeken Magazine Thursday, September 26, 1996 xi . Ik ® Music Feature eMichgan Dl eedMa IBCommunity Feature Lies tore Tupac apart long before his murder Bowling in Ann Arbor: Fun for students and the average Joe By Eugene Bowen Daily Arts Writer If I die 2nite, No fear nigga, never worry. IfI die 2nite, Bury me a mutherfuckin' G, closed casket, fuck death. IfI die 2nite, You know. -Tupac Shakur; "IfI Die 2Nite" I've wanted to write about Tupac Shakur ever since "Me Against the World" was released early last year; I wanted to try to organize his turbulent life on paper. Ironically, that which I wanted to record - Tupac's life - was the very thing that made me unable to do so. Shakur was a living question mark full of contradictions. I didn't want to write about him only to wake up anTdiscover that he'd pulled yet anoth- er 360-degree turn on me. In fact, I used to joke with myself that he would have to be dead before I'd dare to write a sin- gle word about him ... . Saturday, Sept. 7. He'd just gone to watch his boy Mike Tyson perform a sort of 30-second, deja vu obliteration of Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Afterward, he and boss-man Suge Knight (CEO of Death Row Records) were cruising in a '96 BMW 750 Sedan on their way to the local club scene. Then it came. A white Cadi. The shot heard 'round the world. Then another. And another. Thirteen in all. Tupac was standing through the sun roof... . They were taken to University Medical Center. Suge was grazed by shrapnel; he was fine. Shakur was taken into surgery. It was the first of three operations. His right lung was removed. He may never rap again. But it wasn't the end. In the end, Tupac was dead - Friday, Sept. 13, 1996, 4:03 of Thug Life. All that promise, all that potential. Gone. Shakur was many things, but most of all he was a victim of his own words. He was unable to escape the lifestyle he both idealized and demonized without apparent contradiction. Perhaps the Rev. Jesse Jackson summed up Tupac's life best when he said, "Sometimes the lure of violent culture is so magnetic that even when one overcomes it with material success, it continues to call. (Tupac) couldn't break the cycle." Shakur was cer- rtainly a very intro- verted individual. aWMAM He didn't say Tupac Shakur's turbulent life and rap music career ended suddenly two weeks ago. p.m. The doctors said it was respiratory fail- ure and a heart attack. His mother, a for- mer Black Panther, was at his bedside. He was 25 years old. The shot1 -'rnlF 59 g Then another And another. much about him- self to too many people. And it would be unfair to take his tattooed, nose-ringed body Thus ended the saga with more twists and turns, ups and downs than "Forrest Gump." Tupac's life was an epic spanning his time as a dancer / rapper with Digital Underground, four highly successful solo albums, three movies, more than half a dozen arrests in three years, a sexual assault conviction, marriage and finally his gruesome death, a morbidly fitting end to complement his 25 years I and hardcore demeanor and assume that to be the complete Shakur. It is only through his music that one can begin to see a more complete picture of this mind-boggling man. Tupac Shakur was delivered by God into the bowels of American society. He lived in a world most of America wishes it could forget. There, the smallest tear, the slightest sign of compassion, affec- tion or the tiniest hint of fear would cost him his manhood, the respect of others and quite possibly, his life. Thus, like many born into America's underclass, Shakur had to create an identity, a lie of coldness and unfeeling. And when a man lives a lie, eventual- ly he, too, comes to believe it. In his own eyes, Tupac was the "I Get Around" man, mackin', gattin' and winning in the game of ghetto life. While he had his moments of sensitivi- ty on songs he rapped like "Brenda's Got a Baby" and "Keep Your Head Up," nothing could compare to the hardcore persona he worked to keep - no small feat considering his fairly scrawny six- foot, 160-pound frame. Last year's sexual assault conviction and a sentencing to four and one-half years seems to have been the dose of reality which finally snapped Tupac's delusions of invincibility. In one fell swoop, Shakur was given his first taste of mere mortality. And as the day drew near when Tupac would be locked up among bigger, badder and even more hardened men, his well-conceived lies that were developed in those housing projects ever-so-many years ago, began to unravel. Yet Tupac could not cry; by that point in his life he must have for- gotten how. But he still had his music, and from him was born "Me Against the World." Hearing this LP, the world could sense Tupac's self-stripping. His songs expressed every emotion which, for his entire life, he'd been forced to pretend he, never had. "Me Against the World" was a manifesta- tion of Tupac's fears ("Death around the Corner"), anger ("Fuck the World"), hopelessness ("Heavy in the Game," "It Ain't Easy"), love and affection ("Dear Mama," "Can U Get Away") and yes, even a longing for a better life ("Temptations"). "Me Against the World" was the truth. It was the exposure of all that Shakur had fought to keep concealed due to his misguided notion of what it means to be a black man. And while I feel it relieved him a great deal to speak out honestly about his hidden self, I also feel that he was very embarrassed and uncomfortable with this truth. Tupac's entire life up to that point had been a constructed illusion, and in that illusory life, he could never be hurt, never be sad, never be afraid. The real world can be a cold and lonely place, and Tupac wasn't ready to face that. So when he was released from prison pending appeal, he quickly jumped back under the blankets of pro- tective lies which he had cast aside on "Me Against the World," and from those quarters came "All Eyez on Me," a two- CD self-glorification meant to put him back on the pedestal of demi-god-ness he'd lied himself into thinking he belonged on. Nothing could yank him down ... - ... Save 13 bullets. They pulled him down through the sunroof and out of the clouds. They brought him crashing headfirst into real life, and no amount of Thug Life could raise him back up. No one can say Tupac wasn't given a chance. He was given much more than just 15 minutes of fame, and he chose to use the popularity and power to bol- ster the illusions. It wasn't the bullets which killed Tupac Shakur. The lies tore him apart long ago. I can only hope that, wherever he may be now, Tupac will be able to review the con- tents of what was his empty life. And at one point, when the angels and demons have their backs turned and no one but God can see, I pray Tupac will be able to summon the energy and the courage to allow a single tear to drop from his eye. I'm havin' visions of leavin'here in a hearse, God can Yafeel me? Take me awayfrom all tha pressure and all tha pain. Show me some happiness again; I'm goin'blind. I spend mv time in this cell, ain't livin ' well. I know my destiny is Hell, where did I fail? My life is in denial, and when I die, baptised in Eternal Fire. Shed so many tears. -Tupac Shakur; "So Many Tears " By Use Harwin Daily Music Editor Bowling. Conjuring up images of really funky shoes, really boring tele- vised championship games and gutter- balls, bowling is the beloved sport of the average Joe. Rarely does anyone's average score impress others and rarely does one manage to get more than three strikes in a row. Fortunately, the sheer fun and community of the game has inspired all generations of people to set forth and head out to the alleys. And, the youth of Ann Arbor is no exception to this rule. Bowling. In technical terms, Conjuring bowling is any of several o games in which balls are rolled funky she on a green ort e i down an alley att an object o fchampion group on: objects. It's the d'1mes game many of us played indE erbal middle or high school phyical i t e sp education class- es when we Avarada 1 FI IS NIP, id is, bowling art of the roe. regular basis. Beta Theta Pi has regular Rock 'n' Bowl nights, a chance to, as one patron put it, "Get loaded and have a good time." that that's not all Rock 'n' Bowl is about. "In general, it's just a fun thing to do on a Thursday night," Gordon said. In fact, she likes Rock 'n' Bowl so much that she's never even bothered to check out any other alleys. But, when pressured to talk about the current DJ situation, Gordon did have a few com- ments. "DJ Romeo didn't play our request. He also doesn't encourage dancing as (Reggie) did. There aren't any contests any more, but Romeo does do the 'Birthday Song."' Really, what would bowling be without the " B i r t h d a y Song?" An over- whelming com- r ally ment of all Rock 'n' Bowl atten- dees was that a certain fraternity could be spotted -Es. there on a fairly Chris Mayberry practices bowling at Colonial Lanes in Ann Arbor. Bowling in the Ann Arbor area Most bowling alleys have weekly nights for open bowl -i tion on joining a league. V Bel-Mark Lanes: 3530 Jackson Rd., Ann Arbor; 994-843 ~ Chelsea Lanes: 1180 S. Main St., Chelsea; 475-8141. V Colonial Lanes Bowling Center (Rock 'n' Bowl on Thursc Ann Arbor; 665-4474. ~ Dexter Bowling Alley: 2830 Baker Rd., Dexter; 426-470 ~ Maplewood Lanes: 830 Woodland Dr., Saline; 429-5457 ~ Ypsi-Arbor Lanes: 2985 Washtenaw Rd., Ypsilanti; 434- thought ArlwsQp r it we presents I IT were getting away with something because it was just too easy. It's strikes and spares that have nothing to do with irate workers or flat tires. It's drinking with buddies and cheezy bowling alley music. For locals, it's Colonial Lanes Rock 'n' Bowl every Thursday night. W hy Rock 'n' Bowl? Why not Ypsi- Arbor Lanes, Detroit's Majestic or any number of others bowling venues? For University students, it all comes down to atmosphere. As said before, bowl- ing just isn't bowling without bad music, alcohol and friends, and, lucky for them, Rock 'n' Bowl manages to have all of these qualities in abun- dance. The only downfall of Rock 'n' Bowl, according to University stu- dent Dave LaMond (top score 183), is that the powers that be let DJ Reggie go. "DJ Reggie from last year was excellent. Now it's some other fool. It used to be good, cheezy R&B ... now it's everything from AC/DC to '80s hits." But is this really enough to be upset about? To LaMond, it is. "DJ Reggie used to have a contest called 'Turkey Fest.' The first lane that got three strikes would win all sorts of prizes ranging from free CDs to T-shirts. Now it's not the same. There aren't any contests!" Other students seem to feel that change is good. Cynthia Gordon, anoth- er Rock 'n' Bowl regular (her room- mate scored a 180), feels that the new DJ, Romeo, still plays bad music, but Though he does wish they would play more bands, Newhauser said that when he manages to go to Rock 'n' Bowl, he's usually "too drunk to know." As with any other Rock 'n' Bowl reg- ular, Newhauser, along with Gordon and LaMond, felt that Rock 'n' Bowl was an experience not to be missed by any student and that, as LaMond put it, anyone who comes once will "be back!" For those of you not interested in bowling to the oldies, Ann Arbor offers several other options for your bowling pleasure. There are Bel-Mark Lanes, Ypsi-Arbor, Dexter and others. And, for those of you with an affinity for Detroit, there is always the Majestic / Magic Stick, which manages to com- bine live rock 'n' roll, pool tables, bars, a nice restaurant and several bowling lanes in one tremendous building. Overkill for some, but for others, the perfect way to spend an evening with friends. All in all, several Ann Arborites have found bowling to be the most enjoyable way to relax after a full day of classes. The most important things to keep in mind are that to bowl, one never has to be good -just willing to deal with a gutterball or two. Just remember, a bowling alley draws a diverse and interesting crowd, so be prepared to people-watch. Young, old, Greek or not, keep in mind that everyone wears funny shoes in a bowling alley and everyone is guaranteed to have a good time. FI k wmwmmmm just $2.00 a class, pay at the door EVERY WEEKEND Now until December 6! First come-First serve Saturdays 10-11ameSundays 3-4pm All classes in room 3275 CCRB t' /1 --\' '.-- Heath F s *Sports*Nutrition* * Herbs* Foods. *Vita mins.Books.Cosmetics* At Foiimd 10% Discount for Students Qead "e6tate of the Arts" every week in the Weekend, Ltc. Magazine. 1677 Plymouth Rd.* Ann Arbor eTel. 665-7688 Located in the Courtyard Shops at North Campus Plaza I .ua a. r i rmrir i on .n...