Wow, can't believe I wasted as much time as I did reading this thread - so much so I now feel inclined to post.....
2Pac was very complex and indeed many of his lyrics deserve interpretation in indepth evaluation, but Ambitionz az a Ridah is not one of them. You have to put things into context. This is the first song 2Pac released coming out of prison. He came out of prison after being setup, shot, and caught up in real gang shit. He joined forced with Suge, and was ready to go to war for real -> 'Let's get ready to Rumble', 'Now it's on and it's on because I said so' etc. etc. The song is about this situation nothing more and nothing less. Put on this song and pretend your Puffy, Biggie, Nigel, Trevor or even Lil' Cease and I think the message is pretty clear. That said, 2Pac knew the power of his words - if your looking for evidence I would quote the cliche "the pen is mightier than the sword" and quote 2pac on "Violent" where he says "my words are weapons and I'm stepping to the silence." Look at HitEmUp, listen to interviews, etc., 2Pac attacked Bad Boy publicly and was as he said "I fucked his wife. I’m fucking him in the game. I’m destroying him." He used his 'pen' as a weapon surely but that's not what Ambitionz az a Ridah is about - at all - except for the line 'my murderous lyrics.'
That said, I don't think anybody should be discouraged from analyzing 2Pac's music.
Gettin high, wonder why we gotta die smokin' my alibi
i'm just a weak victim of my environment and I'm marked for death
Fuck em all they bitches, inside a world a weak, bitch niggaz be afraid to speak
END THREAD.
