Tupac’s attempt to switch up the Death Row dress code from khakis to designer failed, according to Kurupt. The Long Beach rapper recently appeared on The Art Of Dialogue where he detailed ‘Pac’s militant mentality when he joined the Death Row Records roster. “Tupac is strength,” Kurupt said as he described the late rapper’s “strong-minded” mob boss outlook. He explained that the “All Eyez On Me” rapper’s alignment with the Suge Knight-led label wasn’t solely for his own benefit but his attempt to shift the label’s culture at large. “He wanted to change the image of Death Row, he wanted to add to everybody else’s table,” Kurupt recalled.
Though Tupac’s work ethic undoubtedly influenced the prolificacy of the Death Row roster, Kurupt explained that his influence was much deeper than that. “He wanted to change our apparel and how we looked, which, you know, that didn’t work,” Kurupt explained. “Because that’s you, ‘Pac, that’s y’all shit over here. We in khakis, cuz, you know what I’m saying? ‘Pac loved it, he respected it,” Kurupt added, though not everyone was on board (with the exception of Snoop Dogg) with the stylistic shift Tupac strived towards.
Tupac Dress Code Met With Resistance, Kurupt Says
Though Death Row became synonymous with West Coast culture, it specifically embodied the gangbanging aspect that’s specific to cities like Los Angeles. Kurupt and other signees from the label, including Snoop Dogg, continued to wear Chuck Taylor’s and Khakis. However, Tupac began to ascend in the world of haute couture, developing a strong relationship with designer brands like Versace.
“It’s a fly-ass dress code, cuz,” Kurupt recalled of Tupac’s attempt to switch out the khakis for high-end brands. “I could understand it if he was like, ‘N***a, put on the army fatigues.’ This n***a talking about, ‘Put on some Versace, n***a! Get fly!’ … That shit didn’t work with us, cuz. We agreed with everything besides the gear. That’s not our shit.” Though Death Row didn’t get down with all of Tupac’s ideas, Kurupt evidently understands just how big his vision was prior to his untimely passing. Check out Kurupt’s comments about Tupac above and let us know your thoughts in the comments.