Tupac Had Too Much Empathy To Be A Crack Dealer, Ray Luv Says

BYGabriel Bras Nevares1475 Views
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The rapper detailed his experiences trying to drug deal with Pac, but ultimately "sucking" at it.

Rapper Ray Luv recently reflected on his early friendship with Tupac Shakur on the "Dear Mama" docuseries from FX and Hulu. Moreover, Luv spoke to their dire economic straits and having to turn to the streets and sell drugs to make a buck. However, on the very first episode of the show, Ray said that he and Pac were not successful at all in that enterprise. Unsurprisingly, he spoke of how the California legend's character and perspective wasn't very conducive to the often cold and exploitative drug business. Still, they tried to make some money for themselves, but fortunately found other paths to success.

"We sucked at selling crack,” Ray Luv revealed on the deep dive into Tupac Shakur's personal life. “We were the worst crack dealers in the history of crack dealers. He sold crack for like five days. I think I sold crack for seven, mostly because I couldn’t sell my crack which is weird. We knew very quickly that that was not going to be our way out. Because capitalism requires that your empathy level is relatively low. And his empathy level was a little higher than most people. He didn’t believe in hurting or killing Black people. So if a person is smoking crack with their daughter or their son, he’s not gonna recover from that."

Tupac "Sucked At Selling Crack," Ray Luv Reveals

MILWAUKEE - SEPTEMBER 1994: Rapper Tupac Shakur performs at the Mecca Arena in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in September 1994. (Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images)

Of course, Tupac's character and righteous mindset and mentality is as integral to his legacy as his music in many's eyes. So much so, in fact, that when a Trump crony compared the former president to the late rapper, Shakur's sister had to set the record straight. "My brother was measured by his integrity, his principles and personal and collective responsibility," she expressed. In addition, she called such claims "blasphemous" and said that Tupac actually accepted accountability for his wrongdoing, which Trump has never done.

Regardless of undue comparisons, "Dear Mama" provides previously unreleased footage detailing the "All Eyez On Me" MC's relationship with his mother. In addition, it covers more personal aspects of his life. "For Tupac superfans, I believe that two of the most important things in the project is the never seen before [footage],” director Allen Hughes remarked. “But most importantly, you get to understand why he made certain decisions." Check out a trailer for it here, find the released series on FX or Hulu, and return to HNHH for the latest on Tupac Shakur.

About The Author
Gabriel Bras Nevares is a staff writer for HotNewHipHop. He joined HNHH while completing his B.A. in Journalism & Mass Communication at The George Washington University in the summer of 2022. Born and raised in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Gabriel treasures the crossover between his native reggaetón and hip-hop news coverage, such as his review for Bad Bunny’s hometown concert in 2024. But more specifically, he digs for the deeper side of hip-hop conversations, whether that’s the “death” of the genre in 2023, the lyrical and parasocial intricacies of the Kendrick Lamar and Drake battle, or the many moving parts of the Young Thug and YSL RICO case. Beyond engaging and breaking news coverage, Gabriel makes the most out of his concert obsessions, reviewing and recapping festivals like Rolling Loud Miami and Camp Flog Gnaw. He’s also developed a strong editorial voice through album reviews, think-pieces, and interviews with some of the genre’s brightest upstarts and most enduring obscured gems like Homeboy Sandman, Bktherula, Bas, and Devin Malik.
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