Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur - Review

Black Issues Book Review, Sept, 2001 by Tracy Grant

Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur by Michael Eric Dyson Basic Books/HarperCollins, September 2001, $24.00 ISBN 0-465-01755-X

Holler If You Hear Me is an extremely important book for many reasons. It will be published on the fifth anniversary of Tupac Shakur's death. The book marks a year in which Tupac would have only been 30 years old. The book also comes at a time when hip-hop culture and rap music is at the start of a meaningful periodic self-examination. Finally, Holler If You Hear Me may help readers understand why Tupac's death was not only tragic, but also possibly one of the greatest losses in black music since Sam Cooke.

The author does a superb job of putting Tupac's life, his art and his still-growing legend in the context of American social and political sentiments of our time. The book provides detailed studies of Tupac's childhood, his entrance into (and subsequent transformation of) rap music, Tupac's conflicted views about women and religion and, finally, the artist's view of his own body as an outlet for expression. Holler If You Hear Me is also an effective venue for Dyson to address the greatness and the social flaws in certain rap music including misogyny and homophobia both of which Tupac personified at some point.

Dyson's gift is his ability to provide a critical look at Tupac while simultaneously making him accessible to all readers. He shares a variety of scenes: his unsuccessful attempts to interview Snoop Dogg for the book, his visits with Leigh Steinberg, Tupac's early manager and mentor who is also credited with launching Tupac's career, and his discussions with rappers, actors and writers of Tupac's generation.

Dyson's coverage of Tupac's life is particularly touching when he draws from interviews with Tupac as a high school student. Before becoming a superstar, Tupac shared passionate and solid arguments about American education, philosophy, the impact of race and class on all American people as well as the impact of his mother's life--as a Black Panther and later as a drug user--on his own life. Also noteworthy is Dyson's discovery of Tupac's appetite for reading and his enormous book collection, which includes everything from Nietzsche to Steinbeck to Derrick Bell to Homer.

Dyson's cause, however, is not served by including cultural critics and writers (Stanley Crouch, Khephra Burns, and Bishop TD Jakes) whose viewpoints with respect to Tupac are uninformed. For example, Jakes's implication that Tupac was a rapper possessed of "more talent than statement" is absurd. There are plenty of rappers who fit in this category, but Tupac was never one of them, not even at the lowest stages of his career. When applied to Tupac, these kinds of observations are weak at best and they take away from the brilliant scholarship found in the rest of the book.

Dyson's use of Tupac's music to frame his life is also disappointing. A cross-section of Tupac's body of work is not used. While this is no easy task, Dyson refers to the songs "Dear Mama" and "I Get Around', but more inclusion of earlier work ("Souljah's Story" or "Part Time Mutha") would have provided an even more balanced look at Tupac the artist.

Unlike many of his colleagues, Dyson makes a concerted effort to interact with Tupac's artistic peers, to listen to them, and to understand the hip-hop culture in which they exist. He is thus the most qualified scholar to pen such a work and he has outdone himself. Holier If You Hear Me is a must-read, not only for Tupac's many followers, but for anyone seeking to understand the impact of the black experience on American culture.

Tracy Grant is a freelance writer and the author of Hellified and the upcoming Chocolate Thai.