Holler If You Hear Me (Connor's Book Review)

Holler If You Hear Me - Book Review

Connor Courter

Michael Eric Dyson’s “Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur”, explores the life and death of the widely loved rapper, Tupac. Faced with such a difficult childhood and very little parental guidance, Dyson walks you through the challenges Tupac went up against in his unfortunately short life. Starting with his crack addicted mother all the way through his tragic death. Dyson paints a vivid picture of Tupac through interviews with some of Tupac’s acquaintances and also by referencing old tapes of Tupac speaking himself. These interviews show how Tupac had a reputation as one of the most authentic artists around in his day and how deeply respected he was by many people. While Tupac’s life could certainly be portrayed as a ‘thug life’, as opposed to speaking out against it, Dyson shows how Tupac redefined it. Dyson explains how thug life isn’t all about guns, breaking laws and fighting, he uses Tupac’s interviews to explain thug life is about respect and loyalty, regardless of how you apply those in your life. Even as a highschool dropout, Tupac was certainly not against learning, he merely swapped school smarts for street smarts and took his love for reading and writing with him to the streets. Obviously Tupac quickly put those writing and reading skills to use by becoming a world renowned rapper and musician. This book dives deep into the legendary rappers reputation and morals and really exposes many things about Tupac that might be swept under the rug. Even people who consider themselves avid Tupac fans could read this book and learn more about the artist that they might not know and thrill them with more information about one of their favorites. Those who know very little about the artist will be enlightened by the ghetto sainthood of Tupac and be blasted with interesting information about a very interesting individual. A good read that helps you understand the life and thought process of a rap icon.