‘How Long Will They Mourn Me?’: Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., and the Hauntology of Hip-Hop

Abstract

This essay asserts that a specter is haunting Hip-Hop. The history of the genre contains frequent ghostly references to the tragic deaths of numerous artists. More than 25 years after their untimely, and forever linked, deaths, Tupac Shakur and The Notorious B.I.G. (Christopher Wallace) are the two most prominent of these ghosts. Their spirits continue to release tracks, appear in movies, and perform ‘live’ as holograms with living artists. In the spirit of this special issue, the author argues the ongoing presence and obsession with the lyrical narratives of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G. are characteristic of a hauntology. To illustrate how they function rhetorically as ghosts, the author draws upon lyrics from each artist involving their much-publicized feud as well as their own obsessions with death. This essay concludes with a discussion of the ongoing cultural, historical, and rhetorical work these narratives perform, and how they remain present in ongoing struggles for racial reckoning in the United States.

Keywords:

• Hauntology
• Hip-Hop
• race
• rhetoric

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Notes

1 Derrida, Specters of Marx (1994), p. 172.

2 Nipsey Hussle, “Dedication” (Ashgedom, 2018).

3 Notorious B.I.G., “Juicy” (Wallace, 1994b).

4 For more on the socioeconomic roots and struggles of Hip-Hop’s beginnings, see Rose (1994), Black Noise: Rap Music and Black Culture in Contemporary America.

5 For a detailed historical account of the development of sampling, see Chang (2005), Can’t Stop, Won’t Stop: A History of the Hip-Hop generation.

6 Tupac Shakur, “All Eyez On Me” (Shakur, 1996a).

7 Tupac Shakur, “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted” (Shakur et al., 1996).

8 Notorious B.I.G., “Who Shot Ya?” (Wallace, 1994d).

9 “Who Shot Ya?” (Wallace, 1994d).

10 Tupac Shakur, “Hit Em Up” (Shakur, 1996b). This verse makes frequent references to other artists affiliated with Notorious B.I.G. on the Bad Boy label.

11 Notorious B.I.G., “Ready To Die” (Wallace, 1994c).

12 Notorious B.I.G., “Everyday Struggle” (Wallace, 1994a).

13 Notorious B.I.G. “You’re Nobody (Til Somebody Kills You)” (Wallace, 1997).

14 Tupac Shakur, “Still Ballin” (Shakur et al., 2002).

15 Tupac Shakur, Notorious B.I.G., “Runnin’ (Dying To Live)” (Shakur et al., 2003).

16 Tupac Shakur, “Picture Me Rollin’” (Shakur, 1996c).

17 Jay-Z and Notorious B.I.G. “Brooklyn’s Finest” (Carter et al., 1996).

18 Jay-Z, “Hola Hovito” (Carter & Mosley, 2001), from the album The Blueprint. The album contains an additional haunting quality due to its release date of September 11, 2001, a reference that frequently finds its way into Jay-Z’s lyrics.

19 Jay-Z, “Dirt Off Your Shoulder” (Carter & Mosley, 2003).

20 Nipsey Hussle, “Dedication” (Ashgedom, 2018).

21 Hussle refers to the Tupac songs “The Rose That Grew From Concrete,” “Young Black Male,” and “Trapped,” respectively.

22 Nipsey Hussle (feat. Jay-Z), “What It Feels Like” (Ashgedom et al., 2021).

23 Tupac Shakur, “How Long Will They Mourn Me,” (Shakur et al., 1994).

24 Tupac Shakur, “I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto” (Shakur, 1997).

25 “Dedication” (Ashgedom, 2018).