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Again, I was unfamiliar with Nipsey until he was murdered. I believe I understand what you are saying @Kareem. I often push back on embracing someone as a "hero" that some record executive created -- I don't recognize Jay-Z or Kanye for the these reasons. Sure, they get to the white house and are celebrated as thought leaders, sages knowledge about the Black community. Meanwhile true Black intellectuals are marginalized. At the end of the day these guys are entertainers and we can even argue about how good they are at that. I'd take anything Curtis Mayfield created over anything Jay-Z has created. I'm sure any of the retired musicians working with your students are at least as talented and certainly more entertaining than Tupac was. Could Tupac read music and play an instrument? Again, if writing rhymes and reciting them to music someone else wrote is the extent of Tupac's talent that is really not all that impressive in the context of the musical talent or rappers I'm aware of...