Tupac wanted to start his own label and put more of his peers forward – and that’s where I am now. I’d always ask myself: “How would Tupac feel?” That resonated with me on a micro level when I started out making music in Australia, trying to bring my culture and music to the forefront.
It wasn’t just the song I fell in love with I was immensely inspired by who Tupac was – the good, the bad and the ugly – and how he was able to navigate being a black rap superstar in the United States, in a country that was really scared of that. And that was another note for myself: regardless of where I’m from, what language I speak or which culture I belong to, the human experience always resonates. I want to go back to the days when we were happier, when there was less pressure and it was lighter on my family.” Because Tupac was expressing human experiences, it made me connect. There’s a line in the song that goes “Things’ll never be the same” and as a kid you just think “Damn, I guess this is life as we know it. When I listened to it in my adolescence, I was starting to really see what adulthood was about and the experiences my parents were having – of having children from a different country being raised in Botswana, not fitting in, and how hard it was on them. He opens with “I see no changes”, this hopelessness, and takes us on a journey. You’re supposed to display bravado and strength. It was unusual for a male hip-hop artist to talk about their doubts and fears. On Changes, I resonated with Tupac’s vulnerability. Lyrically, I connect with artists who talk about what’s happening in their lives.
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