Coachella 2012: Tupac 'responds' to his reincarnation

Late Sunday night, as the first of two identical weekends of the Coachella Music and Arts Festival drew to a close, the anticipation was building about who would rise from, well, the dead and appear in hologram form during Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg’s closing set.

Though rumors circulated that the late G-Funk singer Nate Dogg would be the one getting the technologically advanced treatment, the crowd was treated instead to a more traditional photo slideshow of the singer, a good move considering that his untimely death a little over a year ago still feels fresh.

In a surprise twist, iconic West Coast rapper Tupac Shakur rose onto the mainstage for a cameo. Yes, it was incredibly eerie and a little bit scary to see the rapper, who was murdered more than 15 years ago, walking and talking -- he even greeted the crowd with a strikingly pitch-perfect speaking voice.

COACHELLA 2012 | Full coverage

Not even the biggest of Tupac conspiracy theorists could have braced for the moment, and immediately Twitter buzzed over the appearance, where he is still trending on Monday morning. 

Beatles versus the Stones: Who’s better?

Beatles versus the Stones: Who's better? What about MJ versus Prince? These and other pop music debates are settled.

Friday night at the Brixton South Bay in Redondo Beach, a score was settled. It’s a question that historians have wrestled with, that drunken pub-goers have come to blows over, that has broken up thousands of otherwise happy couples over the last four decades: Which is the better band, the Beatles or the Rolling Stones? Although the answer to this musical litmus test is obvious to anyone with half a brain (see below for details), two tribute acts, Abbey Road and Jumpin’ Jack Flash, sought to definitively answer this question in a contest of dueling sets made up of formative era-songs of the mid-1960s through their later work. (Considering the stakes, it was surprising that CNN and BBC satellite trucks weren’t stationed outside.)

During the duel on Friday, the four-piece Abbey Road came out as the dark-suited, mop-topped young Beatles and dropped quality renditions of “She Loves You,” “A Hard Day’s Night,” and “Can’t Buy Me Love,” while Jumpin’ Jack Flash delivered the way raunchier — and darker and smarter, catchier and well, better — “Mother’s Little Helper,” “Paint It Black,” and “(I Can’t Get No) Satisfaction.” The next night, No Doubt cover band No Duh was on a bill with the Red Not Chili Peppers and 40 Oz. to Freedom, a Sublime tribute act. Below, a few other yin-and-yang couplings that might work well in the future — the preferences of which may or may not serve as a reliable barometer of a person’s musical tastes.

• Biggie or Tupac

Imagine for a moment if the Beatles versus Stones rivalry had turned ugly, and Beatles manager Brian Epstein had been implicated in a hit on Brian Jones that saw Andrew Loog Oldham retaliating by taking out John Lennon: That’s one mythic scenario that’s grown around the beef between Christopher “Notorious B.I.G.” Wallace and Tupac Shakur, both of whom were murdered at their respective artistic peaks. Biggie’s flow or Tupac’s urgency?

• Prince or Michael Jackson

Although it may not seem so since the late Michael Jackson was enshrined as the King of Pop, in the 1980s the more obsessive of Prince fans cast dispersions on MJ as being a mere pop star, albeit one with a lineage to die for, a couple classic jams, and one amazing Moonwalk. Meanwhile, Prince remains the visionary funk auteur with a commanding artistic vision. A preference for one over the other is telling.

Remembering Tupac Shakur 15 years later

Fifteen years ago today, prolific rapper Tupac Shakur died at age 25 due to complications after a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.

His slaying, like that of peer Christopher Wallace (a.k.a. Notorious B.I.G.), remains unsolved. Over the last 15 years, theories about who gunned down the two have been debated by everyone from law enforcement and scholars to journalists and fans.

The circumstances of Shakur's death notwithstanding, there isn't much to pen about his life, his many troubles with the law or his indelible sonic contributions to rap that hasn't already been written. A robust posthumous catalog has cemented Shakur's musical legacy and continued to inspire new generations of rappers who hold his "thug life" brand of wayward teaching close to their chests as they hope to glean an ounce of Shakur's swag.

A great number of his fans and theorists hold on to the hope that Shakur has been among us all along  and that he will one day rise again. We here at Pop & Hiss know his music is at least ever present, and while there are plenty of hits to choose from to remember Shakur on this day, here are a few favorites:

FBI releases hundreds of pages on Notorious B.I.G. murder investigation

Asking any fan or rap impresario who killed the Notorious B.I.G. is a question that undoubtedly yields countless guesses.

Since the rapper’s controversial -- and still unsolved -- killing in 1997 after leaving a Los Angeles music party, conspiracy theories have swirled about his death, fueled among other things by the fact that his death closely mirrored that of one time friend and believed rival Tupac Shakur months earlier.

The FBI has released hundreds of pages of files from its investigation into the murder of the Notorious B.I.G., a.k.a. Biggie Smalls. The records come from a civil rights probe the bureau launched into the killing.

The 359-page document, which you can read here, is heavily redacted, which should reopen the dialogue for the countless conspiracy theorists who have long held that the Brooklyn-bred rapper’s death was covered up.

The family of the rapper, born Christopher Wallace, filed a wrongful-death suit against the city of Los Angeles in 2002,  accusing officials of covering up police involvement; the family had alleged that corrupt LAPD officers were involved in Wallace's slaying, a claim the city has denied. A federal judge dismissed the suit last year.

Read more at L.A. Now.

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Read the FBI documents on Biggie Smalls

-- Gerrick D. Kennedy

twitter.com/gerrickkennedy

Photo: The 1997 shooting death of Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, shown receiving an award in 1995, remains unsolved. Credit: Mark Lennihan /Associated Press

Austin Peralta teams with Flying Lotus' Brainfeeder imprint, gigs at Echo Park Jazz night [Video]

While it was once the epicenter of West Coast cool jazz, Los Angeles' modal scene rarely gets mentioned by anyone other than genre purists. But over the last few years Flying Lotus has labored tirelessly to correct the imbalance, incorporating jazz fusion flourishes into his ever-expanding repertoire and releasing jazz records on his Brainfeeder imprint.

Considering Alice Coltrane was his great-aunt, it's little surprise that the musician born Steve Ellison would gravitate to tripped-out beatific jazz. But it's a mild shock in the context of the genealogy of pianist Austin Peralta, the latest talent to come barrelling out of Brainfeeder's L.A. headquarters. The son of skateboard king and director Stacy Peralta, the younger Peralta, 20, has been releasing albums since he was 14, with CBS/Sony's Japanese division enlisting him to record alongside Miles Davis collaborators Buster Williams and Ron Carter.

'Tupac' biopic launches online casting call for lead role

Calling all Tupac Shakur doppelgangers –- with acting chops.

Morgan Creek Productions along with Skee.TV and Karmaloop.TV have teamed together to launch an online casting call to fill the shoes of the slain polarizing rapper in the anticipated (and oft-delayed) biopic “Tupac.”

The casting call begins Friday. Producers are looking for individuals who think they exemplify 2Pac to upload their five-minute video auditions online by April 30. 

Fans are also encouraged to check the website often, as additional announcements will be made. Rare video footage and interviews from Shakur’s life culled from his official site will also be featured.

“We are excited to partner with Morgan Creek on this innovative casting call,” said DJ Skee, a disc jockey for KIIS-FM (102.7) who has a weekly show on Sirius XM satellite radio and is the founder of Skee.TV. “This audition process is a great example," the statement continued, "of utilizing today’s ever-evolving technology to reach fans and actors around the world to pay homage to a hip-hop legend.”

Directed by Antoine Fuqua (“Training Day,” “Tears of the Sun,” “Brooklyn’s Finest”), the film will chronicle Shakur’s prolific rise as a rapper and actor, his controversial legal troubles which included imprisonment, his time at Death Row Records and, of course, his unsolved murder in 1996. 

"We’re looking for someone with the right mix of raw charm and charisma for the role," said producer David Robinson in a statement. "At this point, we’re more concerned about finding someone with the ability to give their entire heart into the performance than just looks and personality.”

Personal Playlist: Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa

When can L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa snag any time to hear music? "I listen primarily when I work out," Villaraigosa says. "Or I'll have music on when people are over."

 The mayor's iPod is stocked with an eclectic mix of classic and contemporary R&B, hip-hop, Latin pop, rock -- and even a touch of country.

Scrolling through his iPod and pulling off favorites, in no particular order, he name-checked 2Pac's "Keep Ya Head Up," Patsy Cline's "Crazy," Luther Vandross' "Dance With My Father," Celia Cruz's "La Llave" and Alicia Keys' "A Woman's Worth."

He also flagged Bill Withers' '70s soul classic "Lean on Me," Billie Holiday's "Strange Fruit" -- "Just a beautiful song," Villaraigosa said -- Cuban dance band Buena Vista Social Club's "Chan Chan," Mexican singer Alejandro Fernandez's "Qué Voy a Hacer con Mi Amor" and Mary J. Blige's "Never Too Much."

"I didn't even list classical," he said. "I listen to a lot of world music; I listen to all kinds of stuff. I had a little downtime last night to do this. Then after I picked these songs, I thought of all the artists who are probably going to be upset that I didn't include them. But it's really just a snapshot of my eclectic musical taste."

 -- Randy Lewis

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Details revealed of Tupac Shakur biopic

Unlike the title of his George Clinton collaboration, you apparently will be able to see Tupac Shakur on the silver screen, with New York Magazine's Vulture blog reporting that screenwriters have been drafted to pen a long-gestating biopic on the legendary rapper.

Indeed, the Oscar-nominated team of Stephen J. Rivele and Chris Wilkinson ("Ali," "Nixon") will team up with Antoine Fuqua ("Training Day"), with production reportedly to begin as soon as mid-November. According to to Wilkinson's interview with Vulture, the script will not be in "any way biopic-y," a stark contrast to a previous draft that took a more verite approach. Wilkinson's interview also reveals that the script will pivot on the final day of 2Pac's life in Las Vegas, with a series of flashbacks depicting his previous four years. As for casting, no one has yet been chosen to play the mercurial MC, with reports claiming that the producers and director are searching for an unknown.

Rivele informed Vulture that "he knew nothing about [Shakur]" before diving into research, but upon immersing himself in just about everything ever written about the rapper, "it became clear that he was essentially a 19th century Romantic poet who found himself in the 21st century ... an artist whose character is at odds with his medium ... a really sensitive, very romantic, talented young poet who also could sing, dance, and act. But the realities [of the hip-hop record business] were that he had to create this persona of the gangster."

2Pac's 'Dear Mama' selected for inclusion in Library of Congress' national recording registry

Though Mother's Day was last month, the Library of Congress waited until this week to include the late Tupac Shakur's "Dear Mama," in its National Recording Registry. Often cited as 2Pac's most emotionally resonant song, the tribute to his mother Afeni Shakur follows Public Enemy and Grandmaster Flash as the only hip-hop songs tapped for inclusion.

"Dear Mama," written shortly before Shakur served a prison term, vividly renders the hardships of addiction and poverty that his mother endured in her efforts to raise him to adulthood. The song attests to Shakur's gift at crystallizing complex emotions in simple stark images: being kicked out of his home at 17, selling crack rock with thugs who offered paternalistic support, hugging his mother from behind bars.