Seven years after Tupac’s death, the movie Tupac: Resurrection was released.

I knew Tupac’s music, but I had never heard of Tupac: Resurrection so figured it was worth a watch.  It was more than worth a watch, it’s an incredibly delivered ode to a flawed but great artist.

Tupac: Resurrection is presented in the most incredible way, it is narrated by Tupac himself.

The filmmakers achieved this by collecting things he has said and creating a surprisingly coherent narration over the movie. If it was made today I would assume that it was some AI trick, but it is pretty incredible what was achieved 20 years ago in this movie. This really does mean Tupac is telling his own story here which is pretty special.

The movie itself is slices of his life from his childhood to his death.

One thing that surprised me, having only listened to his music and not his interviews before, was how softly and well spoken he was. Tupac wasn’t a kid born to the streets, he went to a decent school, and got a great education, in no small part due to his mother doing everything she could for him. This makes video footage of him at high school a really fascinating contrast to what I pictured listening to the music.

Throughout the movie we get to see Tupac make great and bad decisions.

Listening to him reflecting on some of the mist steps adds a layer of depth to each of these moments. You see the influences that helped and hindered Tupac. The film is loaded with old school footage, from interviews on TV to behind the scenes stuff. All of this really paints an interesting picture of a deeply intricate man.  It still throws me off how soft spoken and eloquent he can be when he wasn’t playing up his persona.

The DVD is loaded with some special features including an early video of him giving a speech, music videos, and a fascinating deposition where he was being sued because of an incident after someone allegedly listened to his music.

The last one was really interesting because hearing Tupac explaining his music reminds me of when metal bands had to explain their music in the same era as people were looking for anything to blame for gun violence.

Oh how times have changed.  Every time you get an unfiltered look at Tupac, I found him more fascinating.

Tupac: Resurrection is a pretty incredible film.

It’s really built around Tupac telling his own story so isn’t overly critical, but it is a really interesting look at a truly fascinating man. Even if you aren’t a fan of his music I still highly recommend watching it and this DVD with the extras is a great way to enjoy it.

The post Tupac: Resurrection (DVD) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

It’s been eight years since American rapper Tupac Shakur, appeared on stage at Coachella. And at that time, it wasn’t even the holograms that we are accustomed to today. In fact, in a brief celebrity feature on Wired, writer Jimi Famurewa called it a “low-tech piece of razzmatazz” akin to ghosts you see in Disney World’s Haunted Mansion ride.

Still, the re-appearance of Tupac inspired a number of companies to have their own hologram artists “tour” the world. In the years that followed Coachella 2012, the music industry has experimented a lot with holographic tech and 3D modeling to enable the re-appearance of these otherwise deceased artists.

This is another case of technology expanding our everyday lives. And along with this, Special Counsel’s overview of eDiscovery laws highlights how the legal world has had to adapt to new laws and guidelines to protect individuals. After all, with all this digital content at our fingertips—from social media and texts, to photographs and holograms—there has to be a way to protect its creators. Therefore, it comes as no surprise that these concerts are running into some legal issues.

(Image Credit: MusicTech)

Right of Publicity

The right of publicity simply talks about the right to use someone else’s image to sell something. Although companies parade their tours as a “tribute” to the deceased, it doesn’t change the fact that they profit from it. Some states like New York have specific laws that prohibit granting the right of publicity to the dead. As such, these hologram concerts may not be held in these particular locations.

Trademarks

Not to be confused for right of publicity, trademarks require permission to avoid wrong endorsements or out-of-character sponsorships. One example of this is using a deceased artist’s hologram to support a particular opinion, or even perform mannerisms that they weren’t known to do while alive. Of course, because the artists are deceased, there’s no way to tell if they would have actually reacted that way. As such, it’s important to run it through their family members or estate.

Copyright

Believe it or not, possibly the least controversial out of the three is the right of copyright. Traditionally, an artist signs a contract that allows a record company to use their songs. However, how do you go about this when they’ve been deceased for over seven years? Simple, you ask for permission from a family member. Afeni Shakur permitted the use of Tupac’s image for the concert, and the ones responsible, Snoop Dogg and company, even donated money to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation as a thank you.

Then again, this business where rights to deceased artists are being sold left and right, have done little to respect the privacy of these individuals — and no law can protect them from that.

Whitney Houston Hologram Tour

More Than a Tribute

Like it or not, hologram concerts are more than tributes to the dead — they’re working business models. Base Hologram, the largest production company for holographic performances, has helped the top 100 concert tours alone grow to more than $65 billion globally, according to concert numbers on Pollstar. Lately, holograms have also been used as replacements for instances where the artist is unable to make an appearance.

With technologies like 5G, which has been recently introduced to New Zealand, and with digital imaging coming into play, along with no laws to stop them, it’s safe to say that we’ll be seeing more of these hologram concerts in the near future. In fact, you’ll get to witness Whitney Houston, who died of heart disease in 2012, “live” in her upcoming concert in March 2020. The event, called “An Evening with Whitney,” will feature a stunning mix of holograms and mixed media performances to honor the artist during her prime.

The post Hologram Tours & the Privacy of Old Stars appeared first on Shane the Gamer.

Rapper, actor and revolunist, there’s no denying that Tupac Shakur defined hip hop music during the mid to late 1990’s.

Roadshow Films’ biopic film All Eyez On Me goes much more deeper than the gangster rap that he is known for and we get a window in to the tumultuous life that he lived.

From growing up with activist parents and his father being on the FBI’s Most Wanted list, his small family was terrorised from a young age by the law.

An eventual move to Compton in L.A. saw both heartache and successes for the young artist.

Leaving behind his closest friend Jada Pinkette TuPac (aka 2Pac) finds his footing in local theater, schooling in classical acting covering Shakespearean plays.

All the while America as a whole began to change as race relations between Police and African-Americans intensified, something his parents had been fighting against in the 60’s and 70’s.

After a few brushes with the law himself Tupac begins putting pen to paper and writing lyrics.

After some mild success Tupac is incarcerated on a questionable rape charge.

In steps the infamous and domineering Suge Knight, co-founder of Death Row Records. Giving Tupac a means for his creativity, his music and paying his $1 Million bail, teamed up with Producer, Dr. Dre, we get to the album release of All Eyez On Me.

From birth to his untimely death in 1996, the film All Eyez On Me is a no holds barred drama on his enigmatic character and how he was a part of a highly controversial music revolution.

Having a cross over with 2009’s Notorious B.I.G. film and 2015’s Straight Outta Compton (about N.W.A.) we see familiar faces from both films.

All Eyez On Me is a MUST watch for any Tupac fan, but it’s more than that. It’s a depiction of life struggles in the U.S., the heated race relations, which are still present today and how one man, no matter what came up against him rose above it all putting his frustration in to rap music.

The post All Eyez On Me (Voltage| Open Road- 2017) Review appeared first on Shane the Gamer.