In this week’s installment of #IntoTheVaults we take a look at the classic track Do For Love (1998) by one Lesane Parish Crooks aka Tupac Amaru Shakir aka 2Pac who died in 1996.
We could feature many tracks from the rapper whose untimely death at the hands of a still at large assailant/s has seen his ‘legend’ status rise exponentially with classics like Changes (1998). This cut (recorded in 1992) featured a tight hook and chorus-it did in many respects see Pac step away from his gangsta image for a brief moment. In the track Pac expounds socio-political bars exploring issues prevalent to a marginalised black American community-this was of course at the height of a narrative many of Pac’s peers also covered-injustice by a malevolent American government.
So while the love for said prior track is strong, we lavish superlatives on a track which sees Pac display another side of his character with Do For Love which heavily samples* Bobby Caldwell’s** What You Won’t Do For Love (1978). The track produced by 90’s super producers Soulshock and Karlin (think Brandy, Luther Vandross) sees Pac explore his own relationship/s detailing that whole to and fro in any relationship where issues of; jealously, baby mamma dramas, the natural ebb and flow of love come to the fore. For sure in a self-admission he states he is a ‘sucka for love’. While the content certainly borders on the serious, ultimately that signature 90’s rnb sound and Pac’s melodious flow turns this track into a classic summer jam requiring heavy amounts of lip-syncing.
*Make sure you catch a brilliant feature by #itchysilk writer @LHenrixx discussing great samples.
**Tupac actually sampled Caldwell three times in his career. Indeed Caldwell has been heavily sampled by many 90’s artists like-Biggie and Da Brat.