Is Lil Wayne trying to be the next 2Pac?

Many people I know either love or hate 2Pac. He is a very polarizing figure because of his opinions and personality, so of course people will take sides on the topics of controversy he brought up. Many see 2Pac as a great person, speaking for the underprivledged who had no voice of their own. Others see Pac as a bad guy who glorified thug life and violence for the black community. Some people also point out the fact that he was a studio gangster, and a backup dancer to the Digital Underground before he became Mr. Thug Life at Death Row Records.

However, 2Pac became VERY controversial after his first shooting and after his affiliation grew with Death Row. Prior to this, he never claimed any gang sets or anything, but he was starting to affiliate himself with Suge Knight and bloods. This put his life in danger and when he started living like a real G, he got killed for it.

Lil Wayne is starting to do the same thing; he is affiliating himself with bloods and is living more dangerously than before. The difference is with Wayne, his music doesn't touch people the same way 2Pac's did. 2Pac always had a message for you, like each verse was written like a poem, where Wayne's songs can sometimes have a message, but are held together by his one liners, punchlines, and quotables.

Wayne continues his 2Pac emulation by doing an insane amount of music. Before 2Pac's death, he was in the studio nonstop to make material and get out of his contract with Death Row so he could go indie. Lil Wayne makes a huge amount of material to make himself hot on mixtapes, something that wasn't as prevalent in 2Pac's time.

Many people these days make comparisons to Wayne and his addictions to drugs, saying that he may die soon if he continues on this self destructive path. Tupac Shakur was killed involuntarily, where Wayne might be killing himself slowly. However, the way people may twist it, they may make Wayne out to be a martyr the same way 2Pac was.

Obviously Lil Wayne wasn't as outspoken and controversial as 2Pac about the ghetto and civil rights, but in terms of music, Lil Wayne is the hottest right now. Hopefully Lil Wayne will turn his drug problem around and be able to live a long productive life. It's not worth putting your own life in danger to emulate a legend who is dead and can't even enjoy the status they achieved.