Let’s have a real convo about Big Syke’s impact on Tupac’s sound and West Coast hip-hop as a whole.
For those who might not know, Big Syke (Tyruss Himes) was a rapper and member of Thug Life, the group that Tupac formed in the early '90s. But his journey started earlier with the Evil Mind Gangsters, who dropped All Hell Breaks Loose in 1992.
This album sounds drastically different from the content Tupac was making at the same time (Tupacalypse Now and Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.)—Tupac's early work leaned heavily on political and social commentary, inspired by Chuck D and Public Enemy. Meanwhile, All Hell Breaks Loose had a raw, street-oriented G-Funk sound that feels like the precursor to Thug Life: Volume 1.
So here’s what I want to discuss:
1. Musical Evolution: Can we say that Big Syke’s sound influenced Tupac’s pivot from political rap to the West Coast gangster aesthetic? Thug Life: Volume 1 has tracks (Pour Out a Little Liquor, Bury Me a G) that feel like polished versions of ideas on the Evil Mind Gangsters album.
2. Big Syke's Cadence vs. Tupac’s Delivery: If you break down Syke’s verses, his cadence is very distinct but oddly similar to Tupac’s structure when written on paper. Does anyone else think that Tupac incorporated Syke’s rhythmic style into his flow?
3. AI Hypotheticals: Imagine we used AI to have Tupac’s voice rap Big Syke’s solo material. Wouldn’t those tracks sound exactly like unreleased Tupac songs? Or vice versa—if Big Syke rapped Tupac’s lyrics in his cadence, you could still feel the synergy between their styles.
4. Legacy of Thug Life: Volume 1: Did anyone else, as a kid, assume this was just another Tupac solo album? Looking back now, it’s clearly a collaborative group effort with Big Syke, Macadoshis, and others, but Tupac’s dominance kind of overshadows their contributions.
Let’s give Big Syke his flowers! His role in shaping that mid-'90s West Coast sound is undeniable.
For those who might not know, Big Syke (Tyruss Himes) was a rapper and member of Thug Life, the group that Tupac formed in the early '90s. But his journey started earlier with the Evil Mind Gangsters, who dropped All Hell Breaks Loose in 1992.
This album sounds drastically different from the content Tupac was making at the same time (Tupacalypse Now and Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.)—Tupac's early work leaned heavily on political and social commentary, inspired by Chuck D and Public Enemy. Meanwhile, All Hell Breaks Loose had a raw, street-oriented G-Funk sound that feels like the precursor to Thug Life: Volume 1.
So here’s what I want to discuss:
1. Musical Evolution: Can we say that Big Syke’s sound influenced Tupac’s pivot from political rap to the West Coast gangster aesthetic? Thug Life: Volume 1 has tracks (Pour Out a Little Liquor, Bury Me a G) that feel like polished versions of ideas on the Evil Mind Gangsters album.
2. Big Syke's Cadence vs. Tupac’s Delivery: If you break down Syke’s verses, his cadence is very distinct but oddly similar to Tupac’s structure when written on paper. Does anyone else think that Tupac incorporated Syke’s rhythmic style into his flow?
3. AI Hypotheticals: Imagine we used AI to have Tupac’s voice rap Big Syke’s solo material. Wouldn’t those tracks sound exactly like unreleased Tupac songs? Or vice versa—if Big Syke rapped Tupac’s lyrics in his cadence, you could still feel the synergy between their styles.
4. Legacy of Thug Life: Volume 1: Did anyone else, as a kid, assume this was just another Tupac solo album? Looking back now, it’s clearly a collaborative group effort with Big Syke, Macadoshis, and others, but Tupac’s dominance kind of overshadows their contributions.
Let’s give Big Syke his flowers! His role in shaping that mid-'90s West Coast sound is undeniable.
