Everyone knows what the government called them, what they were is another thing. The cats were educated and all that which is how Pac was so educated, of course there was certain career criminals like Mutulu Shakur and others like him, who could've had a negative impact on Pac. But they were not about that flashy cocaine/diablo/goldwatch type of criminals, the lifestyle Pac admired.
And Marin County is not hood, there are some poor people but far from hood. Also can you provide a source of Afeni picking up her crack addiction earlier than his late teens? I don't even think he knew about it until even later than that.
Regarding the schools I'm not only talking about high school but acting academies as well and the school in cali Tamalpais is an awarded school as well all these schools and shyt was what gave him the contacts to most (if not all) of his early moves in entertainment.
Anyways Pac always expressed what he and his surroundings were forced to deal with, through his art and didn't take part of it until he made it (from what I know). He made smart moves, had many smart friends and relatives (although not very good parents), was a good student of everything and made it into the entertainment business early.. The question I wonder is why all the negative shyt started taking place after he made it.
You sure you're not talking about Rick Ross?
And his mom was considered a radical.She admits it herself.
Read up on The Panther 21 Trial.
http://www.amazon.com/The-Briar-Patch-Trial-Panther/dp/0306807998
"On April 2, 1969, New York policemen, armed with shotguns and wearing bulletproof vests, rounded up members of the Black Panther party. Thirteen of 21 suspects were then charged and tried for attempted arson, attempted murder, and conspiracies to blow up various police stations, school buildings, a railroad yard, and the Bronx Botanical Gardens. But the forces of "law and order" behaved in a decidedly less lawful manner than the defendants. This text examines the proceedings, illuminating not only the story of the Panther 21 but the quality of justice in America."
And all those external forces in Pac's life don't really matter.Some times you see the world the way you see it and there ain't nothing or nobody changing that.There's a internal pain there that nobody can touch.Coming from the family he came from, I'm quite sure he had a different perspective on the "American Dream" than most.People who're trying to submit to the system in order to "survive" probably won't understand you're unwillingness to conform.People don't understand your anger.
Pac was artistic, so I think he appreciated the arts for giving him a place to express himself.I don't feel like Pac was the most capitalistic rapper...he was no Jay Z..... probably less than 1% of his catalog was about some materialistic/money money money shyt.He always came off more bohemian to me.