Technically he was on the path to be the "corny" rapper, working with Digital Underground. In a way he was the better Will Smith at rapping, while Will Smith was the better 2Pac at acting.
Both dudes are different embodiment but the same progress of trying to find self. Pac sadly lost himself trying to follow the devil, instead of realizing that there was more to himself than being something he's really not. You can be a revolutionary, while not trying to set trip. You can rep the West, while calling Bmore your birthplace. Hell, Kurupt had two albums dedicated to his upbringing in Philly and his new found home in the West.
Pac lost his ways that led to his downfall, while Will thinking to himself how come that legacy can't be mines because of a woman's devotion to the past....