Tupac connected with so many people within the industry in his short life. And there
were of course many rumors about the I Get Around rapper's relationships with various
female celebrities. Speculation about the relationship between Tupac and Cheryl James,
aka Salt has been rife ever since Tupac’s brief appearance in the video for the 1993
hit Whatta Man. The two legendary rap icons were believed to have hit it off and developed
a close bond back in the day. They remained close throughout the years leading up to Tupac’s
death.
Many fans may be unaware that Tupac actually filmed for the Whatta Man video in the first
place. Tupac was already a huge star when the video was filmed and rapidly gaining iconic
status after releasing his Platinum selling album 2pacalypse Now and starring in movies
such as Juice and Poetic Justice. Both were hugely successful movies and established Pac
as a big screen actor as well as a musical talent. No doubt getting Tupac to appear in
the video would have made Whatta Man even more of an iconic song.
Whatta Man was a major hit for Salt n Pepa, featuring En Vogue, it reached number three
on the Billboard Hot 100 and they received a Grammy nomination for the song and three
American Music Award nominations. They won an American Music Award for Favorite Soul/
R&B Single. Whatta Man charted top ten worldwide and reached Platinum in the USA.
The video was directed by Matthew Rolston, who also directed En Vogue’s My Lovin and
TLCs Creep.
Here’s the story behind the music video and the relationship between Salt and Pac.
In the early 90s Pepa, Aka Sandra Denton was dating Treach from Naughty by Nature. Treach
and 2Pac were good friends and he ended up introducing him to Salt. Both Treach and Pac
appeared in the Whatta Man video.
Salt and Pepa got to pick their mighty good men for the video. Salt chose Tupac and Pepa
chose her boyfriend Treach, who she would later go on to marry and divorce.
Tupac almost missed the video shoot because he got caught up in the incident involving
the off duty police officers.
But many of Pac’s scenes were edited out. And the brief moments where he does appear,
his face isn’t shown. They only kept the clips where his face wasn’t showing. Speaking
to the Jasmine Brand Pepa explained the reason for this saying: Explaining the reason for
this Pepa told the Jasmine Brand:
“The record company all panicked and only kept shots where you can’t see him. There
were some great Tupac shots. And Salt always kicks herself. You can’t fight the record
company,”
Salt confirmed that Tupac’s reputation was the reason for the decision.
From the moment he came on the scene, controversy seemed to follow him. First there was the
incident involving two off duty cops, where he faced charges for shooting at them. But
he was eventually found not guilty.
The vice President of the United States at the time Dan Qualye condemned 2Pac’s album
2pacalypse Now saying:
“There is absolutely no reason for a record like this to be published by a responsible
corporation.”
Calling for Interscope to withdraw the record, he said:
“ It has no place in our society”.
Qualye blamed Tupac’s record for the death of a Texas State trooper, who was shot and
killed by a suspect who claimed to be listening to the album just before committing the crime.
In the song Soulja’s Story there were lyrics such as “blasting and dropping the cop”.
Then there was the incident in New York at the Parker Meridien Hotel in November 1993,
where he was accused of sexual assault. He was arrested and also brought up on gun possession
charges.
Tupac famously said: I didn’t get a record until I made a record.
Salt confirmed that the mystery man she filmed with was in fact Tupac. But they only showed
the back of his head and deleted scenes with his face showing. Many fans were unaware that
it was him.
Video
Salt said she hates that he was cut out of the video. “It really bothers me”, she
said.
She confirmed that it was actually because of his lyrics.
And to settle the rumors, the only person in the group dating a rapper was Pepa. Salt
confirmed that her relationship with Tupac was not romantic.
In an interview with Rock & Bells she said:
“I remember being at a party one time and I was dressed in overalls or something and
he said something to me. Like, a lot of ladies there were, like, half-dressed, and he was
basically encouraging me to stay the way that I was. We had conversations where he told
me he respected me. Nothing happened between us, but he met Corin a couple of times.”
Corin is Salt’s daughter. In Tupac’s 1993 single Keep Ya Head Up, he gives Corin a shout
out at the beginning of the song.
Play song.
Talking about the shout out Salt said: “He had this long conversation with her
and, I don’t know, I guess she just struck him somehow. He called me this one time and
said, ‘By the way, I dedicated a song to Corin’. I never really understood why.”
Tupac had a lot of interaction with kids throughout his career. In 1993, Tupac received a letter
from the parents of a dying boy, named Joshua. They said it was Joshua’s last wish to meet
Tupac. Tupac flew to Maryland to meet Joshua and took him to a basketball game. Soon after
Joshua’s death Tupac changed the name of his publishing company from Ghetto Gospel
Music to Joshua’s Dream.
Tupac also met Lemika Early through the make a wish foundation. She was supposed to meet
Janet but she canceled just before the meeting date. So Tupac stepped in. Lemika who was
14 at the time, was paralyzed from the waist down. Tupac flew Lemika and some of her family
members to California to join him on the set of “Gridlock’d.” Afterwards he took
them to the recording studio and later hosted a private BBQ cookout at his house in honor
of her. Tupac later donated a brand new audio system to her school.
He also took his goddaughter to the prom.
Salt was also another woman who Pac wrote to from prison in 1994. They remained friends
and in contact throughout that period of his life.
He wrote the following poem: Am not much 4 pretty wordz.
And search cuz these dayz my pain is deep. But there is always pleasure 2 be found in
times of struggle and grief. If a tree can grow through New York concrete
then a thugg can change his heart. If I can survive 5 deadly shotz , we can discover
light within the dark. I’m sure u have had times of misery, all
of us experience hurt. But only the strong in spirit survive the
wicked world 4 all it’z worth
Tupac was released on bond in October 1995. Less than a year later he was killed following
a drive-by shooting in Vegas. He died September 13, 1996.
Did you know it was Tupac in the Whatta Man video? And did you know he had a close friendship
with Salt. I would love to hear your thoughts about the poem too.
Thanks for watching Share your thoughts below
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