Thug Light: Kali-Ma, Tupac Shakur & The Spectra-Physics of Planetary Ascension

“I am a Thug, my father and grandfather were Thugs, and I have Thugged with many.”

- Buhram Jamadar

Leader of the Thugee Order

I remember back in the early 90s—between 1990 and 1992 to be exact—the most popular hip-hop artists were A Tribe Called Quest, EPMD, De La Soul, Ice Cube, Public Enemy, KRS One, Brand Nubian, X-Clan, Redman, Das Efx, Nice & Smooth, Onyx and Naughty By Nature.

These artists spoke for and represented millions of young Black men who were coming of age during that particular era. They conveyed different messages, each with their own style and uniqueness. Within their collective diversity, they were genuine reflections of who we were.

By 1993, however, rap music had become less diverse and more homogenized with the rise of Death Row Records. In the music video for “Nuthin’ But A G Thang,” you see a group of 40 ounce guzzlers pouring their beer out on a Black woman who is clearly unhappy with how she is being treated. This particular video scene comes off as a gay man’s envy of a woman he knows that he will never be. Until that time, you did not see this imagery in hip hop videos. There was no overt resentment for sexually attractive women that was conveyed to our eyes.