Billy Garland, the father of late rap legend 2Pac, has commented on his characterisation in his son’s 1995 single ‘Dear Mama’. In the song, 2Pac sings, “No love for my daddy, ’cause the coward wasn’t there/He passed away and I didn’t cry.”
Growing up, 2Pac didn’t know much about his father, and they didn’t connect until the rapper was famous. In a 1996 interview, 2Pac explained, “I thought my father was dead all my life. After I got shot, I looked up, there was this n**** that looked just like me. And he was my father; that’s when I found out.”
“So now I feel that I’m past the father stage. I do want to know him, and I do know him. We did talk and he did visit and help me when I was locked down, but I’m past that.”
However, in an interview with Art of Dialogue, Garland revealed his thoughts about the ‘Dear Mama’ lyrics. He said, “At first, I was upset ’cause I’m trying to see you and, you know…but then it hit me.”
“For one, I ain’t dead, so you really didn’t know me. If you would have known me, you would know that I wasn’t dead. So I knew there that someone had lied to him from that point.”
“Later on, when I found out that somebody did lie to him, that song made perfectly good sense. I understand it totally. When I hear it now, I still laugh. I still love that fucking record though. I do. I listen to his music daily. Every freakin’ day. And I like it. Then it hits me, he’s my son. It’s a twin thing.”
Watch the clip below.
