Tupac’s ‘Hail Mary’ Mistaken For Christmas Carol
What would you think of a Tupac song being performed as a Christmas carol?
Tupac Shakur’s “Hail Mary” accidentally found its way into a Christmas carol lyric sheet this holiday season. Reportedly, a church singalong brochure printed for this week’s Catholic Joy to the World event at the Nelum Pokuna Theatre in Colombo, Sri Lanka, contained the words of Tupac’s violently-descriptive “Hail Mary” rap song in place of the traditional Catholic prayer of the same name.
It’s unclear if the attendant carolers began intoning Shakur’s aggressive song lyrics, such as, “I’m a ghost in these killing fields,” instead of exalting the Catholic prayer’s customary divination of the Blessed Virgin Mary.
Tupac’s “Hail Mary” comes from his 1996 album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, the last studio album released by Shakur in his lifetime (under the name Makaveli). Shakur was shot in Las Vegas on September 7, 1996, dying six days later. The still-unsolved case of Tupac’s shooting death and the suggestive contents of Don Killuminati have driven various conspiracy theories about the murder that persist to this day.
As reported by The Independent, Tupac Shakur’s “Hail Mary” is a far cry from the conventional Catholic canticle. A photo showing the offending Christmas song sheet (containing the expletive-laden Tupac lyrics under the “Hail Mary” heading) was uploaded to social media and widely shared thereafter.
“Pictures of the explicit English-language lyrics in the service’s program were uploaded to social media, where they were quickly shared thousands of times.”
According to Mediaite, the particular Christmas service was organized to raise money for “poverty alleviation projects” that were the undertakings of various Sri Lankan charities. It is not known if the lyrics misprint was an honest mistake or an ill-advised spoof. On its site, Mediate posted a photo of the lyrical gaffe.
“Instead of hymns praising the Virgin Mother, the confused congregation was treated Shakur’s lyrical observations about sex, violence, and other areas of gang culture. Here’s a picture of what the hymn book looked like with the lyrics inside.”
Tupac is often cited as one of the most influential and oft-imitated American rappers, thanks in no small part to his string of mid-to-late-’90s radio hits (“California Love,” “Keep Ya Head Up,” “Thugz Mansion”) and his legend-reinforcing early demise. Shakur (also known by his stage name, 2Pac) recorded five studio albums while he was alive, starting with 1991’s 2Pacalypse Now and culminating with Killuminati, released mere months after his death.
Numerous albums of Shakur’s material have been released posthumously, including 1997’s R U Still Down? (Remember Me), 2002’s Better Dayz, and 2006’s Pac’s Life. A widely-reported and much-maligned holographic image of Tupac’s likeness “performed” onstage at the 2012 Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California.
As previously reported by the Inquisitr, Tupac is among the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame’s “Class of 2017” inductees. Shakur’s legacy will join with other milestone entertainers such as alt-rock titans Pearl Jam, folk goddess Joan Baez, English rock trailblazers Electric Light Orchestra, and prog-rock mainstays Yes in the Hall of Fame’s official induction ceremony in April 2017. Tupac follows other hip-hop superstars in becoming a Hall of Fame namesake — the Beastie Boys, N.W.A., and Public Enemy all have previously been inducted at the venerable Cleveland institution.
Take a listen to Tupac’s “Hail Mary,” immediately below and let us know if you think the tune makes for a suitable Christmas carol in the comments section. Can you imagine the revered hip-hop artist’s “Hail Mary” being performed as a Christmas carol in the style of “Away in a Manger” or “The First Noel”?
[Featured Image by Christopher Polk/Getty Images]
