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The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by shotster50(m): 12:34pm On Jul 15, 2010
By Cornell Dews

Allhiphop.com



Being oppressed in America lends to immediate exposure of America’s harsh realities, which help impregnate the beliefs of the individuals.  To believe that the government would infiltrate the Black community and flood it with drugs and guns with the intent of it leading to the community’s could be farfetched until you realize it happened.  To believe that local, state and federal authorities would get away with committing subversive acts towards the Black community without being held accountable even after the tactics were supported by fact finding documentation or even recorded through the usage of audio or video is not farfetched at all.  Many believe the government helped orchestrate the assassinations of influential Black leaders who fought for both civil and human rights.  However, believing that the government had some involvement in the blatant murder of one of Hip-Hop’s most influential musical icons surprisingly is not as believable.  Why?


John Potash, a 44-year-old White male, raised in a predominantly Jewish community in Baltimore County penned an interestingly well-written manuscript entitled “The FBI War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders.” I had the opportunity to meet John for lunch and converse with him about his book, which I purchased from Everyone’s Place, an independent black owned bookstore located in Baltimore.  For obvious reasons, his book is not being carried in any of the major bookstores.


Upon introduction I extended my hand to greet Mr. Potash and immediately our handshake turned to “dap.”  We all know that non-verbal communication says just as much as the things we verbalize, sometimes even more.  I was anxious to talk because there was so much for us to talk about pertaining to Tupac and the United States Government. The possibilities and theories are truly boundless. Over lunch, a conversation commenced.






AllHipHop.com: You were quoted in an article in The Baltimore CityPaper written by Bret McCabe that you believed Tupac had become “the most influential Black man in the Black community in the country” which I assume would be the reason, in your opinion,  his life would be threatened. Can you expound on that statement?

John Potash:  Being that he had the top selling CD’s in the world and was starring in major motion pictures, which made him a rap and film star.  He was also engaged to the daughter of Quincy Jones, a well-established and respected person in the entertainment business, which increased his popularity.  He had very close relationships with his extended Black Panther Party family, who acted as his mentors.  Not to mention that he was trying to do more positive things.

AllHipHop.com: For those who have yet to read your book, could you explain why you believe that Death Row Records were a U.S. Intelligence front against Black activism?

John Potash:  A high level police detective named Russell Poole got himself assigned to the murder investigation of Biggie, during his investigation he stumbled across the fact that Death Row Records employed many officers who were considered agents.  Poole also found typical intelligence operations such as trafficking drugs, guns and laundering money taking place at Death Row Records.

AllHipHop.com: Do you think Death Row Records was the only label used as a front against Black activism?

John Potash:  I’m not certain if there were other labels, just because I didn’t have the time or resources to investigate other labels.  However, I will say that Time Warner, the parent company of Death Row at the time, ended up buying the rest of the labels, so I’m sure their operations could have worked towards other labels as well.

AllHipHop.com: Are you scared of any backlash or repercussions with the bold statements and claims that you’re making in your book The FBI War on Tupac and Black Leaders?

John Potash:  I’m a little scared, but this is what gives me passion.

AllHipHop.com: In your book, I noticed that you reference being supported by people who were close to Tupac, but you did not mention Tupac’s mother Ms. Afeni Shakur.  How does she feel about your book and the research you’ve done in regards to her son?

John Potash:  She has not publicly addressed the topic of my book and I can understand why.

AllHipHop.com: What do you intend for your book to accomplish?

John Potash:  I hope to get as many people as possible more politically active to save our nations heroes like Mumia Abu Jamal and H Rap Brown; both who are sitting on death row, when they’re much needed back in the community doing great things.

AllHipHop.com: What were the difficulties of publishing this book?

John Potash:  Well Kathleen Cleaver, the wife of Eldridge Cleaver, initially took me to her editor.  I was told that it was too much to fact check everything.  I approached six different publishers with six different proposals and still nothing.  So I decided to put it out myself, self-published.  I started Progressive Left Press.

AllHipHop.com: Your book suggests and supports the ideas of government agencies use of Cointelpro tactics to control, divide and conquer a community through hip hop.  In the hip hop community, there’s speculation that the “Illuminati” is doing the same.  In your opinion is there a distinction between the two?

John Potash:  I don’t know much about the Illuminati and besides hand signs and other small gestures, I don’t know if it can be proven.  So I ask what factors have the best evidence behind them that’s controlling our society?  White Anglo Saxon Protestant males are controlling the country and top corporations and that’s a better way to describe it.

AllHipHop.com: Do you find any irony in the fact that you worked as a counselor at a methadone program and you wrote a book about the government conspiring to destroy the Black community through dismantling our leaders with subversive tactics, including infiltrating the community with drugs?

John Potash:  I do think that drugs undermine activism in the community.  For instance, I feel weed is pushed hard towards the community through the music.  Abusing marijuana can cause people to not work towards activism.  Towards the end, Tupac himself was getting away from abusing drugs.

AllHipHop.com: In your book “The War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders,” you boldly suggest that Toure’ who have appeared on both BET and MTV as a Cultural Critic, as a person who works for US Intelligence.  Why?

John Potash:  I was just quoting Tupac’s trial lawyer, Michael Tarif Warren, who said he couldn’t believe how Toure’ set in the front row of Tupac’s sexual assault trial and totally misrepresented it, especially when Toure’ covered Tupac’s time in his life closely that whole time.  He also insinuated that Tupac may have set up his own shooting at Quad Studios.     

AllHipHop.com: Is it true, as implied in your book, that Death Row Records tried to lure Wu Tang Clan from their record label in an attempt to coerce them into helping further their agenda of destroying Black activism?

John Potash:  They just tried to lure them to Death Row to disrupt their group.  ODB’s brother was a beloved Black activist and he was producing the music.  Obviously it didn’t work with Death Row, but US Intelligence inserted an agent in the group as a manager, his name is Michael Caruso, a drug dealing young Mafia kingpin.

AllHipHop.com: You believe that prior to his ultimate demise that there were five government-sponsored attempts on Tupac’s life?

John Potash:  Yes.

AllHipHop.com: Because of the manner in which it happened from what’s been reported, you also believe that Jam Master Jay’s unsolved murder was the act of the government?

John Potash:  Well because of similar tactics as having a security camera that caught the incident and still no one was apprehended, The New York Times reporting that his death had something to do with the east coast west coast beef and The Baltimore Sun reporting that he was becoming more political and socially conscience.  In addition to all of that, he wasn’t robbed.

AllHipHop.com: You also suggest based on your research that verbal clashes between 50 Cent and other rap artists are influenced by the powers to be with sinister intent.  Do you not believe that it’s an attempt to sell records by involved parties or in some cases, just the competitive nature of the sport?

John Potash:  I think it’s a little of all three, but the unspoken part is that of the US Intelligence.  In my book I talk about the incident involving Lil Kim and Foxy Brown’s entourage.  Take into consideration, the harsh and disproportionate punishment the artists receive for the incidents they’re involved in.

AllHipHop.com: Based on your findings, do you honestly believe that the government killed Tupac.

John Potash:  Of course.  They orchestrated his assassination.

Potash could be the supreme conspiracy theorist full of all speculative nonsense, gibberish, just another attempt to confuse and keep us in the dark or one that has unearthed a jagged pill of raw truth.  Who knows what to make of the twelve years of research and documentation that John Patosh gathered to support his claims.  The evidence in his book is just as hard to dispute as it is to validate. Those who dispute the information have quite a lot of work to counter  “The War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders.”

Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by shotster50(m): 10:10pm On Jul 21, 2010
I think what he's saying makes for a good story but I doubt that's what happened, while Pac was influential to much of the black youth I can't see why he would be a threat to the level that the Gov't needed to have him killed. I mean why Pac and not Jesse Jackson or Al Sharpton unless they believe those two are buffoons incapable of being real leaders,

Also, why let Barack get to where he did, why not crush that career before it got started and I don't mean by killing him either, you can end a political career in other ways,

All these conspiracy theory cats kill me, they throw all this s**tout there with "well, I believe, " with no facts to back any of it up, c'mon now Touré is a gov't agent too?

One thing missing from the article was about how all proceeds from the sales of the book are going to be donated to help the education of black youths, oh wait, he's not doing that, he's going to pocket that cash, way to make money off of someone you don't know and to prey on the people who loved him,

There are way too many moving parts for this s**t not to have come out sooner with real facts to back it up, Death Row a front for the Gov't? I'd believe Pac is still alive before I believe this horse shite,
Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by chiogo(f): 2:32am On Jul 22, 2010
shotster50:

Also, why let Barack get to where he did,
He's half White, remember? smiley

This theory being made by this Potash guy is not convincing. He's a White guy for one - really don't think he cares that much if at all he cares about Tupac. LOL
And yeah, like you said, why Tupac? Besides the influential stuff(which were mostly about White racism in America), he also rapped about weed and guns. I don't see why the government would target him. He was more of a poet not the MLK activist type, he def. believed in violence.

But then many people still believe he's alive. . .somewhere in Cuba, lol. In as much as he's my favorite artist in the world, I believe he's dead and the gov't didn't kill him.
Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by Mobinga: 6:46am On Jul 22, 2010
chiogo:

He's half White, remember? smiley

This theory being made by this Potash guy is not convincing. He's a White guy for one - really don't think he cares that much if at all he cares about Tupac. LOL
And yeah, like you said, why Tupac? Besides the influential stuff(which were mostly about White racism in America), he also rapped about weed and guns. I don't see why the government would target him. He was more of a poet not the MLK activist type, he def. believed in violence.

But then many people still believe he's alive. . .somewhere in Cuba, lol. In as much as he's my favorite artist in the world, I believe he's dead and the gov't didn't kill him.
Whites: Wats ur skin colour?
Blacks: Black, but I'm half white
White: Then die u [b]b[/b]astard

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Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by Nobody: 8:34am On Jul 22, 2010
Tupac was murdered by the Jewish Controlled Illuminati-Freemasonic Media Empire. "Killuminati" what do you think it means?
Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by chiogo(f): 3:26pm On Jul 22, 2010
Mobinga:

Whites: Wats your skin colour?
Blacks: Black, but I'm half white
White: Then die u [b]b[/b]astard
LOL his skin color is not really 'Black'. But I get your point, the one-drop rule is still in effect up till today but let's face facts, if he was completely Black, he wouldn't have made it this far. I'm saying maybe he got this far because not all White people still believe in the one-drop rule or they made an exception in his case since they couldn't do anything anyway.
Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by bgees(m): 8:30pm On Jul 22, 2010
one will never know for sure who killed Tupac because there is a big cover up and thats why I think he could not have been as result of a mere east/west coast or Crip/Blood rivalry. .
Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by shotster50(m): 2:55am On Mar 11, 2011
bgees:

one will never know for sure who killed Tupac because there is a big cover up and thats why I think he could not have been as result of a mere east/west coast or Crip/Blood rivalry. .

Wrong. You can never say never.
Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by 04kaa: 8:55am On Mar 11, 2011
shotster50:

Wrong. You can never say never.

real talk, i support shotter for the first time, u can never tell, only God knows
Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by johnjoel(m): 4:57pm On Mar 11, 2011
i love 2pac more and more and very much

1 Like

Re: The War Against Tupac: A Conversation With John Potash by shotster50(m): 5:13pm On Nov 03, 2016
bump

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