Tupac Could Have Been a Viking

By Terri Barnes and Reynir Óskarson

Picture it. A young man sets out in the world to make a name for himself. He’s not rich but wants to be because that’s the way to gain fame. And respect. He lives in a world of high stakes action where violence is normal and a means to an end. He’s not afraid to kill someone if he has to, or wants to, in order to prove he is worthy and tough, or to save face. Don’t ever disrespect his honor or there will be a price to pay. He desires fancy clothes, jewelry, deadly weapons, and women because those reflect his prowess for all to see. Once that happens, other men will flock to him to become part of his posse, adding to his prowess and swaying others from attempting to take him down. And to top it off, the poets will compose verses about him, singing his praises and making sure everyone knows who he is. Then he’ll be at the height of his power.

If what came to your mind was a young Scandinavian warrior heading out in a viking ship to raid 1,200 years ago, or a young gangsta rapper heading out in a Cadillac Escalade in the mid-1990s, you’d be correct. Straight outta Compton or straight outta Oslo? In many ways it doesn’t matter; they’re living the same life. Here’s how.

A culture based on honor, reputation seeking, competition, and living by a code

Both the Scandinavian Viking Age and 1990s gangsta rap scene were deeply honor-based cultures. The Norse word for it was drengskapr, which was a quality that made a man honorable and someone to be looked up to and admired – even feared. A drengr was a man who had earned a reputation for being loyal, trustworthy, fair, courageous, and generous, and he was a guy who had your back to the death. You wanted him on your side, for to be in opposition to him could be a serious problem; you crossed a drengr at your own peril. In 1990s gangsta rap culture, the necessary qualities to be considered honorable were similar. Embodying them is what gave someone “street cred,” which was of grave importance. Live up to your word, stand your ground, and don’t snitch.

Trying to live up to the honor code and rise to the top bred fierce competition in both cultures. What appears at times ridiculously lawless and barbaric was actually highly regulated and ordered, not only by the “law of the streets” but by the strict social hierarchies of ingroups versus outgroups, and those in power versus the powerless. A good example was the famous “East Coast versus West Coast” feud that dominated the mid-1990s urban scene in the U.S. It was a rivalry between competing record labels, but it was also a cultural turf war for supremacy primarily between rap artists in Los Angeles and New York City. Likewise, viking chieftains sometimes sought to knock each other out and expand their influence, like the Icelandic clan leaders in the Sturlunga saga where the competition got nasty enough to tear a country apart and make it vulnerable to an external power. So, the testing to prove oneself and “make it” was constant, and it was often through violent acts of aggression such as raiding or drive-by shootings that they sought to prove their worth and achieve higher status.

And once someone reached the top of the social pile in either culture, they couldn’t just sit back on their laurels. In the game of negotiated power, the testing continued. You could be killed or simply have others remove their interest and support from you at will. It was a high-stakes contest with serious consequences, but crucially there was an acknowledged honorable way to win. Underhandedness brought shame and dishonor whereas loyalty and generosity brought fame to your name. Viking chieftains provided feasts, legal advice, and opportunities to get rich through raiding to their followers in order to stay in power. Keen social and political skills could take a man to the top. There’s a reason why Tupac Shakur read and became interested in the philosophy and tactics espoused by Niccolo Machiavelli in his famous book The Prince. Tupac embraced it so much he eventually adopted the stage name “Makaveli.” Likewise, the physical and political skills of people like Bruce Lee, Mao Zedong, and Sun Tzu were also embraced by rappers looking to gain and maintain an edge.

For vikings and rappers alike, preservation of honor was not something that only the guys worried about. In several Viking Age sagas we find it’s not the men rushing to revenge for the upholding of honor so much as it is the women who goad men to do so. Women largely did not hold positions of public power during the Viking Age, but they certainly pulled some strings from behind the scenes in order to protect themselves and their families when they felt it necessary. There may not have been many true shieldmaidens, but the sagas certainly contain many more strong women who wielded sharper weapons in the form of their words. It was a private, domestic type of power, but it was power nonetheless.

In the black communities of the inner cities of 1990s America, there were also those who resembled the strong women in the sagas who worked their magic from behind the scenes. Many famous rappers like Jay Z, Snoop Dogg, and Tupac were raised primarily by their mothers. Some of them supported their son’s careers while mustering the strength to raise them alone often in challenging socio-economic circumstances. Others tried to keep them from the gangsta life to protect them. And still others tried to make sure their sons were as respectable as possible. In Jay Z’s famous feud with Nas, it was his mother Gloria who influenced him to finally end it and apologize. Mothers like her saw through the tough guy image. Rappers gained strength from their mothers, and grandmothers, because they were often the most loyal people in their lives. While fathers often came and went – like those viking raiders who sometimes left and never came back – mothers stuck with them no matter what.

Violence, feuding, and vengeance are embedded in the culture

Life in Viking Age Scandinavia was violent. Full stop. From the perpetually armed men in your community to war gods like Thor and Óðin, stories of Valkyries weaving not with thread but with human entrails, violent games like knattleikr, as well as human and animal sacrifices to the gods, injuries and death by violent means were ever-present possibilities. The modern version involved open- or concealed-carry firearms, armed robberies, domestic violence, stabbings, and drive-by shootings. And when you add the fact that both vikings and gangsta rappers were involved in violent economic activities like theft, fencing stolen goods, and trafficking in humans and weapons, it shows us two cultures similarly drenched in normalized violence. It was not something that could go away or be resolved. Feuds were often interminable; anything appearing like resolution was often only temporary. And theirs were not just interpersonal, private squabbles. They needed to be played out publicly to achieve their goals of determining who won and gained honor and respect because it was the wider community that decided such things.

For vikings, violence was actually legally-sanctioned in the name of retribution throughout the period, only to be somewhat tamed toward the end by the introduction of Christianity and its value of “turning the other cheek.” The Icelandic sagas are full of stories of revenge that had to be enacted – often violently – in order to save face and balance the scales of justice once again. One of the most well-known sagas that includes this concept at its core is The Tale of Thorstein Staff-Struck. At a scant six short chapters it is one of the briefest sagas to exist, but it gets the point across well. Some poor bloke gets hit in the face with a stick but doesn’t strike back at his aggressor. When his dad finds out this has happened, he basically forces his son into a fight to preserve the family’s honor. He would rather his son risk death than have him be seen as a dishonorable coward, and violent retaliation was the only socially acceptable answer.

Reykdæla saga is also a good example. It starts with stealing sheep, then outlawry, killing slaves, more kills, more vengeance, níðstöng (the shaming pole), using the opponent’s booth as a latrine all summer before the annual public assembly, more killing, assassinations, and battles. It only seems to end when everyone on one side is dead. Njals saga likewise has a high body count. And lest we think that violent responses were only for the adults, there’s the famous example of Egils saga where a young Egil only “seven winters” old, gets into a scuffle with another kid a few years older, gets angry at him, and then kills him with an axe.

The similarly violent retaliations of the rap era are too numerous to cite, but arguably the most infamous was the feud that led up to the shooting deaths of Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. within six months of each other in 1996-7. Those men knew each other, but there were countless others who also fell in drive-by killings where the victim and shooter did not know each other. This was strategic violence often meant to aid the killer in gaining street cred. Just like in the Viking Age, in places like New York, L.A., or Chicago, if a man who was intimidated through violence did not respond with violence, he would have his name diminished to the bottom tier.

The importance of the public display of male power and status

If you’ve got it, flaunt it, for what is the purpose of gaining wealth and prestige if you don’t display it so that everyone can see and know how important you are? It was a hallmark of viking culture and ‘90s gangsta rapper culture. And while both cultures have examples of wanting to show off to impress women, in many ways their various forms of “peacocking” were specifically aimed at proving to other men that you are a man.

In the Viking Age this was often expressed as martial prowess, which is success in raiding, warfare, or other aggressive acts, including even in games like knattleikr. We know from the sagas that men played very rough games like that sometimes to show off in front of women, but we also know from Norse mythology that dying bravely in battle could gain a man that much-coveted ticket to Valhalla where he could enjoy an afterlife of feasting, drinking, and fighting with his bros. It was their opinion and company that mattered most. Dying like a true drengr and gaining orðstirr (name glory) amongst his fellow warriors was for a viking just the same as a 1990s rapper always looking to be number one among his homies.

Dominance in the 1990s was sometimes displayed through physical fights, beatings, stabbings, and shootings, but also simply one’s presence in a particular place. Being in one’s own ‘hood is one thing, but if a man dared to show up in an enemy’s ‘hood, that was seen as a provocative show of strength. Exhibiting a menacing presence was common as a less physical threat – a potentially terrifying form of implied violence that may or may not be carried out such as in the Jerry Heller scene from the 2015 film Straight Outta Compton.

Besides showing off physical prowess, what other forms did the display take? Well, bling of all kinds, of course. Take a quick glance at just about any rap video from the ‘90s and you’ll likely see things like Mercedes or Cadillac cars or SUVs, gold chains, diamonds – including grills (dental jewelry), Cristal champagne, and luxury brand clothing, accessories, and shoes like Louis Vuitton, Nike, Versace, Gucci, Fendi, and Ralph Lauren. They also spent lavishly on large houses.

Likewise, the vikings were known for being interested in fine fabrics such as silk if they could get ahold of it through long distance trade. Sagas also reference fancy weapons such as the silver-plated spear wielded by Grettir in Grettis saga. The Continentally-made Ulfberht sword was also a favorite luxury item, so much so that it spun knock-off versions for those who couldn’t afford the real thing. And the Rus (eastern vikings, mostly from Sweden) certainly seem to have liked a bit of flash. The chronicler ibn Fadlan in the early 900s was impressed with the bling he saw their wives wearing which was, of course, a sign of their man’s status and success:

All their women wear on their bosoms a circular brooch made of iron, silver, copper or gold, depending on their husband’s wealth and social position. Each brooch has a ring in which is a knife, also attached to the bosom. Round their necks, they wear torques of gold and silver, for every man, as soon as he accumulates 10,000 dirhams, has a torque made for his wife. When he has 20,000, he has two torques made and so on.

A man’s prestige in both cultures was also reflected in his treatment of women. Vikings were known to take captive women from many areas where they raided and traded. Some of those women entered into coercive marriages with their captors. In the polygynous system that existed in Scandinavia, higher status men could have a virtual harem at their disposal with various wives, concubines, and captives. All of these, but particularly those taken by force, were seen as a sign of a man’s prowess. Likewise, the stories that the Norse told themselves were heavily geared toward male exploits. While the sagas mention some women who are strong and/or cunning, the stories are overwhelmingly about what men are doing. They are the stars of the show and the heads of their households, wielding dominance over their women.

While the 1990s rap scene did not have an expressly polygynous system, there were other ways of denigrating and “collecting” women to show a man’s dominance and status. Many rap songs have misogynistic themes and lyrics, and the music industry at the time reflected this culture through producing or supporting sparingly few female rappers. Also, widespread mistreatment of women for years by those like Sean Combs, the rapper and music mogul also known as Puff Daddy, who is currently under indictment for sex trafficking and rumored orgies, is now coming to light. The rapper Snoop Dogg admitted to idolizing and then becoming a pimp for a period of time. Rap videos are full of women sexily clad and in compromising positions, and rappers call them derogatory names like “bitches” and “hoes.” Women are often objectified, overly sexualized, and the victims of violence that is culturally acceptable as a form of reflecting a man’s authority and control over them. One study found that 67% of examined rap lyrics referred to women in these denigrating ways.

Glorification of masculinity and maleness, so disrespect and insults are frequently aimed at one’s manhood

The misogyny was but one way a man could assert his dominance. Another way was through insults and slandering of one’s rivals. A Viking Age example was the use of particular words such as the Old Norse nið, which loosely translates into English as being the worst kind of coward that brought shame onto oneself and their family. It was one of the strongest insults a man could hurl at another because it also insinuated homosexuality. While insulting someone didn’t necessarily have to devolve into violence, the law codes are clear that dishonoring someone by taunting, name-calling, mockery, and/or slander – especially calling someone nið – were all instances where the law expected the victim to prosecute. In Grágás, the Icelandic law code, it explicitly states:

If someone hears in poetry words of a kind for which a man has the right to kill – that he is womanish or has been buggered – and avenges it by killing or inflicting injuries, then he shall bring a suit for the malicious speech.

A related Old Norse word was argr which represented a host of insulting behaviors such as sexual perversion (which again meant male homosexuality), as well as cowardice, effeminacy, and even the feebleness that comes with old age for men, in a nutshell, “unmanly.” In the Norse poem Lokasenna, well known for letting the insults fly, argr is hurled between the trickster Loki and the god Óðin.

Similarly, homophobia and its related insults are a well-known aspect of rap culture. The phrase “no homo” was born from it. To end a sentence with it was (and still is) a way to deflect suspicion, a sort of “I’m not gay, just sayin” statement. Many song lyrics also reflect homophobic sentiments such as Ice Cube’s “No Vaseline” which was directed at his old group N.W.A., and even rappers such as Kanye West have openly talked about it. There’s no doubt that both cultures took insults and affronts to their manhood extremely seriously.

Legends are created through poetry

There are amazing similarities between Viking Age poetry and the rap songs of the 1990s. They were each complex in their own way, and verses often involved codes that needed to be cracked by the listener. Both have rhymes and kennings, which are words or phrases that are complicated metaphors. These lyrics from Wu-Tang Clan’s “Da Mystery of Chessboxing” gives a sense:

Well I’m a sire, I set the microphone on fire
Rap styles vary, and carry like Mariah
I come from the Shaolin slum, and the isle I’m from
Is coming through with nuff niggas, and nuff guns
So if you wanna come sweating, stressing contesting
You’ll catch a sharp sword to the midsection
Don’t talk the talk, if you can’t walk the walk

Or this from Everlast:

Cock my hammer, split a comment like Haley
I buck a .380 on ones that act shady

 In Olafs saga helga we see similar cryptic verses needing to be deciphered:

Gave the gladsome arm-ring-
Giver battle west of
London; for the land fought
Lordly steerer of sea-steeds.
Awful blows got Úlfkell;
Over heads of thingsmen
Bluish blades flashed out there.
Bothn’s-dear-flood I master.

And this from Gísla saga includes not only the verse but an acknowledgment at the end that it was a puzzle to be solved:

Over him who Thor’s grim vizard wore
Melt, wreath by wreath, snow-hangings hoar.
Few have the wit to understand
The riddle of this mound of land.
I harmed him? No! I harmed him not;
A mansion bright is here his lot;
The priest unto his god I gave,
And Frey now warms his servant’s grave.

Thordis heard this verse, went home, cracked the code and understood its meaning.

Common themes in the poems and songs included religious themes, noteworthy information or news to be spread, and historical accounts such as when Biggie Smalls recorded “Juicy,” a history lesson describing his rise from listening to 8-tracks to selling dope to becoming famous. The viking version was Heimskringla, which recounts the historic rise and warrior exploits of several Norwegian kings.

Poems and songs were also both used as tools for disrespecting and insulting a rival. In the Viking Age a “flyting” and in the ‘90s a “diss track” or “rap battle” were each fast-moving, rhythmic performances that equated to a war of words. Diss tracks in particular were specifically meant to disrespect – hence the name – insult, and verbally attack. “Real Muthaphuckkin G’s” by Eazy-E is a perfect example. It was directed at Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg in retaliation for one Dre had written dissing Eazy. Other songs often called into question the masculinity and/or sexual preferences of a rival, or, like Tupac’s Hit ‘Em Up, implied that a man was not capable of sexually pleasing his woman so that she sought satisfaction elsewhere. The song suggested that he and Biggie Smalls’ partner were more than just friends. Similarly, in Lokasenna Loki slanders Óðin by suggesting that when he was out of town his wife Frigg had slept with his two brothers:

Þegi þú, Frigg, þú ert Fjörgyns mær
Ok hefr æ vergjörn verit, er þá Véa ok Vilja
Léztu þér, Viðris kvæn, báða i baðm of tekit

Yet another example was the famous feud between rappers Jay Z and Nas. Their tit-for-tat escalation through diss tracks finally ended with Jay Z’s Supa Ugly wherein he implied that he was more than just friends with Nas’s partner:

All I really know if your ho wants to be with me
And she ain’t playing
And what I’m saying (She creeps with me)
And sleeps between the sheets

Jay Z acknowledged at the end of the feud, when he realized he’d probably gone too far with the song, that “It was really like, let me meet your level of disrespect with this level of disrespect.” In both cultures, sharp words were weapons in the never-ending battle for supremacy.

So, yeah, no doubt Tupac could have been a viking. He lived in a male-dominated culture deeply based in an honor code that was all about building a reputation – often through risky and violent means. He rose to a position of power and influence through his musical and political talents and lived large displaying all the trappings of his success, making sure everyone knew his name. He got into feuds and then died young and violently. And he continues to be glorified and remembered to this day. As far as we’re concerned, right now he’s probably hangin’ with that warrior poet and fellow gangsta Egil Skallagrímsson drinking ale, trading verses, and awaiting the final battle at Ragnarök.

Terri Barnes is an American historian who specializes in the Viking Age. She is a post-graduate researcher at the University of the Highlands and Islands and teaches at Portland Community College. She is also the cohost of the podcast Vikingology: The Art and Science of the Viking Age.

Reynir Óskarson is an Icelandic experimental archaeologist and researcher who also specializes in the Viking Age. He is co-author of Men of Terror: A Comprehensive Analysis of Viking Combat. And he knows way too much about the ‘90s gangsta rap scene.

Top Image: Graffiti image of Tupac in Serbia – photo by Чигот / Wikimedia Commons