Tupac: The Words of an Inspirational Lyricist

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What defines someone as being inspirational to others, do they have to wear a suit and tie, have a Harvard degree, drive a fancy car and speak of nothing but glory? I beg to differ; it depends on the person of whom they are trying to inspire that is why I believe Tupac Shakur is an inspirational icon to underprivileged individuals. Tupac Shakur, through his music, poetry, and political views, inspires young disadvantaged people to recognize that there is life for them outside of the ghetto, poverty, drugs and other adversities. He speaks of poverty, teenage pregnancies, single parenting, self-esteem and an array of other problems that people living in the ghetto are faced with. Despite all of the negative associations with his name, Tupac has managed to capture the hearts, emotions and attention of many people because they relate to his life in some type of way. Someone listens to Shakur’s songs and hears their life story, while another may hear a situation that someone close to them is going though. Either way, his words appeal to people’s lives in a positive way. Sadly though, a lot of people cannot overcome all of the negativity to see the impact that he has upon society. Dyson states “Tupac's language was inflamed with love for the desperately poor. He was a ghetto Dickens who explained the plight of the downtrodden in rebellious rhyme” (15). His analysis of Shakur’s lyrics better supports and exemplifies the claim of Tupac being inspirational.
A lot of people are probably very curious as to how Tupac Shakur can be considered inspirational to anyone, let along children. He is known as a hard core rapper who endorses thug life, degrades women, and has a lengthy criminal record and an etcetera of other negative things. Rap musi...

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..., support and wisdom to people who going through hardships and disadvantages similar to ones that he was faced with.

Works Cited

Brown, Timothy J. “Reaffirming African American Cultural Values: Tupac Shakur’s Greatest
Hits As A Musical Autobiography.” Western Journal of Black Studies 29.1 (2005): 558-
73. Academic Search Complete. Web. 2 Nov. 2013.
Dyson, Michael Eric. “Tupac: Life Goes On.” Black Issues Book Review 8.5 (2006)
: 14-18. Literary Reference Center. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.
Shakur, Tupac. “Hit ‘Em Up.” 2Pac Greatest Hits. Death Row Records/Interscope Records,
1998. CD.
Shakur, Tupac. “Keep Ya Head Up.”2Pac Greatest Hits. Death Row Records /Interscope
Records, 1998. CD.
Stanford, K.L. “Keepin’ It Real In Hip Hop Politics: A Political Perspective of Tupac Shakur.”
Journal of Black Studies 42.1 (2011): 3-22. Social Work Abstracts. Web. 22 Oct. 2013.

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