A Musical Journey: Today's and Yesterday's Music When observing the CD covers and photos of Tupac Shakur, Marvin Gaye and the group called the Sugarhill Gang, you will perceive that they all have something in common. Shakur's facial expression always comes across as being a serious person that appears to have a lot on his mind. When one stares profoundly into his eyes, some may see the deep thought process that seems to be going on. He often appears to have a significant look and, that he has a lot to pronounce. Shakur wears a diamond stud in his left nostril as well as an earring in his left ear. Most of his photos or CD covers, he reveals the upper portion of his body that to most female fans find eye-catching and alluring. The image that he is projecting is that of a very confident man. Shakur also has a lot of tattoos on his body in which may be another way to convey who he really is and what he's trying to declare. There is that gangster appearance that he portrays. For instance, what the tattoos state and what they symbolize. He also sports a bandana in some of his pictures that usually match the clothing that he wears. He is always very neatly and well dressed whether he is dressed to kill or casual (Tupac Shakur Google Website). When people look at the Sugar Hill Gang's Photos or Album covers, some will have a different perception of what the group was trying to express. There were only four album covers that show who the Sugar Hill Gang consisted of. Most of the time, the group wore informal clothing. The sugar hill Gang would always display pictures of them performing in front of a live audience. They appeared to be happy and enjoying what they did. The letters in the Title on each Album cover was always very large and colorful. The title would appear over a big city with a large population of people. Sometimes, there were children either jumping rope, laughing, socializing or sitting back and watching what ever was going on. There is one Album cover that has two hands holding microphones opposite of each other. According to the words that are written on the album cover; the Sugar Hill Gang was in competition with another group that performs the same genre of music (Sugar Hill Gang Google Website).
Rachel M. Harper’s The Myth of Music intentionally weaves together 1960s era jazz music and a poor African American family via metaphor and allusion to show a deep familiar bond between father and daughter.
The different groups of friends were completely different from each other. There was the group that wanted to be popular and get all the girls with a party, and there was a group that had all the music records that the other needed. That was the group that was trying to make money as well. Both parties also wanted girls. The fact that these two groups had seemingly presented themselves as gangs shows how much they wanted to be apart from each other. The gangs symbolized the separatism of the youth. The catch to their separateness is that they really needed one another to get what they wanted. The one group needed music and the other group needed money. They ended up making a deal with each other, which was conspired by Bacc. The fact that they were able to come together like that symbolized that they really should be together.
Tupac Shakur was a Rapper and Actor. People known him for mostly rapping. He was a hip-hop legend with controversial and explicit lyrics. He was never afraid to speak the truth or what was on was his mind. He has sold more than 75 million albums worldwide. This made him one of the best-selling music artist in the world.
Both a rapper and an MC, Tupac Shakur was a very famous artist during his short time on Earth. Better known as “Makaveli” or “2pac,” Shakur influenced many young teens and adults his age. 2Pac was born in East Harlem, NY during June of 1971. The name Tupac comes from a revolutionary leader who was killed after leading a revolution against the spanish in the 18th century. Most of the family Tupac was raised around were involved with crimes, drugs, and charge convictions. His first job in the industry as an MC was with a hip-hop group Digital Underground. Along with being an MC for this group, he was also a backup dancer and roadie. He was also featured on the group’s song for a soundtrack to a movie called “Nothing but Trouble.” He went on to record both an EP and full studio album with Digital Underground before leaving to pursue his own solo career. His first album “2Pacalypse Now” did not receive mainstream hype at it’s time but did feature artists such as Nas, Eminem, and the Game. It also reached Gold status by the RIAA. His next album, “Strictly for my Ni***z” Hit ...
Tupac was one of the most notorious and influential celebrities of the 90s and today still. He sold over 75 million albums worldwide, reaching Spain, Brazil, South Africa, and all corners of America. His career was filled with controversy and luxury just the same. As a rapper, a poet, an activist, and an actor, Tupac gained many fans, and also enemies. Tupac’s down-to-earth personality, talent and relatable music allowed him to become one of the top icons of the rap industry.
In the same fashion that Elvis defined Rock ‘n’ Roll; Tupac Shakur defined the hip-hop music scene, as we know it today. What made Tupac (also known as 2Pac, or Makaveli) so special were his enormous talent, his on screen friendly looks, and the sense that he was “real” and talked the talk, while walking the walk. Tupac was born on June 16, 1971, Tupac Amaru Shakur. He was named after Tupac Amaru, the Inca Indian that was sentenced to death by the Spaniards. He was originally from Brooklyn, New York. Tupac spent a lot of time moving around as he was growing up. He was the son of a Black Panther activist Afeni Shakur and Billy Garland. Tupac moved from Harlem, to Baltimore, to Oakland. The constant moving caused Tupac to fit into his new communities by joining gangs, and his lengthy rap sheet was created even before his profalic entry into music and film. He was arrested eight times before even turning twenty (MTV.com).
When most people hear the name Tupac, they think of a tattooed thug, a gangsta rapper killed in a tragic shooting who only got what was coming to him, a man who lived by the gun, and who died by the gun. However, those people probably have never taken a chance to look beyond what their eyes tell them, past the ignorance and into the depths of the man who really was Tupac.
Tupac Shakur was not just a famous rapper and actor but he was a well-known poet. Writing some of the best known poems and raps right from his heart, when people listen they just could related to what he was saying. Keep Ya Head Up, I Cry, when ure hero falls, and 2morrow are just some of his poems. These are have powerful meaning when reading them you can tell what he was feeling as he as writing them, from the structure to the literary techniques he had a way of writing that just has such a strong imag...
“While the rich kids is drivin ' Benz ,I 'm still tryin ' to hold on to my survivin ' friends.” In this quote Tupac had his audience take a second to image a rick kid driving in the hood with a Benz while a poor African Amirian boy is struggling to keep his friends. Tupac uses his lyrics to help paint a picture though his lyrics of the life of a black person which brings us to Imagery. The use of imagery in this song is amazing. Without even watching the music video and just listening to the song I could easily image everything that Tupac was trying to explain. This is what makes Tupac the best rapper still till this day! Another use of imagery is when he said “Dying inside, but outside you 're looking fearless, While tears, is rollin ' down your cheeks”. By this quote we as the audience should realize that there is more to this song that Tupac is trying to explain. In this quote I feel as though he was explaining that as African Americans more so black women tend to always wear this smile on our face no matter the situation when we know something in us is dying or is just not right. For some reason us black women have a habit of hiding our true feeling and situations. Last was the use of symbols which ties in with imagery. “They got money for wars, but can 't feed the poor”. What was Tupac really trying to say? This quote symbolize so much about America as a whole, and how as a nation we spend so much of our money on weapons for warfare but yet there are little kids who go days and weeks without no food. Is that fair? This quote symbolized pain and loss of hope because they (poor people) will never see a happy day. As they say we have to have the poor to have the
When West first showed up (late 90s and early 2000s), the world was a different place. Fans of the genre were most likely listening to gangster-rap, artists like: Jay Z, Notorious B.I.G, 50 Cent, Tupac, Ice Cube, Eazy E, N.W.A, Wu-Tang, Nate Dogg, Dr. Dre, and Snoop Dogg (Best Gangsta Rappers), the kind of music that dominated mainstream rap at the time. Rappers and fans of rap were mostly in a gangster-influenced mind state. West was foreign to the idea of being a “thug” or a “gangster”. West grew up in an average house while his mom made good money working as a professor in the English department at Chicago State University. He was well educated and attracted to more preppy fashions- sport coats, polo shirts, and sunglasses, quite the contrary to what other rappers were wearing in those times. Like many rappers, West wrote about his daily experiences, experiences majorly ...
Tupac Amaru Shakur was an African-American rapper, poet, and record producer during the 1990’s. In his adolescent years, he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts where he took acting and dance classes, like ballet. He was taught radical politics by his mother, which helped him develop ideas about topics he would later use in his many works. At an early age, Tupac had seen the injustices of the real world. His mother was a former Black Panther activist who turned to substance abuse during Tupac’s childhood. Aside from that, he and his mother also moved many times while they lived together in New York City. While Tupac was in Baltimore, he discovered rap; not long after, he and his mother moved to the West Coast where he joined the rap group
Although this original face of rap music was murdered at the young age of 25, Tupac’s expressions of dreams for black social justice, along with his declaration of “thuglife,” have contributed to his beloved legacy by hip culture, even 19 years after his death. He was considered a figure of empowerment for urbanized communities because of his support in black nationalism that aims to “define, defend, and develop of Blacks as a people,” especially because he grew up in the impoverished intercity (Stanford, 2011, pg. 4). In “Violent” he raps,
Tupac Shakur was one of the most influential artist of our last decade. He not only made several albums, but was also a large role in many films and a poet. Millions of people bought and still buy his albums. He was a pioneer to gangster rap, and he sang about things that mattered. Although, he was a role model and was admired by many, he also had a lot of enemies, and in the end, his enemies over powered his fans by taking his life. Some say that he may still be alive, but no one really knows.
“ Poverty, murder, violence and never a day 2 rest.” Those were the words of Tupac Shakur, a legendary rapper. Tupac Amaru Shakur (born June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac, Makaveli, or simply Pac, was an American artist renowned for his rapping and hip hop music, as well as his movie roles, poetry, and his social activism. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-selling rap artist, with over 75 million albums sold worldwide, including over 50 millions in the United States alone. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up around violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society, and sometimes qualms with other rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social, and racial equality as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and conflicts with the law. Many fans, critics, and industry insiders rank him as the greatest rapper ever.
Ever since I was a small child, I have loved music. The strong, steady beats, the