Tupac Shakur is one of the most influential artists of all time, regardless of genre. Tupac only lived for 25 years, as he was killed in a drive by shooting outside of a Las Vegas casino, which was allegedly the result of a feud between two rap groups. Tupac’s music has always cast a long shadow across the hip hop music industry, because his lyrics discussed deep and meaningful issues that his community was dealing with during his life time. The songs that I have selected to break down, in the ways they relate to and portray women during this time, are “Brenda’s got a baby,” “Dear Mama,” and “keep ya head up.” The lyrics, and stories that are discussed in these songs are extremely relatable and are example of why Tupac was able to rise to prominence,
I think during this song, Tupac paints his mother as a Wonder Woman archetype during this song. There are numerous lyrical examples that show his mother to be a good mother, even though she is not in the most ideal of circumstances. “A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how you did it,” “And I could see you comin home after work late, You’re in the kitchen tryin to fix us a hot plate, Ya just workin with the scraps you was given, And mama made miracles every Thanksgivin.” Those lines are just two examples of the way that Tupac, paints his mother as a woman is capable of achieving anything. The song is a very unique one, because it is very rare to hear this type of song be produced as a hip hop song. Lyrically it is very easy to her the truth in his words, which also makes the song more gripping and lasting. “And even as a crack fiend, mama, you always was a black queen, mama, I finally understand, for a woman it ain 't easy tryin to raise a man,” shows that Tupac can see the flaws that his mother may have, but he can see and understand the situation that she is in, and that he appreciates he for
In the short story “Tupac and My Non-Thug Life” by Jenee Desmond-Harris she talks about the death of Tupac Shakur and the impact it had on her and her friend Thea. I think its interesting that although Harris and Tupac are polar opposites she uses the connection of their race and applys it to this “coming of age” journey. Harris expresses that Tupacs music made her feel apart of something and that she valued the racial equality being voiced through his music. I can relate to this on multiple levels. For example when I’m feeling down and listen to sad music that i can relate to. Listening to music and lyrics that you can relate to brings you a sense of belonging like you arent the only one that has ever felt this way.
Conformity can be very crucial, infact a lot of people eventually start hurting themselves or doing drugs just because they don't feel themselves anymore.Why can't society change? why can't that one kid that always follows everyone in the back can turn into the kid that just hangs with the people they really wanna hang with?We need to embrace ourselves so we can stop all this conformity from consuming us.Tupac was a nonconformist, he always did what made him happy and always told the truth.
Statistics today would say that most black men up and leave their family when they reach a certain amount of wealth. However, when it comes to the song “Dear mama by Tupac Shakur”, that is not the case. Some men actually look forward to being able to take care of their family. This song was written in tribute to his mother Afeni Shakur. In the song Tupac expresses all of the hardships that he and his siblings had growing up. He also says “Even though I sell rocks it feels good putting money in your mailbox, I love paying rent when the rent’s due, I hope you got that diamond necklace that I sent to you”, This is a perfect example of a real man making sure that his family is taken care of. Contradicting the people who believe most black men walk
The play depicts the feelings and thoughts of the people of their time. Their feelings are different then what we see today in our lives. The family had to deal with poverty and racism. Not having enough money and always being put down because of the color of their skin held them back from having a lot of self-respect and dignity. I think that Mama was the one who had the most pride and held the family together.
When looking at the landscape of Hip-Hop among African Americans, from the spawn of gangsta rap in the mid 1980s to current day, masculinity and an idea of hardness is central to their image and performance. Stereotypical to Black masculinity, the idea of a strong Black male - one who keeps it real, and is defiant to the point of violence - is prevalent in the genre. This resistant, or even compensatory masculinity, encompasses: the hyper masculinity rife in the Western world, misogyny, and homophobia, all noticeable in their lyrics, which is in part a result of their containment within the Black community. The link of masculinity and rap music was established due to this containment, early innovators remaking public spaces in their segregated neighbourhoods. A notion of authentic masculinity arose from the resistant nature of the genre, but the move to the mainstream in the 90s created a contradiction to their very image - resistance. Ultimately, this in part led to the construction of the masculinity defined earlier, one that prides itself on its authenticity. I’ll be exploring how gender is constructed and performed in Hip Hop, beginning with a historical framework, with the caveat of showing that differing masculine identities in the genre, including artists
Songs are one way of expressing feelings and emotion, many artist do this constantly in their music. To some it is why they make music. There are endless signs and verses that hint at many things such as problems, politics, living in racist era’s also places. I chose to focus on one main rapper and his music only. I chose to examine, review, and study a few of his songs. Kid cudi grew up in cleveland, Ohio. His father passed away when he was a young age which affected the kid ever since. He writes about living his life and having to go through many obstacles
In the article “ From Fly to Bitches and Hoes” by Joan Morgan, she often speaks about the positive and negative ideas associated with hip-hop music. Black men display their manhood with full on violence, crime, hidden guilt, and secret escapes through drugs and alcohol. Joan Morgan’s article views the root causes of the advantage of misogyny in rap music lyrics. In the beginning of the incitement her desires shift to focus on from rap culture condemnation to a deeper analysis of the root causes. She shows the hidden causes of unpleasant sexism in rap music and argues that we need to look deeper into understanding misogyny. I agree with Joan Morgan with the stance that black men show their emotions in a different way that is seen a different perspective.
Tupac Shakur (2pac) was known as one of those rappers that has made a difference in the black community during the 90’s. All his music talked about the reality of black lives and the struggle of being black not only for black men but also for black women. His songs gave hope to African Americans, and to help them see that black was/is beautiful. Even though Tupac has many hit songs and albums, Keep Ya Head Up has been one of the best songs that Tupac has ever recorded! “The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice the darker the flesh the deeper the roots”.
When she was younger, she dreamed of being able to live in a decent sized house where she could even have her own small garden. However, the more privileged black neighborhoods were too expensive for her and her family at the time so she could never get the best of what Chicago had to offer. That factor didn’t hinder her from providing for her family and getting what she needed in life though. Mama’s environment formed her into a woman who hopes for the best, but even if that doesn’t happen, she will still make do with what she has. She also is very religious, this enables her to have strength and guidance during troubling times, and find a way when there is none.
Tupac Amaru Shakur one of the most influential, controversial rappers to have ever existed. He grew up fatherless and at times motherless because of drugs, violence, and twisted ideas. Through struggle and hardships he found his flow. He showed the world that something can come from nothing. From joining up with the Digital Underground to his single debut he worked up he grew his fan base. As he grew in fame so did the East and West rivalry.
Right from the beginning of the son bad words are said, and followed all throughout. In the song, Tupac clearly states that he slept with Biggie’s wife and to not mess with him. He also mentions the shooting incident that involved Biggie, and how that doesn't affect him because he is still in top. Listening to this song to me was very hard because of the explicit language used, I even had to look up the lyrics because it was hard to follow what he was saying. This song was just another way for Tupac to show up Biggie and others that he is the best and they will never measure up to him as said in the song,“You motherf****ers can’t be us or see us. We mother f****in’ Thug Life riders. West Side till’ we die.” Tupac not only calls out Biggie Smalls but he calls out, Mobb Deep, Bad Boy, and Chino XL and jopes they die slow. This song is very graphic and explicit but is a well known song of
Mama, as a member of an older generation, represents the suffering that has always been a part of this world. She spent her life coexisting with the struggle in some approximation to harmony. Mama knew the futility of trying to escape the pain inherent in living, she knew about "the darkness outside," but she challenged herself to survive proudly despite it all (419). Mama took on the pain in her family in order to strengthen herself as a support for those who could not cope with their own grief. Allowing her husband to cry for his dead brother gave her a strength and purpose that would have been hard to attain outside her family sphere. She was a poor black woman in Harlem, yet she was able to give her husband permission for weakness, a gift that he feared to ask for in others. She gave him the right to a secret, personal bitterness toward the white man that he could not show to anyone else. She allowed him to survive. She marveled at his strength, and acknowledged her part in it, "But if he hadn't had...
"Tupac Amaur Shakur left a distinct impact on American culture that is still being shown today" (u.a., n.t., n.p. letter code D) He was one of the most influential persons in the 20th century America. And I believe he will be remembered and loved by a lot for years to come. He has served and will serve as a role model for younger kids growing up today. Bibliography Bastin, J.D.
Women have consistently been perceived as second-class citizens. Even now, in times when a social conscience is present in most individuals, in an era where an atmosphere of gender equality 'supposedly' exists, it is blatantly apparent that the objectification and marginalization of women is still a major social issue. In reality, progression in terms of reducing female exploitation has been stagnant at best. Not only is the degradation of women a major problem that to date has not been eradicated, but it is actually being endorsed by some music celebrities. There are a growing number of people who purchase rap albums that support the fallacy that women are mere objects and should be treated as such. As the popularity of rap continues to climb at unprecedented rates, so too does its influence on the perception of women. In the vast majority of hip-hop songs, the depiction of women as sexual objects, the extreme violence directed towards them and the overall negative influence these lyrics have on the average adolescent's perception of women make rap the absolute epitome of female exploitation.
Tupac Shakur was a black African American rapper who lived his life with poverty, violence and drugs. The songs ““Hellrazor””, “Me and My Girlfriend” and the poem “In the Event of my Demise” reflect the tragedy and pain which was Tupac’s life. All his poetry relies on vivid imagery and violent language to create a very realistic picture of how terrible life can be living in the ghettos of America.