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Contradictions Used By Tupac Shakur

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Tupac Shakur is one of the most well-known rappers in the world, and arguably the most influential on the West Coast, sharing that title only with N.W.A. Tupac became famous by rapping about social problems like racism and conflict within inner cities. He was born into a family of Black Panthers, and their mentality of solving American racism through violence was prevalent through his music. "Hail Mary" was released just under five months after Tupac's death, and it was the final song on his fifth and final studio album: The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. "Hail Mary" was technically a song by Tupac's alter ego, Makaveli, but it features the contradictions that Tupac has come to symbolize in rap culture: on one hand, Tupac raps about Black Panther-style violence and how people are only violent because they are forced into crime, but on the other hand, he raps about religion and trying to connect with god. Tupac begins "Hail Mary" by explaining his views on violence and revenge, …show more content…

Makaveli (Tupac) begins the song by rapping that he "blows like a 12-gauge" comparing the intensity of his rapping to shooting a bullet "all through your body," and setting up the comparison between himself and violence. He then proceeds to rap: "I ain't a killer, but don't push me" creating a contradiction between Tupac not being "a killer" yet being willing to kill if he is "push[ed]" to do so. Most of Tupac's family had a criminal history, and as Black Panthers they shared this mentality of being willing to do whatever they were "push[ed]" to do in order to gain racial equality. Tupac follows this line (a line that has been sampled multiple times, including by Lil Wayne in "Right Above It," and has become a slogan for rappers who commit crimes because they feel they are being pressured to) by rapping: "Revenge is like the sweetest joy next to

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