“When I was pregnant and in jail, I thought I was gonna have a baby and the baby would never be with me. But I was acquitted a month and three days before Tupac was born. I was real happy. Because I had a son.” Afeni Shakur. Dear Mama is a song performed by Tupac Shakur, that takes a look at the relationship between Tupac and his mother, Afeni Shakur. The slow, pensive song was produced by Tony Pizarro, and released under Interscope Records in 1995. Dear Mama also includes samples of the songs Sadie by The Spinners and In My Wildest Dreams by Joe Sample.
Tupac was born in New York City, but moved to Oakland, California as teenager. The influence of his moving to California can be seen in his music with songs like California Love, and To Live and Die in LA as well as his affiliation with Death Row Records. The influence of Tupac’s upbringing in California could also be seen when he became the face of the infamous East Coast/West Coast war, which
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For example, in the music video for Dear Mama, the audience is first introduced to the song with a brief quote by Afeni Shakur, in which she talks about being pregnant with Tupac while in jail. Mass incarceration becomes one of the focal points of the video, as we see scenes of both Afeni and Tupac in jail. It also should be noted that a stand in had to be used to film portions of the Lionel C Martin directed video because Tupac was in jail during filming. In addition, Tupac mentions his run-ins with the law when he raps, “I reminisce on the stress I caused, it was hell. Hugging on my mama from a jail cell, and who’d think in elementary? Heeey! I see the penitentiary, one day. And running from the police, that’s right Mama catch me, put a whoopin to my backside”. With this line, Tupac is acknowledging the prison industrial complex and the strain it put on the relationship he had with his
Tupac Shakur was a rap symbol in the 90's. He was born in 1971 to Afeni and Mutulu who were two individuals from the Black Panther Party. He is from East Harlem, New York and later moved toward the West Coast to pursue his rap career. Tupac was a performing artist, rapper, and a motivation to his fans. Sadly, his life came to an end at 25 years old.
Shakur had long accused Biggie of stealing his style and of involvement in Shakur’s robbery and attempted murder in the lobby of a Manhattan recording studio in 1994. (Eustachewich 4). Since Tupac thought he did that, in 1996 he released the diss song “Hit ‘Em Up”, which he alluded to sleeping with Biggie’s wife, Evans. After Tupac died, Biggie’s wife Evans told MTV news that her husband was distraught over Shakur’s death. Evan’s later recalled that Biggie “feared for his own life.”
Tupac was one of the few black men who addressed the fact that African-Americans
Some mark-ass bitches We keep on comin' while we runnin' for yo' jewels Steady gunnin’’. During Tupac career he was involve in a beef between the East coast and west coast rappers. He was known to diss his enemy on his tracks for example those lyrics are him dissing the East coast. Tupac was a gangster and some people thought he was violent. Sadly on September 13, 1996, Tupac was shot while driving a car.
Sometimes I Cry by Tupac writes about the pain of feeling lonely and not having anyone to turn too to discuss or hear his true feelings. In this poem he writes how he wishes he could confide in someone and how selfish the world is by not having the time or patience to stop and listen to others pain. Tupac writes “The world moves fast and it would rather pass u by than to stop and see what made you cry”. Here he clearly admits to the lack of compassion the world has for those who are in pain. Feeling sad and not having someone ask you what’s wrong or care is what Tupac is writing about.
In Tupac and My Non- Thug Life Jenée Desmond writes a vividly narrated story about a well-known rapper Tupac Shukar and how she relates her image and identity connection with the former rapper. Raised in the white suburb town and the only black high school cheerleader Tupac 's music and lyrics helped her get through her interracial blend as an African American teen. Jenée expresses her emotions toward her former icon as a teen girl. In the contribution to his death, Jenée Recalls vivid descriptions of her obsession with her image through her teen-hood, when his passing accrued Jenée recollects her past and explains her vivid descriptions when he passed away. She described the moment of his death a tragic moment.
Malcolm X “You can’t separate peace from freedom, because nobody can be at peace unless he has his freedom.” These words came from the mouth of Malcolm X, but who was he? Some people call him deranged, others call him too radical. But truthfully, Malcolm X was one of the most influential African Americans in history.
If you’re confused and didn’t know what that was, it’s one of Tupac’s well-remembered quotes that is relevant to America’s conversation about race relations and racism. In The Hate U Give, “THUG LIFE” is a relevant theme in the book because it represents a history of racial relations in the U.S., is related to current racial issues that still affect ethnic minorities and the effects of racial injustice towards communities of color decades later. To explain as to why “THUG LIFE” is a relevant theme in The Hate U Give is because it is a representation of a history of racial relations in the United States.
In “Tupac and My Non-Thug Life” by Jenee Desmond-Harris, the author writes about how the death of a famous rapper impacted her life. The author first talks about how the day she found out Tupac had passed affected her. The authors mind was thinking about things like her dance routines and exercise techniques. However, after coming home for the day the utterance or the words: “Your friend died” “You know that rapper you and Thea love so much!” from her mother made the whole day change and feelings of remorse and sadness follows.
In her essay “hip hop’s betrayal of black women,” Jennifer McLune implies that “(h)ip-hop owes its success to the ideology of women-hating” (193). She does not agree with Kevin Powell’s article that hip-hop does not mean to “offend” black women, but instead artists are only letting out their temper throughout their music. McLune feels infuriated that many artists in hip hop (including black men) rap about their community and downgrade their own women. In the hip-hop genre, sexism is mainly used, not only by black men but also by many other race hip-hop artists. Artists assume that women-hating in their rap songs will be accepted by women, but do not realize that it is affecting all women.
In James McBride's essay Hip Hop Planet, he argues that hip hop has a negative influence on American Culture despite people thinking of it as inspirational and how people live through different experiences in life despite of your race. The significance of this is to understand how people live through different experiences in life and if we don't come together and see the truth violence will be the only thing left that will bring us all
“No movement can survive unless it is constantly growing and changing with the times. If it isn’t growing, it’s stagnant, and without the support of the people, no movement for liberation can exist, no matter how correct its analysis of the situation is” is what Assata Shakur spoke. Assata is more of a woman despite the government’s bounty for her, she demonstrates a strong, powerful and complete woman who takes on the leadership role before and after the Black Panther Party. Her beliefs is what makes her who she is today. As Joy James states in her article “Assata Shakur is not only unique because she has survived in exile as a political figure…” When joining in the Black Panther Party for Self-Defense Assata publically advocated for armed
“Dear Mama” by Tupac is a tribute song to Tupac’s mother. The song depicts Tupac’s love for his mother and his gratitude for her work and mother ship throughout his childhood. She raised him from poverty, crack addiction, and many other circumstances brought on by the world that formed Tupac Shakur and Dear Mama. The reason I love this song because Tupac addressed his mother with brutal honesty, forgiving her for abandoning him and thanking her for raising him. “Even though you was a crack fiend, mama/ You always was a black queen, mama, “he rapped.
The song Dear Mama by Tupac Shakur relates to the ongoing struggle and hardships that numerous lower class single mothers endure, where Shakur describes how he learned to appreciate his mother and the sacrifices that she made for him as he became older. By formatting the lyrics with verses around a repeating chorus, Shakur was able to emphasize his personal narrative within the verses and allow for a recollection period between each verse to allow listeners to reflect on and comprehend what they just experienced. The form of Dear Mama is consistently strophic, where at the end of each verse Shakur repeats the emblematic phrase, “There's no way I can pay you back, but the plan is to show you that I understand, you are appreciated.” Appealingly,
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.