Tupac's Poetic Skills - Essay Example

Tupacs poetic skills were exemplary according to many experts (Wallenfeldt, . He used poetry to identify the situations of minorities in urban America such as African Americans and Latinos and to speak out for social justice (Lawrence, 2010). Tupac’s poem Words of Wisdom is representative of his identifying the situations of African Americans and the injustice they were opposed to. In Words of Wisdom, Tupac not only calls out America for its mistreatment of African Americans but he also tried to motivate African Americans to resist this mistreatment. For example, in Words of Wisdom, Tupac wrote: This is for the masses the lower classes the ones you left out, jobs were givin, better livin But we were kept out made to feel inferior, but were the superior (Tupac, Words of Wisdom). Tupac also created an effective method of presenting his information not only at a national level but also internationally, namely gangster rap (Lawrence, 2010). Tupac is a socially conscious artist. This is contained in his criticism of racism in America, and his mother’s membership in the Black Panther party. (Sanford, 2011). Thus, the foundation of the greatness of Tupac was surviving tough conditions to become a self-made public figure. He achieved this by intelligently and comprehensively developing a genre of poetry that he was able to successfully pioneer and commercialize. He created an avenue through which the most fatal and graphic elements of life in the poorest sections of Americas cities could be presented to the rest of the world from a safe distance. Tupac did this by creating a tradition in gangster rap that has continued over the past two decades and that has played a role in exposing some of the inequalities in modern America. This prompted solutions to the numerous problems that genuinely affected minorities in America. Tupac was described as a symbol of both “hope and despair” in the African American community. His poetry and rap music were expressions of everything African Americans felt, “confusion, pain”, “nobility and courage, hopelessness and self-destruction,” (Otfnoski, 2003, p. 204). The best example is Tupac’s poem The Rose that Grew From Concrete. The poem is short, but captures both the hope and despair symbolic of his experience as an African American and his hope for the African American community. The Rose that Grew from Concrete reads as follows: Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving natures law is wrong it learned to walk without having feet. Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared (Tupac, The Rose that Grew from Concrete). The controversy of Tupac Tupacs relationships with the women in his life were obviously strong, as demonstrated in his song Dear Mama, in which he revealed his appreciation to his mother for her efforts and confirmed that he cherished her in spite of all the limitations and challenges she had been through (Monjauze, Cox, & Robinson, 2008). This indicates that Tupac was very much concerned and loving towards the women in his life. For example, in Dear Mama, Tupac commends his mother as follows: And even as a crack fiend, mama You always was a black queen, mama I finally understand for a woman it aint easy tryin to raise a man You always was committed A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how ya did it Theres no way I can pay you back But the plan is to show you that I understand You are appreciated (Tupac, Dear Mama). Aside from his mother and sister, Tupac also cultivated a healthy friendship with Jada Pinkett, partly because both their mothers were drug addicts (McQuillar & Johnson, 2010). According to Hess (2007), “Shakur & Pinkett developed an admiration and respect for each others talent and abilities that would have a lasting effect on each others life” (p. 294). This indicates an air of mutual respect existed between Tupac and his female friends. Tupac’s poem Jada is demonstrative of this mutual respect. Jada reads as follows: u r the omega of my heart the foundation of my conception of love when i think of what a black woman should be its u that i first think of u will never fully understand how deeply my heart feels 4 u i worry that well grow apart and ill end up losing u u bring me 2 climax without sex and u do it all with regal grace u r my heart in human form a friend i could never replace (Tupac, Jada). However, in his career as a rapper and actor, he received considerable criticism from various authorities – including the Vice President, Dan Quayle for his excessive use of sexist words such as bitch and ho (Arawak Brothers, 2003). By contrast, some of his songs were seen as anti-abuse and empowering songs that encouraged women all over the world, such as Brendas got a Baby and Keep Your Head Up (Arawak Brothers, 2003). Tupac was seen as the epitome of violence by some (Powell, 1995). He was considered to be an artist who packaged and sold racism and violence in his songs. Tupac’s rap song Changes captures both the racism and violence of his music: My stomach hurts, so Im lookin for a purse to snatch. Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, hes a hero. Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare. First ship em dope and let em deal to brothers. Give em guns, step back, and watch em kill each other (Tupac, Changes). In addition, he was involved in violent crimes, which attracted media attention and thus promoted further violence (Olson, 2003). Many of the controversies surrounding Tupac were intensified because he was always ready to publicly defend his actions, and this made him even more popular. In supporting the culture of violence, Tupac once said, “If you investigate, youll find out where its coming from. Look through our history, Americas is a violent one” (Tucker, 2007, p. 157). Thus, he sought to argue that he was not the first American to be involved in violence. He believed that violence was central to American society and that he was simply demonstrating that side of society through art. In 1993, after his release from prison, he challenged the presidency for singling him out without accepting that violence is a general problem in America. He stated, “What did USA just do, flying to Bosnia? We aint got no business over there... America is the biggest gang in the world. Look at how they didnt agree with Cuba?” (Dyson, 2004, p. 316). This may indicate that that Tupac justified his inclination towards violence and crime on the basis that crime and violence were legitimate parts of society. He even challenged the entire leadership of America on this matter and sought to present himself as a normal member of society who had a life that was a little rougher than others had endured. For example in Tupac’s rap song God Bless the Dead, he blames the Criminal justice system and the harsh realities of African American life for criminalizing him and leaving him with no choice but to resort to violence and crime. The following excerpt from Tupac’s rap song, God Bless the Dead bears this out: See I’m old enough to know that ain’t no justice Fuck the police and all the courts same way they fucked us And why the hell am I locked in jail They let them white boys free, we be shocked as hell (Tupac, God Bless the Dead). In the final phase of his life, Tupacs violence escalated to extreme levels, especially in his public disagreements and brawls with Notorious BIG. He accused Notorious and Puff Daddy of being behind the plot to kill him in prison (Larson, 2007). He then signed up with Death Row Records, which indicated that he was ready to seek revenge. Tupac and the Outlawz, a team of rappers who had militant names such as Hussein and Gaddafi to indicate their intentions, then released the track Hit Em Up in which they expressly stated that they were going to kill Notorious, Puff Daddy and their collaborators. This intensified the East/West conflict that had plagued the US rap industry in the mid-1990s. For example, Tupac makes direct threats against the lives of Notorious also known as Biggie Smalls as follows in Hit Em Up: Biggie Smalls and Junior Mafia Some mark ass bitches We keep on coming While we running for your jewels Steady gunning (Tupac, Hit Em Up). In Hit Em Up, Tupac goes on the threaten the life of Little Ceasar as follows: Little Ceasar go ask you homie How Ill leave you Cut your young ass up See you in pieces Now be deceased Little Kim (Tupac, Hit Em Up). Scott (2003) identified the sequence of events that affected Tupac mentally and led to social isolation and depression in his life. First, he never had the space to grow up. His mother was a drug addict so he did not receive the love he desired as a child. Once he became popular, he became a workaholic and frustration set in at different points in his life. He had so many challenges and even longed for his death at certain points. In an interview, he is quoted as saying, “In Black America some people are just waiting for death. A lot of us are like that” (Scott, 2003, p. 106). Scott (2003) also claimed that there was evidence that Tupac was a drug user and perhaps thought money could make things better. Thus, Tupac lived his life in the fast lane, which was troublesome for his mental health. Tupac capture is life in the fast lane in his rap song Life Goes On as follows: loced out and blazed the weed get on tha roof lets get smoked out and blaze with me 2 in tha morning and we still high assed out screamin thug till I die before I passed out (Tupac, Life Goes On) Tupac the extrovert Tupac’s symptoms were evident throughout his life. First, Tupacs biological father, Billy Garland, only met his son when he was recovering from the near-fatal shooting incident in 1995. This shows clearly that Tupac had serious identity crises that could have affected his psyche and thus his overview of society. Being at the center of all these crises put Tupac in a situation where his identity was a problem. This might have been a catalyst for his confusion and might support high levels of neuroticism. Tupac’s lyrics and style of talking – namely, his high use of swearwords – also implies that he was angry internally, and this might explain why he used to erupt into anger and fits of violence whenever things went wrong and when he felt cheated. For example, Tupac’s rap song Against All Odds captures his anger against those he has designated his enemies: When We Ride On Our Enemies Ride With Us Or Collide With Us I Dont Give A F*&k F()k The World Bomb First Dont Make Enemies With Me (Tupac, Against All Odds). Conscientiousness refers to how well a person attains a certain personal vision or plan. If a person has a high degree of conscientiousness, he or she has a structured and ordered life that is integrated into the existing structures of society. By contrast, people that have low levels of conscientiousness are seen as non-compliant. . Tupac only lived in an institutionalized system at high school or in jail. When Tupac was sentenced to 11 months in prison in 1995, he perhaps received the most structure in his adult life. During that time, he had the space and concentration necessary to read various books by Napoleon Bonaparte, Niccolo Machiavelli, and several other writers, which inspired him to release great songs (BBC World Service, 2004). It was in jail that he wrote the lyrics of his hit album Me Against the World, which topped the billboard charts. In Me Against the World, Tupac raps: Can you picture my prophecy? Stress in the city, the cops is hot for me The projects is full of bullets, the bodies is droppin There aint no stoppin me Constantly movin while makin millions Witnessin killings, leavin dead bodies in abandoned buildings (Tupac, Me Against the World). After his release, Tupac released Hit Em Up and developed the concept of Thug Life further by forming the Outlawz and promoting the East/West rap conflict. This confirms that Tupac spent his entire life surviving. In the short spell of about a year during which he had a structured life, he was able to learn an incredible volume of knowledge, which he put into practice in various forms. This brings to light the fact that Tupac spent most of his life as an anti-institutional individual. However, in spite of the sporadic and unstructured nature of his life, he continued to promote the art of rap and represent many of the challenges faced by minorities in America. Tupacs personality .Tupacs criminal history also shows that he often sorted out challenges through violence. Many of his actions that led to issues with the authorities were linked to either violence or venting anger. His lyrics also reflected conflicts and violence in society. For example in his rap song Life of an Outlaw, Tupac sings: Code 3. Attack formation. Pull out your pistols. Keep an eye out for the devils cuz they itchin to get you. Mercy to this madman screamin kamikaze in tongue. Automatic gunfire makin all my enemies run. Who should I call when Im shot and bleedin. Indeed the possibility has part a chase in cream. Dope got me hatin fiends. Scheam wit my team, just a chosen few. My foes victim of explosives. Come closer. Exhale the fumes. (Tupac, Life of an Outlaw). This confirms that Tupac was not a very agreeable person. Strengths and weaknesses of Tupacs personality The reality of Tupacs personality contributed to the commercial success he enjoyed as a rapper because everything he spoke about in his music was connected with realities that were so graphic that everyone had an opinion on them. In addition, his life in the ghetto made it easy for him to become a commercial success as an actor because he was always comfortable with roles that portrayed him as a gangster. For example Tupac landed the role of a boy from Harlem who grows into a gangster in the movie Juice. Bibliography Otfinoski, S. (2003). African Americans in the Performing Arts. New York, NY: Facts On File, Inc. Read More