TUPAC SHAKUR (2PAC /Makaveli)

Tupac Shakur: rapper, poet, philosopher

Rapper, poet, philosopher.

FREESTYLE FACTS—Tupac Amaru Shakur

• born june 16, 1971 in east harlem

• named after south american chief Tupac Amaru, name means, “intelligent warrior”

• HATES POVERTY

• wrote and read a lot, also kept a diary

• aka 2pac and makaveli

• mother, afeni shakur, and father part of black panthers

• height: 5’9”

• signed to death row records

WHAT DOES PAC CARE ABOUT AND BELIEVE IN

A well spoken and positive individual, Pac never really “hated” things, he instead strives to accept the world as much as he can.  He openly talks in interviews and within his lyrics about the things that mean the most to him.  One thing though, Tupac hates one thing above all else: POVERTY (Tupac: Resurrection). He wants to eradicate it, to wipe it off of the earth.  It simply was not fair, why do some people get different and better opportunities than others?  If everyone works hard, everyone should get the same things.  Right?  SUFFERING should not be as much of a norm as it is. Because we all grow up in different homes, in different towns, with different families and different educations, seeing every side of the story is incredibly important to Pac. “I think adults should go through school again.  I think rich people should live like poor people and poor people should live like rich people and they should change every week” (Tupac: Resurrection). Everyone may be in different places, but ideals and goals are not entirely different, and in that we are all one community.  With new perspectives, you can take on the world.   The masses are not educated fully, at least not well enough, and it is not fair.  We are all afraid of criminals: mass murderers, dangerous drug dealers, rapists.  These people sometimes live in places like the projects, or shitty neighborhoods in Baltimore.  We as a society dismiss those locations as being unsafe, and do not try to help.  What about the young kids and intelligent individuals that HAVE to live there, they are afraid too (Tupac: Resurrection). Pac believes in God, but he does not always believe in people (Youtube, 2pac talking about his belief in God and religion).

Tupac has been in both poverty and in wealth, and his wisdom helps guide him through life.  Growing up in poverty, he learned humility and respect.  He cares a great deal for the people who have been there for him and helped him succeed, like his mother and close friend Jada Pinkett Smith.  He dedicates his music to those people, writing things like “4 Mama” under his song titles. 

Tupac’s mother taught him a great portion of the things that made Pac an “intelligent warrior” (Tupac: Resurrection). MORALS.  If you have and know what a good set of morals are, you are set.  What means the most to you?  The least? What do you hate? Karma is a bitch, but an important one at that.  Do good and you will receive it.  KNOWLEDGE and the quest for it is incredibly important to Tupac.  Learn more and you will grow more, and in order to survive you must grow.  You can never know enough.  Tupac knows what he is good at and what he is not.  He knows he is a lyrical beast, making music is what he does best after all.  “Music can transcend racism” and “Hip hop is the way out of poverty” (Tupac: Resurrection). Dedicate yourself to what you believe in, and never stop on your quest for knowledge. 

“I FEEL LIKE IF YOU WALK BY A STREET AND YOU WALKING ON CONCRETE AND YOU SAW A ROSE GROWING OUT OF CONCRETE EVEN IF IT HAD MESSED UP PETALS, YOU WOULD MARVEL AT JUST SEEING A ROSE GROW THROUGH CONCRETE. SO WHY IS IT THAT WHEN YOU SEE SOME GHETTO KID GROW OUT OF ALL THE DIRTIEST CIRCUMSTANCES AND HE CAN TALK AND HE CAN SIT ACROSS FROM YOU, MAKE YOU SMILE, MAKE YOU CRY, MAKE YOU LAUGH, ALL YOU CAN TALK ABOUT IS MY DIRTY ROSE, MY DIRTY STEMS, AND HOW I’M LEANING CROOKED TO THE SIDE? YOU CAN’T EVEN SEE THAT I CAME UP OUT OF THAT SHIT AND THAT’S EXACTLY THE ANALOGY THAT IT IS FOR ME. YOU KNOW WHAT I MEAN?”

HOW DOES HE SPEAK

Seen throughout the book Tupac: Resurrection, his lyrics, and personal quotes, Tupac rhetorically relies on his ability to say exactly what he is thinking.  Hey, this is what I believe, here is my opinion, believe me, I speak from experience.  He is blunt. When he speaks, you are not confused.  His words are not full of hidden meanings, he tells you exactly what he means.  Because of this, no interpretations need to be made.  Tupac has such a way with words that with everything he raps, you feel it channeling through your freaking bones.  As if he is speaking directly to you, to your life and to your problems.  Pac writes from the “Pit of his stomach” (Youtube, Shock G explains why 2pac is better than Biggie). He plays with the meaning of words, and builds new meanings behind them. His lyrics are REAL, just like him.  “There is nothing fake” (Tupac: Resurrection) about Tupac.  Everything he rhymes is constructed and created in order to say something.  “It takes skill to be real” he wrote and rapped in the song “Changes.”  Using his angst and resentment from growing up poor, he does not hold back and raps exactly what he feels is necessary at the given moment.  Somewhat controversial, Tupac stays true to himself in all his wisdom.  Sometimes he would just “interrupt conversations and start rapping.”  He did whatever he could to make sure he was heard in order to evoke real CHANGE. “I have no patience for anybody that doubts me, none at all” (Tupac: Resurrection).  Tupac does not care if he is not listened to.  He knows not everybody will agree with him, and those individuals are irrelevant to him. 

The confidence he has in his own words and overall strength he has to speak his mind gives him power.  Pac turns words into money, and uses purely Tupac to do it.  Pac built himself into the person he is.  He is not a respected authority figure because he is a celebrity.   A philosopher and soldier, his words, experiences, and intention give him an authority that he takes and uses to change the world.  In the article “Religion in Hip Hop: Mapping the New Terrain in the US,” Miller writes “Authority is not as much an entity as it is effect, an aspect of discourse and social performance that relies upon credibility and the ‘trust’ of an audience in its speaker.”  Authority embodies the power you have in order to touch the hearts and minds of an audience.  Pac did that by speaking his truth and being him.

PAIN and suffering are recurring themes in Pac’s work.  He went through a lot, throughout his childhood especially.  The hardship of his life made Pac himself.  Because of that, he does not hide anything, he shows “the most graphic details” (Tupac: Resurrection) from his community in hope his words will inspire change.  He says whatever is necessary, in whatever way he can.

Prison is a terrifying place for many people.  Thugs will do anything to avoid it.  Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, served time in prison while she was pregnant.  Pac talks about how he was “cultivated in prison” and how his “embryo was in prison” (Tupac: Resurrection).  Those statements make you stop in your tracks, and think about how far he has come.  He started in the worst place one possibly could.  If you work hard and strive to grow, change and learn, you will go far, just like Pac.  Lay tracks for yourself.

Pac’s language: listen to me. I know my shit. I’ve seen it.

“EVERY TIME I SPEAK I WANT THE TRUTH TO COME OUT.  EVERY TIME I SPEAK I WANT A SHIVER.  I DON’T WANT THEM TO BE LIKE THEY KNOW WHAT I’M GONNA SAY BECAUSE IT’S POLITE. I’M NOT SAYING I’M GONNA RULE THE WORLD OR I’M GONNA CHANGE THE WORLD, BUT I GUARANTEE YOU THAT I WILL SPARK THE BRAIN THAT WILL CHANGE THE WORLD.”