Preview

Tupac Shakur

Good Essays
Open Document
Open Document
1171 Words
Grammar
Grammar
Plagiarism
Plagiarism
Writing
Writing
Score
Score
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur What is a thug? Many people consider a thug to be some big gangster- who sells drugs, has been in trouble with the law, is rebellious, etc. According to Tupac Shakur, the term "thug" means the underdog, not a criminal or someone who is going to hit you over the head in the street- as the media portrays the word (Shakur 122). Even though the images of some rappers seem to send the wrong messages, Tupac's songs are where his real messages are. If people would listen to the words of his songs, instead of just hearing the bass and the music, then they could better understand the individual. Tupac was an artist with words. Dispite his repeated run-ins with the authorities and ultimate death, Tupac Shakur managed to use his music and talent for poetry to send positive messages to his loyal listeners. Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971 (1). His mother was Afeni Shakur, who was in the Black Panther Party (Vibe 2). Little would one expect, as a child, Tupac was a part of the 127th Street Ensemble, a fine arts school for gifted and talented. Shakur then moved to Baltimore and, as a teenager, went to the illustrious Baltimore School of Arts (Amaru Shakur 2). While with the Ensemble, he played Travis in the play "A Raisin in the Sun". At the age of fifteen, Tupac started writing lyrics and eventually started rapping, using his New York background to seem tough (2). Behind the tough rapper, there was another side of Tupac Shakur. He also began to write poetry around his late teenage years. Later on in life, Shakur would have a book of his poems published, called "The Rose that Grew from Concrete". Shakur was far more educated than most people know. Tupac's mix of poetry and music is what made him one of the greatest artists and rappers of all time. "All my songs deal with pain…small pieces of it and harsh pieces of it" (Shakur 70). According to Vibe Magazine, Tupac's story began before he was even born, as Tupac was shaped by many

You May Also Find These Documents Helpful

  • Satisfactory Essays

    His mother, Afeni Shakur, and his father, Billy Garland, were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s; he was born just one month after his mother's acquittal on more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York Panther 21 court case.[12]…

    • 371 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    2pac Death

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages

    Tupac Shakur was born Tupac Amaru Shakur (Tupac means "shining serpent" in Inca) in New York City in 1971. He went on to have very successful careers as an actor & rapper. Look around the web for his career information, you know that’s not our gig. That said….…

    • 1419 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tupac Rhetorical Analysis

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages

    The controlling message in Tupac’s rhymes was the strength of the black man and the inability of his will to be broken. Tupac having been involved in gangs and drug pedaling as a young man knew the temptations of such actions and hated that his race was subjected to…

    • 449 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    Prior to examining Tupac Shakur’s developmental factors and major conflicts in his personality, there was first an investigation of his historical background. According to Makaveli.com, Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996) was a highly influential, best-selling American hip hop artist, considered by many to be one of the greatest and most legendary rappers of all time. The themes in Tupac’s music concerned growing up around violence, hardships in ghettos, racial inequality, and sometimes his feuds with fellow rappers in the United States. MTV’s 22 Greatest MCs countdown also listed Tupac as their number 1 MC, as voted by the viewers.” Understanding the origin someone’s of names and how they got…

    • 3110 Words
    • 13 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    tupac shakur

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Birth name lesane parish crooks was born on June 16, 1971, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City .He was named after Tupac Amaru, an 18th-century South American revolutionary who was executed after leading an indigenous uprising against Spanish rule. His mother, afeni Shakur and his father, William Garland, were active members of the Black Panther party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Shakur was born a month after his mother was acquitted of more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the united states grovement and New York landmarks" in the New York "Panther 21" court case.…

    • 444 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    For those of you who don't know who tupac is he is a famous rap artist who has written and sang many songs such as: Unborn child, until the end of time and lil homies…

    • 520 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    2pac Shakur Sike Class

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages

    When I visualize my gestation period I picture my mother with her feet up sitting in a rocking chair while my father digs thourgh the frieg to find her a late night snack. She reads to a soothing laliby while I lay back and focus on her calm relaxing voice. I go on to picture myself being born to a loving family we reside in a small but happy home with a white pickit fence and a little dog. Although my childhood was not quite this rosey, I must confess it was not quite as bad as MR shakur. His gestation period was spend in prison. His mother Afeni Shakur was in serving time on a boom charge. Tupac was rasied in the Bronx and where he learned and participated in theather at and early age. When he was 13 he had his first performance at Apollo theatre where he performed in a stage play of the rasisin in the sun for Jessie James 1984 presidential campaign. During tupac’s youth and adolessece the shukur family moved around a lot, This was mainly due to Afeni drug addition and spoty arrest record. When Tupac was 17 he attended the Baltimore School of the Arts. It was here that he honed in on his theatra skills. The school had video footage of an interview he done when he was about 17. In the interview he really seemed like he enjoyed the school and all it had to offer. Due to his home situation he had to stop going and move accrossed county from baltimore to Marin County, California. I don’t think it was a coincidence that he never attended school again. IT is in Marin County that he meant Leila sternburg and the rest is as they say History.…

    • 626 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    2pac Flaws

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages

    Although Tupac became wealthy and famous during the time he either live or wasn’t in jail, Tupac lived a tragic life. Like any other human Tupac had flaws. He seems to be living up to his aggressive gangster rap image with several arrests for violent offenses in the 1990’s. Tupac himself was a victim to violence, getting shot five times in the lobby of a recording studio during a mugging. As a rapper he never let anything let go he always had something to say back and the fans loved it, as he said himself, because of my big mouth. Tupac had become involved in a feud between East Coast and West Coast rappers. He was known to insult his enemies on his…

    • 270 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tupac Accomplishments

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages

    I chose to do my project on Tupac Shakur, because he is one of my many inspirations. He was mostly known for his music and making the term “Thug Life” famous. He was also known for his acting abilities. Additionally, Tupac was an advocate of creative arts, a supporter of the Black Panthers and contributed to several charities.…

    • 552 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Satisfactory Essays

    There are many uses of imagery throughout the song, mostly pertaining to life growing up in the ghetto; "We gotta start makin' changes, learn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangers." It is also apparent that Tupac feels animosity towards the police; "Cops give a damn about a negro, pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero. Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares, one less hungry mouth on the welfare." This is more than likely the due to negative experiences with law enforcement.…

    • 275 Words
    • 1 Page
    Satisfactory Essays
  • Better Essays

    Violent lyrics, a bad-boy image, and a long criminal record are what attracted and connected millions of young adults to the now legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a man of contradictions; for example, his music degraded and also praised strong women. Tupac Shakur rapped about problems that inner-city black Americans could relate to, along with his legal and personal drama; you could not get away from Tupac in the 1990’s. From the womb to the day Tupac Shakur died he went through the struggles many self-proclaimed “gangsters” these days do as well; but using these problems he took the rap and hip-hop game to another level.…

    • 1653 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Better Essays
  • Good Essays

    Biography Tupac Shakur

    • 1644 Words
    • 7 Pages

    To begin, Tupac Shakur, born Lesane Paris Crooks, was born June 16th, 1971 in Brooklyn, NY. Being the son of a Black Panther activist, Shakur moved around a lot as a child. His parents had separated before he was born, and his mother moved him and his sister around the country for much of their childhood. Mutulu Shakur, Tupac 's stepfather, is sentenced to 60 years in prison for his connection with a 1981 armored-car robbery. Frequently, the family was at the poverty level. In his song “Changes” he states “I 'm tired of bein ' poor and even worse I 'm black. My stomach hurts, so I 'm lookin ' for a purse to snatch” and in “Dear Mama” where he says “I shed tears with my baby sister over the years we was poorer than the other little kids” Shakur managed to get accepted to the prestigious Baltimore School of the Arts as a teenager where he studied acting and ballet. While living in Baltimore, he discovered rap and began performing. Before he could graduate, his family moved to the West Coast to Marin City, CA, in the late 1980’s when he was 17 years old. Over the next few years, he lived life on the streets and initiated his hustling. Shakur drifted into the gang life, gathering a criminal record with eight arrests by the beginning of his twenties. He demonstrates his early troubles in “Dear Mama” where he says “Suspended from school;…

    • 1644 Words
    • 7 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Powerful Essays

    What we only see in Tupac is the violent life he lived and how he is the root of corruption among our youth. "They say Tupac [hip-hop] teaches our youth to be gangsters and has no positive message, but they forget the U.S. climate is negative." (Anonymous poem author) Judging someone by their outside character can never determine what they are feeling on the inside. In other words, Tupac was the true example of society today. We see the negative clearly, but how much do we know about the positive?…

    • 2010 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Powerful Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tupac Shakur is considered an rap icon. Some may say he is the MJ to the rap game. He didn’t just make music he made common situation into a song that everyone can bob their head to. Many artist say that they were influenced to rap because of Tupac such as Nas, Kendrick Lamar, J. Cole and so many more. Tupac’s mother (Afeni Shakur) was a single parent and she tried her best trying to make their childhood a great one. He thanked his mom for her effort in the song ‘Dear Mama‘. He may have been known to many people as an “Gangster” or “Thug”, but he also touched on issues that were going on at that moment of time. ‘Keep ya head up’ by 2pac was an anthem for women who were raising children on their own during the hard times during the 90’s, especially…

    • 1136 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Good Essays
  • Good Essays

    Tupac Amuru Shakur or better known by his stage name 2Pac was an American rapper and actor who came to fame in the 80’s-90’s era. Both Tupac’s mother and father were active members of the “Black Panthers”. Shakur’s parents were very outspoken and tenacious individuals, although they divorced during Tupac’s younger years both of their qualities can be seen through Tupac’s words and actions. From an early age Shakur was surrounded by struggle and relatives who were imprisoned, this plays a big role in his works or literature. Tupac can be seen as one of the pioneers of “controversial rap”. Most of his works shed light on current events in the African American community. He mostly spoke of the wrong doings of young African American’s and also the mistreating of young African American’s by society during this time (80’s-90’s).…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Good Essays