![]() I say that because very few rappers encourage kids to be themselves. With that being said, it’s very important that the people who consume the music know the difference between reality and entertainment. Hip Hop has always blurred the lines between entertainment and reality some fans have a hard time deciphering what’s real and what’s hype. Throughout my entire childhood and even now I struggle with moments of insecurity, just as most people do, however, its important that we remember to be true to ourselves. They have a problem looking in the mirror and looking directly into they own soul.” “A lot of people black, white, Mexican, young or old, fat or skinny, have a problem being true to they-self. In all reality, laugher or a simple smile can be just enough to get through whatever situation needed, sometimes you have to tackle your struggles day by day. ![]() I once heard someone say that you have to laugh to keep from crying in desperate times that couldn’t be truer. Fast-forward a decade later and I’m an adult male in my 20s, close to the age Tupac was at the time of his death, I can understand the need to smile through hard times. The first time I ever heard Tupac utter those words on a song called “Smile” by Scarface they didn’t resonate with me, the year was 1997 and I was still a child, still sneaking and listening to my older cousins rap CDs in grandma’s basement. You gotta be able to smile through all this bullshit.” “Through all the rain and the pain, you gotta keep a sense of humor. Stories about Tupac visiting an innocent little girl wounded by unintentional gang fire, feeding friends who didn’t have the money to take care of themselves, and according to a 1996 Vibe Magazine interview, returning jewelry to members of the Wu Tang Clan after they were robbed by gangsters in Los Angeles. There are handfuls of stories that have an urban legend like mystique about them that involve Tupac’s generosity. Tupac was overly critical of African American icons like Michael Jackson, for example, who he felt like did very little to support the community that helped cultivate his success. Unity was a focal point of Tupac’s message and anybody who’s ever analyzed his work would be able to tell you so. You see the old way wasn’t working so its up to us to do what we gotta do to survive.” “It’s time for us as a people to start making some chances, lets change the way we eat, lets change the way we live, and lets change the way we treat each other. To truly reach your goals you’re going to have to step outside of your comfort zone. For a long time I was a chronic underachiever, I’d set the bar so low that I could jump over it with one foot, I was afraid of change, but change isn’t always bad. A goal without a plan is just a wish and I think sometimes, especially when you’re young, you shy away from the unfamiliar. Taking the necessary steps to improve your current situation is always important. In Tupac’s I Ain’t Mad At Cha, he expresses that change is good for anybody as long as you’re making strides towards improving yourself. ![]() Embrace change if it means self-improvement Black singles have been at odds for a number of years and it needs to stop. If you don’t know by now I’ll tell you something, African American Men & Women, statically speaking hardly ever marry each other and when Tupac says “our women” he’s talking to the Black men that feel the need to disrespect Black women. He had a strong compassion for women that was evident in a number of raps like “Wonder Why They Call You Bitch, Dear Mama, and a poem called Shinning Star Within that he dedicated to Marlon Monroe. This might sound elementary to some and a tad bit hypocritical considering some of his latter exploits, but Hip Hop and Hip Hop culture can be very misogynistic so anything aside from the typical “fuck bitches and get money” is refreshing to hear. In 1993’s Keep Your Head Up, Tupac raps, “I think its time to kill for our women/time to heal our women/be real to our women.” Although he was young, wild, and aggressive which ultimately led to his untimely death I learned a number of great things from his music. Consider this, at the time of his death he was Twenty-Five, he had a more profound impact on the world by the age of twenty-five then some men ever have. Somewhere in between the mixture of machismo and faux tough guy personas a lot of the knowledge and intelligence that rappers possess gets undermined. Opinionated, brash, and often very confrontational, Tupac’s throwback personality felt more like a modern revolutionary, which is easily comprehendible when I found out he was raised by parents who were members of the Black Panther Party. Tupac Shakur is without question the most polarizing figure in the history of rap and hip hop.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |