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How does tupac effects culture
Tupac's impact on american culture
Police and racial profiling
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Cultural Influences on Rap Music
America’s criminal justice system has such drastic effects onto its population that these changes are expressed through artistic abilities, making it a primary theme of much of rap music. Policies, laws, and social changes that may seem to be insignificant at the time will show throughout history in expressional art forms such as music, art, theater, ect. Historical documents are valid evidence of the world before, clues of human’s past and our ancestors; art reveals a much finer clarity into people’s perceptions, reflections and the interpretations of the world around them. America’s criminal justice system is a clear example of policies that while currently, may not be noticeable to the entire population
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During 2001-2013 in New York, Caucasians were thirty-six percent of the population, the percentage of misdemeanor arrests were at thirteen percent. Whereas African Americans, were twenty-five percent of the population yet had forty-eight percent of the misdemeanor arrests. (Ghandoosh, Ph.D 2015.) It’s quite interesting how a single policy that is created by those who enforce the law can drastically change the lives of those who live there, including Tupac. If, Tupac’s lyrics didn’t resonant with an audience, his popularity wouldn’t still be as strong as it is today. Simple changes in the way our laws are enforced, can ultimately change our cultural environment to the point of artistic expression which is quite powerful. Another example of this, is “ a recent investigation of the rates at which the Boston Police Department observed, stopped, interrogated, frisked, or searched individuals without making an arrest found that black comprised 63% of these police-civilian encounters between 2007 and 2010, although they make up 24% of the city’s population.” (Ghandoosh, Ph.D …show more content…
Two of his most well known songs, “ Dear Mama,” and “Keep Ya Head Up” are about single mother families. “Dear Mama,” is actually a song to his mother, who raised both him and his sister single-handedly, and how much respect Tupac has for this. “ Keep Ya Head Up,” is surprisingly feminist for rap music. It’s confronting the way men treat women disrespectfully, stating that we must respect women because they are the one’s who are raising the children while the men are in jail “ You know what makes me unhappy? When brothers make babies and leave a young mother to be a pappy. And since we all came from woman, got our name from a woman and our game from a woman. I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it’s time to kill for our women, time to heal our women, be real to our women...And since a man can’t make one, he has no right to tell a women when and where to create one, I know you’re fed up ladies but, keep your head up.” (Shakur 1993.) Putting these songs into perspective about how far-reaching this culture is, “ 1 in 9 black children have a parent in prison.” (Chang 2016.) Thus, why “Keep Your Head Up,” has created such a widespread popularity and reputation as an iconic rap song. Many rap songs are degrading and provoke harmful acts against women or, focus primarily about sex but,
In the short story “Tupac and My Non-Thug Life” by Jenee Desmond-Harris she talks about the death of Tupac Shakur and the impact it had on her and her friend Thea. I think its interesting that although Harris and Tupac are polar opposites she uses the connection of their race and applys it to this “coming of age” journey. Harris expresses that Tupacs music made her feel apart of something and that she valued the racial equality being voiced through his music. I can relate to this on multiple levels. For example when I’m feeling down and listen to sad music that i can relate to. Listening to music and lyrics that you can relate to brings you a sense of belonging like you arent the only one that has ever felt this way.
The majority of our prison population is made up of African Americans of low social and economic classes, who come from low income houses and have low levels of education. The chapter also discusses the amount of money the United States loses yearly due to white collar crime as compared to the cost of violent crime. Another main point was the factors that make it more likely for a poor person to be incarcerated, such as the difficulty they would have in accessing adequate legal counsel and their inability to pay bail. This chapter addresses the inequality of sentencing in regards to race, it supplies us with NCVS data that shows less than one-fourth of assailants are perceived as black even though they are arrested at a much higher rate. In addition to African Americans being more likely to be charged with a crime, they are also more likely to receive harsher punishments for the same crimes- which can be seen in the crack/cocaine disparities. These harsher punishments are also shown in the higher rates of African Americans sentenced to
A race issue that occurs within the rap and hip-hop musical genre is the racial stereotypes associated with the musical form. According to Brandt, and Viki rap music and hip- hop music are known for fomenting crime violence, and the continuing formation of negative perceptions revolving around the African-American race (p.362). Many individuals believe that rap and hip-hop music and the culture that forms it is the particular reason for the degradation of the African-American community and the stereotypes that surround that specific ethnic group. An example is a two thousand and seven song produced by artist Nas entitled the N-word. The particular title of the song sparked major debates within not only the African-American community thus the Caucasian communities as well. Debates included topics such as the significance and worth of freedom of speech compared with the need to take a stand against messages that denigrate African-Americans. This specific label turned into an outrage and came to the point where conservative white individuals stood in front of the record label expressing their feelings. These individuals made a point that it is because artists like Nas that there is an increase in gang and street violence within communities. Rap and hip-hop music only depicts a simple-minded image of black men as sex crazed, criminals, or “gangsters”. As said above, community concerns have arisen over time over the use of the N-word, or the fact that many rappers vocalize about white superiority and privilege. Of course rap music did not develop these specific stereotypes, however these stereotypes are being used; and quite successfully in rap and hip-hop which spreads them and keeps the idea that people of color are lazy, all crimin...
Years after the United States civil rights movement, the removal of formal segregation laws, and implementation of anti-racist policies, the American criminal justice system still fails to display the same reform. As one of the largest superpowers and industrialized nations in the world, the United States has not attained a “post-racial status,” defined as being a society in which race, although it remains a concept, does not influence individuals. The failure of the United States to attain “post-racial status” is exemplified in the criminal justice system by overwhelming evidence of disproportionate levels of crime, arrests, and incarceration that primarily affect minority populations. Past and present patterns of American society dealing with crime and the people involved committing crime show extreme racial disparity in terms of individuals’ predisposed environments that increase ones likelihood of being involved in the criminal justice system, the system itself that processes individuals, the encouragement of mass incarceration by mainstream society, and the effects these processes have on society.
Tupac Shakur (2pac) was known as one of those rappers that has made a difference in the black community during the 90’s. All his music talked about the reality of black lives and the struggle of being black not only for black men but also for black women. His songs gave hope to African Americans, and to help them see that black was/is beautiful. Even though Tupac has many hit songs and albums, Keep Ya Head Up has been one of the best songs that Tupac has ever recorded! “The blacker the berry the sweeter the juice the darker the flesh the deeper the roots”.
Generally protest songs use strong emotions to chastise an injustice, point out a problem, and attempt to come up with a solution. Different economic, social and political realities from all over the world provide the context for protest songs. Protest songs are underlying with satire, sarcasm, symbolism and hyperboles. The purpose of these songs is to induce deep feelings from its listeners so that its lyrics resonate well with the audience. Among the many songs that fit this description and purpose, the one I will be evaluating is Tupac Shakur’s Changes. Written in 1992, the song captures the deplorable conditions the African Americans live under in the United States. From racial profiling and stereotyping, to abject poverty, and police
They have the ability to capture the listener’s attention, convey a message, and deliver the deeper meanings within a song. To this day, Tupac is known as one of the greatest lyricists of all time. Through Tupac’s use of lyrics, he examines the many conflicts within his culture. In the very first line of the song Changes, Tupac raps, “I see no changes, wake up in the morning and I ask myself, is life worth living should I blast myself?” In this opening verse, Tupac immediately highlights important issues such as contemplating suicide and living in a world where nothing is changing or improving. He strategically uses these lyrics in the opening line to hook the listeners, grab their attention, and set the pace for the rest of the song. In the next line, Tupac raps, “I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black. My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch.” He then says, “Cops give a damn about a negro. Pull the trigger kill a ni**a he's a hero. Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares. One less hungry mouth on the welfare.” Tupac uses these lines to highlight the important issues of poverty, racism, crimes committed out of desperation, police racism and brutality against blacks, and the corrupt systems in
Some of the most important historical developments that Beckett (1997) attributed to the politicization of criminal justice practices and policies were beginning with the civil rights movement. There was a tremendous amount of discourse occurring during this time about whether or not African Americans should have the same rights as whites. As well as, the thought that many African Americans were responsible for the increase in crime. Therefore, in the political sector we saw a power struggle between the Democrats and the Republicans. The Republicans wanted to portray the issues that crime and drug use were increasing rapidly due to the way the African Americans were raised.
The rhythm of the song is a spondee rhythm where Tupac uses a pattern of several syllables that are stressed to make the Black American understand that it is their turn to stand up to make the changes they needed to see in their lives. In the stanza, Tupac says, “it’s on us to do what we gotta do, to survive”, to stress the point that it is only the Black Americans who know what they are undergoing and it is them alone that can stand up and change it. Tupac is unhappy with the government officers for not giving a black man room for development and the black American themselves for hating one another. He encourages them to have love for one another to avoid getting into
What is rap music? How who rap music created? Rap music is a person can rap too the beat of a song. Rap music wasn’t created by one person, it is collection people that made this genre of music. The rap industry isn’t just a genre of music it has its own, culture. Rap music has its own lingo, and style of dress. This goes for every generation of rap including the 1970s through late 2000s. The hip hop culture didn’t just reach African American people this reached people all over the world. Rap music has become a phenomenon that people of all races can relate to the style of music.
Throughout the emotional lyrics of Tupac Shakur’s song “Dear Mama”, he constantly reveals trial and tribulation. Shakur sympathetically expresses the obstacles he endures due to the undying support of his mother who displays sacrificial love. He explains the abnormal circumstances in which his family undergoes such as poverty, single parenting, and even feelings of hopelessness. Shakur characterizes his mother as a heroic figure, who outshines the negative aspects of his life by providing the essentials only a mother could both physically and morally instill in her child. The artist brilliantly captivates his audience by revealing personal information from his childhood in which many can relate to.
Tupac Shakur was a lyrical genius when it came to rapping his feelings about subjects, he was one of the bestselling music artists of all time (Rolling Stone) and yet he was taken from us too early at the young age of 25 while partying in Las Vegas. This story is one that shows how a young musician with so much talent can be taken into the rap culture and enveloped by it, towards the end of his life Shakur produced hundreds of songs ensuring that after his death records would be released for many years. Some say he was crazy and some say he was just misunderstood but either way Tupac was an artist that changed the rap game and continues to influence bilingual rappers to the current day. His work and songs still make it into popular culture and will continue for many years to come. His childhood and upbringing are what made him who he was while also influencing the language and culture used in his music. The locations and personal influences are what inspired him to get into the rap game.
Why do non-black groups (specifically white people) see rap culture as fashionable, trendy, and cool, all while being racially sensitive?
Music is one of the most powerful and influential language which to many people in
Tupac was a Black Nationalist and it was confirmed in some of his music and poems. Black nationalism is defined as the political belief and practice of African-Americans as a distinct people with a distinct historical personality who politically should develop structures to define, defend, and develop the interests of Blacks as people (Karenga,1980). This idea of Black Nationalism came in full force with Tupac’s poem “How Can We Be Free”. Shakur writes, “We must be blind as hell 2 think we live in equality while Nelson Mandela rots in a jail cell Where the shores of Howard Beach Are full of Afrikan Corpses (Shakur,2009).” Here, Tupac talks about how we can’t live in world of equality when political prisoners like Nelson Mandela are in jail, and the racist violence that happened at Howard Beach in 1986 which led to the death of a young black man. Many of the black youths who listen to his music and read his poetry probably didn’t know about these issues. However, his artistic influence raises awareness to people about the injustices going on in the world at that time towards black