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Tupac essay on biography
Tupac essay on biography
Tupac essay on biography
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Tupac Shakur 1971-1996
Born: June 16, 1971 in New York, New York, United States
Died: September 13, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Ethnicity: African American
Occupation: Rap Musician, Musician, Actor
"Don't shed a tear for me ... / I ain't happy here / I hope they bury me and send me to my rest / Headlines readin' murdered to death."--from "If I Die Tonight" on Me against the World (1995)
BIOGRAPHICAL ESSAY
With his tattoo-splattered physique, piercing deep-set eyes, and shaved head, Tupac Amaru Shakur came across as middle America's worst nightmare, the darkest strain of hip-hop. To fans, Shakur was only "thuggin' against society, thuggin' against the system that made me," as he once rapped. Like some other rappers, Shakur was criticized for his sexist lyrics He celebrated his mother, Afeni, but was equally capable of debasing women in his music. The contradictions hardly ended there. In his last video, "I Ain't Mad at Cha," Shakur--newly arrived in Heaven--saluted an old friend for quitting the "thug life." In "Only God Can Judge Me," Shakur foresaw death bearing down on him, yet seemed unable to tolerate his rival, The Notorious B.I.G. and B.I.G.'s mentor, Sean "Puffy" Combs. Shakur's "Hit 'Em Up," the last single issued during his twenty-five-year lifetime, set new highs of profane rage against B.I.G., who was later gunned down after Shakur's own untimely death.
Yet millions of fans found something meaningful in Shakur's troubled life and lyrics, like a thirty-two-year-old Detroit accountant buying her first Shakur album. "I've never supported that kind of music," she told the Detroit News, "but there was something so tragic about the way he died ... It's almost like I'm looking for answers." Politician Jesse Jackson also tried to explain Shakur's downfall and apparent appeal, telling the Los Angeles Times: "Sometimes the lure of violent culture is so magnetic that even when one overcomes it with material success, it continues to call."
Acting bug bit early
From his June 16, 1971, birth in New York City, Shakur's life read much like an epic melodrama. His mother, Afeni, and father, Billy Garland, belonged to the Black Panthers, a militant group dedicated to achieving racial equality. Just two years earlier, in 1969, Afeni and then...
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...'s murder, "just a sad, ugly feeling, very creepy, very hollow," he said. "No art, no life, just ashes."
Larger-than-life
Vibe chief executive Kevin Clinkscales, however, advised fans against anymore "rumor-mongering," which he found disrespectful to Shakur's family. "These are not comic-book heroes," he told USA Today. "These are real people."
That said, however, most agree that Tupac Shakur has won the larger-than-life immortality he craved so much. The sightings and resurrection theories place him in a select club that includes the late Kurt Cobain, Doors singer-poet Jim Morrison, and Elvis Presley.
On that score, fans need not fear, as poet Nikki Giovanni acknowledged in her own tribute, "All Eyez on You": "don't tell me he got what he deserved he deserved a chariot and / the accolades of a grateful people / he deserved his life." Nor did Giovanni stop there, getting her own "Thug Life" tattoo to honor Shakur's memory, telling the Chicago Tribune: "Young black men are in a holocaustic situation." So long as that persists, fans insist, Tupac Shakur's musical legacy will be hard to deny.
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.
June 16th, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York. Lesane Parish Crooks was born. Left by his father, Alice Williams, Tupac's mother changed his name from Lesage to Tupac Amaru Shakur. Tupac has moved from Oakland to New York and back again. When he was fifteen he was into writing rap lyrics and gang related subjects. By the time Tupac was eighteen he had been arrested eight times, even serving eight months in prison after being convicted of sexual abuse. Tupac studied the teachings of a war strategist known as Machiavelli in prison.
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971 in New York City to Afeni Shakur, a Black Panther member since 1968. She gave birth to him 2 months after she was released from Women’s House of Detentions in Grenwich Village. She was charged with conspiracy to bomb several New York public locations and just had her bail revoked. In court she represented herself and won against the state of New York in a surprising turn out. In Incan dialect, his name Tupac Amaru means “shining serpent” and Shakur is Arabic for “thankful to God.” For most of his childhood his crack addicted mother shuffled Tupac between the ghettos of Harlem and the Bronx. Young Tupac began his performance career with the 127th Street Ensemble and then enrolled Baltimore School for the Arts where he was educated in ballet and acting. Tupac was forced to drop out of the school because he had to move to California with his mother, where his criminal career began. He left his house at the age of 17 because of the continuous fights with his mother he then began selling/doing drugs, and was homeless for about 2 years. His life was spiraling down wards at a rapid rate. Till one day he got his big break. Tupac always dreamt about being famous someday, now his dream was becoming a reality. He struck a recording deal with Interscope records. He was on his way to super stardom, but as we all know with fame comes problems. He was involved in the shooting of two off duty police officers, although the chargers were later dropped. He was also convicted of rape, and sentenced to 5 years in Clinton Correctional Facilities.
Tupac Amaru Shakur born in East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City. His birth name was Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16 1971. His both parents were members of the Black Panther Party. Tupac Shakur was a vocal participant during the East Coast and West Coast hip hop rivalry. He went to High School in California and Maryland. His career brought him back to New York City. Forget about his education and family background, thinking about how he put himself into his career so successfully. To succeed and accomplishment that made him in legacy…..
How much does the world really know about Tupac Shakur? Tupac Shakur was a renowned hip hop artist whose rap music brought up many controversial topics. Tupac’s lifestyle played a large role in his contribution to music. Without his continual perseverance through his struggles in his early life, he wouldn’t have accomplished what he has done so later on in his career. His impact on the music industry has also greatly influenced the way society depicts the African American community. Shakur’s music has given white, middle-class Americans an insight on what it’s like to live in an inner city. (Josh Nisker). Tupac’s short life was a stem in the way rap is portrayed and interpreted in modern day hip hop.
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”.
Tupac Amaru Shakur was an African-American rapper, poet, and record producer during the 1990’s. In his adolescent years, he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts where he took acting and dance classes, like ballet. He was taught radical politics by his mother, which helped him develop ideas about topics he would later use in his many works. At an early age, Tupac had seen the injustices of the real world. His mother was a former Black Panther activist who turned to substance abuse during Tupac’s childhood. Aside from that, he and his mother also moved many times while they lived together in New York City. While Tupac was in Baltimore, he discovered rap; not long after, he and his mother moved to the West Coast where he joined the rap group
Tupac Shakur is one of the most influential artists of all time, regardless of genre. Tupac only lived for 25 years, as he was killed in a drive-by shooting outside a Las Vegas casino, which was allegedly the result of a feud between two rap groups. Tupac’s music has always cast a long shadow across the hip hop music industry, because his lyrics discuss deep and meaningful issues that his community was dealing with during his lifetime. The songs that I have selected to break down, in the ways they relate to and portray women during this time, are “Brenda’s got a baby,” “Dear Mama,” and “keep ya head up.” The lyrics, and stories that are discussed in these songs are extremely relatable and are examples of why Tupac was able to rise to prominence, and why his music continues to still be marketable and popular today.
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.
The three-year anniversary of Notorious B.I.G's murder is fast approaching and many people still rave about his music. What made him so special was the connection he had with his listeners. He found many ways to incorporate his life stories into his music that relates to every other "thug" growing up in the streets from New York City to Los Angeles. The perfect example of this is his double CD, "Life after Death" where most of his songs are about death and how people deal with it. Its quite ironic how he sort of predicted his own death in the album but by doing so, it helped his fans and family deal with his death better.
Tupac’s childhood and upbringing were heavily influenced by his parents and their ideals regarding the Black Panthers, and criminal activity. Many members of his immediate family were either convicted or charged with crimes and all spoke heavy Ebonic influence in their speech. Also growing up in the East Harlem his childhood was based on the street education. He was an avid reader however and enjoyed many styles of classical literature and this is what led him to join and perform in the 127th Street Repertory Ensemble where he learned how to act and also where he began his rap career. He not only succeeded at his new school but also was the starring role in plays like the Nutcracker and A Raisin in the Sun. These influences helped h...
“Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots”. This is the opening lyrics of one of the best songs ever written in the rap industry “Keep Ya Head Up”. It was written by who many people consider the best rapper in history, Tupac Amaru Shakur. Tupac is still considered one of the greatest and is still being played today by true Hip-Hop fans. People that do not know much of Tupac view him as a criminal. A criminal that got tatted “Thug Life” across his stomach and was the center of violence between the East Coast vs. West Coast rappers in the early 90’s. But the true Hip-Hop fans know the real Tupac Amaru Shakur. He didn’t promote violence like the rappers that are around now. Chief Keef, Fredo Santana, Lil Reese all promote Chicago’s war on drug trafficking, guns and murder. Tupac was different. He tried sending positive messages and did a phenomenal job with this song. In this song Tupac focuses on women’s rights which something unheard of in the rap industry. That is quite sad because up to this day, most rappers do not rap about women’s rights or try sending a positive message. That is why Tupac was different and he wanted the ideal women standing up for herself with this song.
“Will the real Slim Shady please stand up?” Recognized all around the hip-hop community, this popular phrase references the infamous rapper Marshal Bruce Mathers III. Alias Eminem, Marshal Mathers is special because he is arguably the most successful white artist in the hip-hop world. As an a-list celebrity, Eminem is highly admired and considered to be a big time star in Hollywood. His music involves a style of rap that many people relate to and love. However, there are also critics ready to analyze the message that Eminem is offering within his rap lyrics and crude tone. When performing for his fans, Eminem transforms into a passionate artist, and has been given the alternate nickname Slim Shady. It is evident that Slim Shady puts his whole heart into creating his music, through his drive for success. Examining his true accomplishments, some people wonder why Eminem has received so much praise and recognition. While some will make Eminem there idol, still others condemn him and blame his music for containing offensive material and the corrupting the youth in this generation. Are these people being fair with their assessments and accusations? How has Marshal Bruce Mathers III, alias Eminem, alter ego Slim Shady, affected the hip-hop culture as well as this generation in the 21st century?
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City, New York. He was named after Túpac Amaru II, an Incan revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and received capital punishment. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was an active member of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s, Shakur was born just one month after her acquittal on more than 100 charges of "conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York Panther 21 court case. Although officially unconfirmed by the Shakur family, several sources list his birth name as either "Parish Lesane Crooks" or "Lesane Parish Crooks". Afeni feared her enemies would attack her son, and disguised their relation using a different last name, only to change it three months or a year later, following her marriage to Mutulu Shakur.
Tupac was born on June 16, 1971 to Afeni Shakur in New York City. His real name is Lesane Parish Crooks. Tupac was mainly raised by his mom, because his dad really didn’t have much to do with him when he was born. Tupac spent his earlier years in Harlem in 1984. His family soon moved to Baltimore, Maryland where he became good friends with Jada Pinkett Smith. ( Tupac’s brief Biography)