Analysis Of Keep Ya Head Up

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“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. The opening lyrics kick of the song with a punch. “Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice. I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots”. Tupac was trying to say that black is beautiful. The berry and juice metaphor was used to say that darker women are more desirable. That is something that even today most people do not agree with. Back then and now, many believe that lighter skin is beauty and dark is not. More powerful lyrics hit you in the first verse. I could no... ... middle of paper ... ...things do not change. The last part of that lyric is pretty sad. Sounds like his friends were constantly dying due to the violence in his neighborhood. I really enjoyed watching the music video too. The music video had a shot of a single mother that seemed depressed, this emphasized the effect of irresponsible men. It kind of seems like the men in the video are saying sorry as they gather around Tupac and have their hands up. It looks like they are asking god for forgiveness. Aside from the video this is one the most sensitive and woman-loving track in rap. The message was to respect our women since not many did. Tupac grew up with no father so he relied on his mom and aunts to raise him. He gives a lot of credit to them and wants everybody else to respect women like the way he does. If you got time, hear this motivational song that might turn you into a Tupac fan

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