Analysis Of Tupac, And 2morrow By Amaru Shakur

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

In the poem, “And 2Morrow” Tupac is discussing the topic of the life of gang members and how there is always another path out out of that one. Tupac is saying how the world is fueled by hatred when he then states “...afraid of common fate” (And 2Morrow 4). The “common fate” is said by Shakur in order to symbolize it to be the path of the gang member. Shakur was afraid that he was going to be like everyone else who had no opportunities to succeed in life and chose the wrong path, a lowly gang member. Tupac then speaks about how all people think about is violence sometimes when he then transmits “...children bred with ruthlessness/ because no one at home cares” (And 2Morrow 11-12). Tupac is alluding to the fact that the actions of a gang member are rooted back to problems one has at home, whether it be lack of love or one traumatic experience, there is always a root to issues like these. The unification of all persons would hopefully lessen the chance of this occurring. Tupac is then talking about how much pressure he feels on himself, even when resting, when he states “Tonight I lay my head down/ but the pressure never stops/ knawing at my sanity” (And 2Morrow 13-15). Tupac uses imagery in this stanza to show that his sanity is getting eaten away, like a rat with cheese. Shakur’s sanity is being tested by the world at it’s many harsh realities. Tupac is stating how tomorrow is a day for change when he states “...and tomorrow I wake with second wind” (And 2Morrow 22). The “second wind” is a metaphor for Tupac’s life saying how instead of choosing the route of the gangbanger, he instead chose a different, positive route of doing things. Shakur wants to get as many people out of poverty and the gang life, and into doing something they love to do. In a way, this would unify all people because individuals would have the