Compare and Contrast 2Pac & Saint John the Baptist

Compare and Contrast

2Pac & Saint John the Baptist

Although they lived in very different times, Tupac Shakur and Saint John the Baptist had many commonalities. Both became extremely famous for expressing what they believed. The media's portrayal of Tupac Shakur as a tattooed thug has focused public attention on his accused crimes instead of his music. This rapper, raised in Marin City, California, by a Black Panther mother, is more complex than his enemies like to admit. Shakur (who performs as 2Pac) was a talented lyricist with a gift for storytelling and getting his point across to our youth. He continued to grow as a writer on his hard-hitting album, “All Eyez on Me” which benefits from West Coast-style production by such artists as Dr. Dre. Recorded shortly after Shakur was released on bail from a prison sentence for sexual assault, the double album shows a relatively contemplative rapper who's ready to make peace with some of his demons.

The following list of positive lyrics from Eyez and 2Pac's previous albums certainly doesn't make him a saint, but it does reveal surprising emotional depth:

1. "Life Goes On," All Eyez on Me : In one of the most touching moments on his new album, the rapper with "Thug Life" tattooed on his chest shows that he isn't insensitive to the loss of those he loves: "How many brothers fell victim to the streets / Rest in peace young niggaz / Is there heaven for a G? / Be a lie if I told ya that I never thought of death / My nigga, we the last one's left / And life goes on."

2. "Dear Mama," Me Against the World : An insightful 2Pac repents the stress that he's caused his mother: "Mama, I finally understand / For a woman it ain't easy trying to raise a man / You always was committed / A poor single mother on welfare / Tell me how you did it / There's no way that I can pay you back / But the plan is to show you that I understand. / You are appreciated."

3. "Keep Ya Head Up," Strictly 4 My Niggaz : With a kind of compassion that is rare from any performer - let alone a gangsta rapper - 2Pac advises: "Be real to our women / And if we don't we'll have a race of babies / Who hate the ladies / That make the babies / And since a man can't make one / He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one." Hard to believe this is the guy who wrote "Wonda Why They Call U Bitch."

4. "Brenda's Got a Baby," 2Pa...

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... ghetto kids not believe in God. Why? So that's wrong religion -I believe in God, I believe God puts us wherever we want to be at. They didn't make sense that God would put us in the ghetto. That means he wants us to work hard to get up out of here.” Tupac’s notion as to where God puts us where we should be and that we shouldn’t have to go into a church to praise him and talk to him, it’s similar to St. John the Baptist lifestyle while living in the Desert of Judea. Even though the desert and the ghetto were different, that’s where they both came from. Both are very similar, because both didn’t have material things, only the necessities to live and sometimes not even that. Like 2Pac, John the Baptist didn’t live in the ghetto but he made due with the same provisions. He wore clothes that were made of camels’ hair, and his food consisted of locus and wild honey.

In conclusion, this was overall an interesting assignment. I’ve learned that we don’t need depend on material things. Both people were humble and made due with what they had.. And both lived a hard, yet influential life. They tried to give back to the community as much as they could with their wisdom and views on life.