Tupac Changes Essay

Mohammed Albadan
University of North Texas
MUMH 2040
06/22/2015

Tupac Shakur - Changes
Tupac Shakur stood out in both in the hip hop community and the music industry through his profound ability to include poetry in his songs while maintaining a ‘gangster’ type of rapping style. “Changes” is one of the poetic hip hop songs done by Tupac. The song bases its lines on the fight against drugs, the Black Panther party, how the black people are handled by police and the challenges of living in the ghetto. This paper discusses “Changes” as done by Tupac and the reasons behind the composition of the song.
“Changes” was originally recorded in 1992 during Tupac’s stay at the Interscope records under the production of Deon Evans.

It was re-mixed five years later re-using the lyrics from “I wonder if Heaven got a ghetto” that was recorded around the same period1. The chorus and melody of the song is sampled from “the way it is” that was done by Bruce Hornsby in collaboration with the Range in 1986. In the song, Tupac included lines from several unreleased songs that he intended to update them at a later stage. However, this did not happen because he was killed in a mysterious shooting before releasing most of the songs.
In the song, Tupac compromises his famous bad-boy image as he attempts to tackle the social issues affecting the Black Americans through this song. In the first lines of the song, his rap goes as, “I’m tired of bein’ poor and even worse I’m black, my stomach hurts, so I’m lookin’ for a purse to snatch”. This is an illustration of the big number of black people in the United States that are not only affected by poverty but also not given the chance to develop themselves. Therefore, they are forced to engage in criminal ways to make ends meet.
The harmony of the song is the sound of man tired of status quo. Tupac had grown up with all the injustices performed against the Black Americans and he wanted to see change. The song is used as an inspiration and a wakeup call to the Black American race to stand up for their right. He was fed up with the continuous unjust killings of the blacks and being suspected of drug trafficking all the time. Tupac believed that such issues were holding the black Americans back and he used the song to inspire as many blacks to join the war and make changes in their own lives.
The song takes a poetic rhythm and the flow of the beat is well composed.

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

trouble.
The timbre of the song is clear that is separated between the rap and the chorus. The tone is energetic like an order to the black American race that they are not doing enough2. Tupac stresses the importance of love for one another in the stanza when he asks, “How can the devil take a brother if he’s close to me?” He blames his black race for surrounding themselves with a lot of hatred and anger when heraps, "I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other. We gotta start makin’ changes; learn to see me as a brother ‘stead of two distant strangers.” He strongly believes that the people of his own race should also blame themselves for hating on one another with a lot of jealousy because they are interested on individuality rather than unity.
The song takes a polyphony texture where a chorus and the rap are mixed for better understanding and smooth flow.

It is a thick texture because it uses two melodies to stress the point. The dynamics of the song are based on the life of a black America that has not been changing and Tupac believes that it is time he saw the change by the Black Americans initiating it.
The form of the song is educative and activist. Tupac educates his people about the importance of loving one another and also encourages them to stand up and make the change they need to see. He says that he has not seen any changes to remind the black Americans that they have done nothing towards making their livelihood better as well as their rights. He reminds them that the tricks used in the past have not worked in their favor and therefore, it is up to them too stand up again and fight for what they want to enable them survive.
Many people listen to my music since it is normally a mix of all musical genres. I play it when relaxing and when we are out with friends in social events. My type of music is selective and can be listened to at any place by anyone regardless of age because I believe music is a global medicine. Some understand the message while others love the beats but collectively, music soothes the minds of many listeners. I listen to music when my moods are down and whenever I need to relax. This is because; music lifts me up in an incredible way and gives me the motivation for better days above

all the normal challenges.