1. As you read about Tupac Shakur's life, what is about him that makes his legacy continue long after his death? Is it hype or was the young man tapped into serious truths only he could articulate? What in his life prepared him for the task? Dyson mentions several. Survey the text. Make a list with page numbers. Is the list exhaustive? Did Dyson miss anything? If so, list it here.
Some say that suffering is a necessary aspect of life. That without pain there is no gain. Do you agree? Talk about how Tupac's life was reflected in his art, whether that was a role in a film, a poem or a song. His life, Dyson and other's believe was art manifest. What do you think?
2. Despite the accolades, Tupac was certainly a man whose life was riddled with contradictions, those contradictions reflected in his work. Look at the arguments Dyson poses that support this duality, a duality we see in Tupac's music, his poetry and in his life. If Tupac's two-ness was not evidence of hypocrisy, then what was it?
Post your thoughts here, then respond again to one other classmate's response. Identify yourself. Again, use Dyson and Tupac's poetry and lyrics to songs to respond to the questions. This is an in-class assignment for Wednesday, October 10. If you don't finish you can complete the response from home.
Homework is to finish the and develop 3-5 essay questions. Bring them to class. Oh, I changed my mind, we're going to meet here tomorrow and respond to one another's questions.
Next week week need to schedule conferences so we can talk about your writing, and how you're doing. Bring in copies of all of your work submitted so far.
Some say that suffering is a necessary aspect of life. That without pain there is no gain. Do you agree? Talk about how Tupac's life was reflected in his art, whether that was a role in a film, a poem or a song. His life, Dyson and other's believe was art manifest. What do you think?
2. Despite the accolades, Tupac was certainly a man whose life was riddled with contradictions, those contradictions reflected in his work. Look at the arguments Dyson poses that support this duality, a duality we see in Tupac's music, his poetry and in his life. If Tupac's two-ness was not evidence of hypocrisy, then what was it?
Post your thoughts here, then respond again to one other classmate's response. Identify yourself. Again, use Dyson and Tupac's poetry and lyrics to songs to respond to the questions. This is an in-class assignment for Wednesday, October 10. If you don't finish you can complete the response from home.
Homework is to finish the and develop 3-5 essay questions. Bring them to class. Oh, I changed my mind, we're going to meet here tomorrow and respond to one another's questions.
Next week week need to schedule conferences so we can talk about your writing, and how you're doing. Bring in copies of all of your work submitted so far.
posted by Professor Wanda's Posse at 10:56 AM
14 Comments:
Latrice Collins-Lampkins
Professor Wanda Sabir
English 1A
10/10/07
I didn’t know how conflicted Tupac was until I read Dysons book. His sensitive side didn’t mix well with his Thug life persona. His revolutionary upbringing caused him to be torn between the panther principles and the thug life creed. His misogynistic lyrics overshadowed his quest for life’s spiritual meaning,which could be heard in many of his songs. Was Tupac a hypocrite or just confused?
I suppose his Panther upbringing fueled his rebellious nature. Although he took issues with some of the panther party contradictions, he wasn’t mad at the principles “instead it was the lack of courage in the face of “suffering that riled him, especially the hurt it caused the female soldiers. It’s clear that Tupac respected woman yet much of his music was filled with misogynistic lyrics. Rev. Al Sharpton said that “Tupac was very conflicted he wanted to be honest to his radical past but at the same time, he wanted to be commercially successful”
Balancing his revolutionary past and Thug Life had to be a difficult task. His astrological sign, Gemini explains his double life.
When I close my eyes and listen to his music or read his poetry I can feel his pain. Many of his songs take you on his quest for life’s spiritual meaning. In his song So Many Tears he ask “God can you feel me /take me away from all this pressure and pain”, Tupac was seeking an answer for his existence. In the song “I wonder if Heavens Got a Ghetto” Tupac declares his sympathy for thug life while pondering his destiny. He questioned what was in store for him even though he seemed to know that death was very eminent.
I believe that spiritually there is a pre-ordained destiny for everyone. In Tupacs short life he experienced more than many people that live to reach old age. He speed through life with such intensity and urgency as if he knew that he was on a mission, that wouldn’t be able to complete. He shook things up, questioned social inequities in our society and created a platform for people under represented in the ghetto. His creativity and sensitivity tormented him and caused him conflict, which made him seem like a hypocrite, but in my opinion he wasn’t. He just didn’t live long enough to grow and mature into his own understanding of self.
Work Cited
Dyson, Eric ;Holler if ya hear me Eric Dyson Page 63
Dyson, Eric ;Holler if ya hear me Eric Dyson Page 63
Rap Artist
Tupac “So Many Tears
Tupac ”I wonder if Heavens Got a Ghetto
Chantha Hack
English 1A
M-Th 11-12pm
October 10th, 2007
I am positive that Tupac Shakur’s legacy has continued and became even more popular than when he was alive. The truths about his lyrics really reflect his hip hop and personal life. They were the words to let out anger, pain, and suffering. Fans of his really wanted to know what exactly or what went on during his time on earth; to listen to his lyrics and ponder about his life and really trying to understand where he’s coming from tells a lot about how Pac lived his life.
Tupac knew that his time was coming because he believed in karma. In chapter 7, page 212, Tupac admits in his quote, “What goes around, comes around… and I’m ready any day. “ He talks about how he know what he did to some people will eventually come back to get him. It shows a sign of acceptance. And because he was really obsessed with God, he always talked to Him and wrote about Him, also calling Him for help about everything he was going through. Tupac wrote songs related to God like in, “So many tears,” and “Only God can judge me.” The lyrics are truly deep and how expressed about his suffering, his sin, and God’s coming for him and that he has to be prepared.
I agree and liked what Latrice said in her third paragraph how if i were to close my eyes and listen to his music or read his poetry, i too can feel his pain. And that's a great feeling beacause i can understand Tupac and what he had to go through and just connect with him on a certain level. =)
I thought I knew Tupac but that was only on the surface what was known through his songs.He had a lot of experiences in his life that shaped him who he was, but not saying thats an excuse for what he did.Tupac was hated by many and loved by a greater a number and his death has contributed to his affection by people.So I would agree that he is even more face after death than while he was alive.While he was alive only people who were going through things he experienced loved Tupac.Those who chastised him for his ways were eventually won over or made their comments less negative.
Many can feel his pain who come from a negative experience, or are around it.For example like in a song "Ballad of a dead souldier" Tupac states "Little child runnin wild through the danger,death to all starngers" thats a powerful line many would claim that is violent,but if you are in a ghetto you see the child running wild along with strangers committing devious crimes.He painted the perfect picture of mass anger,dissaprovals, and poverty that plagued the black community and brown communities. He was also very uplifting and moving like in "words of wisdom" in song Tupac states postive battle against opression,and open your eyes with such lyrics like"This is for the masses the lower classes The ones you left out, jobs were givin', better livin'But we were kept out
Made to feel inferior, but we're the superiorBreak the chains in out brains that made us fear yah
Pledge a legiance to a flag that neglects us Honour a man that who refuses to respect us Emancipation, proclamation, Please!
Nigga just said that to save the nation These are lies that we all acceptedSay no to drugs but the governments' keep it Running through our community, killing the unity The war on drugs is a war on you and me And yet they say this is the Home of The Free But if you ask me its all about hypocrisy
The constitution, Yo, it don't apply to me Lady Liberty still the bitch lied to me Steady strong nobody's gonna like what I pumpin'
But its wrong to keeping someone from learning something So get up, its time to start nation building
I'm fed up, we gotta start teaching Children That they can be all that they wanna to be There's much more to life than just poverty" it shows Tupac wasn't all about murder,guns,violence Tupac is a Product.Of.My.Environment which is a truth in urban communities. Dyson also shows his self contridictory side with his wise intellectuall side signs of a gemini, maybe thats why he was "2pac". He often battled with the good and the bad,but he started gaining a gangster image after altercations and situations that it shot him to stardom around the same time gangsta rap was getting famous.
His image started to become tarnished with "trying to please everyone" as stated in Dyson's book. He started to change into his gangster image and acting out his role day by day.It wasn't him but the love from the streets,youth,and the world of machismo overshawdowed his true capcity, and so America only saw a ruthless thug.This was an amplified version of the real Tupac as if he almost forgot his morals and goals.Tupac also started growing a hatred for women because of an event that occured in Dyson's book Tupac states"That he was a nice guy,lover for women,and chastised those men who mis treated women" and "one day he showered a girl with so much love, and sincereity that she told him that he was to nice" from that day on tupac said"That his pride and ego was hurt that from that day on Tupac will be the badboy women love and that will be his role".Clearly this shows Tupac was only pleasing his audience and adjusting to the climate, and his true ways were forgotten due to pain the world inflicted on Tupac, but not saying he wasn't a realist it's just this is how he felt.
The real Tupac was only seen by those who truly adored him, and before he became an addictive microphone fiend of the dark,truth,and reality of life in the ghetto or life as he seen it through his eyes.To understand would be complicated,but to dislike him would ignorant because he had so much postivity that lacked motivation and was contradicted by negativity and tunnel vision.He could of done so much more with his life,and to other not saying that he didn't because in the Dyson's book one of his fan states"Tupac saved my life.If I had been listening to so called positive rappers,I would have been dead.When said 'I'm hopeless',I could Identify with that, and I did'nt kill myslef like I had planned to do because I beleived he understood how I felt.", and there are other times where his lyrics might have contributed to continue negativity. I think he peers could of also did more if Tupac was willing to listen to influence a change in life because his route was a short one.Though I think Tupac knew or felt he was the sacrificial lamd for black youth, and he spoke to god a lot like in "Hail Mary","Only God Can Judge Me", and "So Many Tears" maybe that is why he felt he had to live reckless. There was a purpose only he and god know why he was took so young.
If Tupac were still alive would he have made a change,or was he on the verge of making one.It can be seen in other songs that he was sorry for what he has done,and accepts his trial and error, but I can't help to feel that maybe he didn't want to go in the end but he had to.He has also became more famous and accepted in America because of people like Dyson and any other people that choose to follow Tupac and his peers.Too bad it was in death that was the only way to see through poor Tupac's eyes it certainley sent a message. Tupac has a good song "How Long will they mourn me? and it will be like this for a long time because now people feel guilty that Tupac was a beautiful human being and we only saw the dark gemini side on the surface and not who he was on the inner.Maybe the world will open it's eyes and see there are many Tupac's some live inside of us some in others regardless we need to base our decisions on the real intentions of a person not his mistakes...
Both Al and Latrice hit on important points, as does Chantha. I like Latrice's reference to Tupac's youth and how he could have done so much more if he'd had the life-time. But one can only fit so much into one's life, no matter how compacted one tries to make it. Eating and sleeping are neccessary to keep the machine rolling. The three writers recognize Tupac's philosophical conflict.
Al says Tupac wanted to be successful and conscious. How is that possible when only gangsta rap sells? The kind of music that denegrates women. (Recall such references in the Hip Hop Beyond Beats and Rhymes film.)
I like the inclusion of Dr. Dyson in the conversation. Discourse builds on previous knowledge, so one doesn't forget what one knows, rather knowledge is culmulative. Latrice, Chantha and Al's essays show this.
(Chantha, see Hacker re: incorporating text, signal phrases. You put the reference at the end of the sentence. For example, Tupac admits, "quote" (Dyson, 212).
Essay Questions:
1.Do you think that Tupacs refrences to God in his music was a cry for help or salvation?
2. Was the East Coast West Coast beef a publicity stunt to boost his career?
3. Do you think that Tupac over exaggerated his mysogynistic lyrics to mask the sensitivty that he actually had for women?
I agree with Al when he stated that “Tupac was trying to please everyone. He began acting out his gangster role day by day” I believe that was part of Tupacs demise, everyday a piece of him was chipped away.
Both Chantha and Al argue that Tupac became more popular after death. It seems that death cuases people to wake up and pay attention to things that they take for granted. People stopped and actually listened to him after he was gone.
Chantha Hack-Aguilar
English 1A
M-Th 11-12pm
October 11th, 2007
Essay Questions:
1) Is Tupac really dead even to today, or is he well alive because he's still coming out with new songs after his death?
2)Where do you think Tupac got his character and wisdom from in his man-hood if he never had a father or a male figure in his life?
3)Would you say that Tupac had lived the American dream? What is the American dream?
4)How does Tu-pac's mother influence his life as he was growing-up? How does she influenced him about people of all race?
5)Why did you think Tupac was transformed into a different Tupac after he was arrested and sentenced to jail? How does that change his hip-hop career?
6)How did Leila Steinberg influenced Tupac and his hip-hop career?
7)Do you think that there's artists today or anyone you know out there who's like Tupac that might be more famous if they were to die?
8)Do you think Tu-pac has a two-face? If so, what are they?
Q#1:Was Tupac a "real n***a",and if so why did he feel he was one of the realest in the rap game?
Q#2:Why was Tupac alaways trying to please everyone that requested his presence or his view on a matter?
Q#3:Did Tupac really feel he was true to being a "Thug" or was he putting another act?
Q#4:If Tupac were alive today would he be trying to make a change in hip-hop,and urban America?;Or would he be following mainstream rap,and send disses to other rappers like everyone else?
Q#5:Why did Tupac set himself up to be a scapegoat for black youth?
Q#6:Why did Tupac feel he need to pursue and continue the gangsta lifesytle/image?
Q#7:Why was he so admired after death,and not before the event of his demise?
Luchita Graham
English 1A
M-TH 11-12pm
Essay Questions:
1. Was Tupac really the thug he personified himself to be or did he get stuck playing a character in the longest role of his short lived life?
2. Do you think Tupac was capable of truly loving a women knowing that at times, he found it difficult to love himself?
3. Was Tupac happy with the notoriety he received from his Hip-Hop career or do you think he would have rather gone through life unnoticed?
Zareth benavides
English 1 A
Q1: In his book Dyson stated that "in blak america mother ove is only second to the love of God-but just slightly." Does this hold true eve for tupac's tourmoiled relationship with his mother?
Q2:Tupac always had a knack for acting. is it possible that he created chracters through his music to escape the tourmoile in in life?
Q3:Tupac might have lacked education from an institution, but had a street education on life. He pushed for the better, and the better pushed him out. Why do you suppose that despite his his inability to attend and graduate school, Tupac was still keen on education?
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