Music and Society have always been intimately related. Throughout the years, music has had the power to influence the behavior of individuals and societies. Music has been thought of as a very powerful medium within social groups because it can facilitate communication beyond strictly words. Music has multiple meanings which can promote the development of individual, cultural and national identities. Today, music has been criticized for corrupting youth. For example, Rap music has been blamed for crimes and murders that take place within cities throughout America. Rap music however serves a more meaningful purpose within societal development and culture. The defiant images of Rap music and Hip-Hop serve as an inspirational outlet of …show more content…
Tupac begins his song with the verse, “I see no changes, I wake up in the morning and I ask myself, Is life worth living or should I blast myself, I’m tired of being poor, and even worse I’m black”. He also explains racism well with his stanza “Cops give a damn about a negro, Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he 's a hero, give the crack to the kids who the hell cares, one less hungry mouth on the welfare”. Another stanza which demonstrates racism toward African Americans is, “I see no changes, all I see is racist faces, misplaced hate makes disgrace to races”. Tupac also raps about how the penitentiaries are filled with 'blacks '. He also explains how illegal activities are necessary in order for poor people to survive. He says “I aint never did a crime, I aint have to do”. Tupac 's “Changes” is very moving. Instead of mindless music which distracts individuals from their lives of poverty and from rebelling, this song presents the graphic imagery of life of poor people and their struggles to survive. The entire purpose of this song is to make a change and rebel against current social and economic structures, and move toward equality. Tupac explains the daily struggles of poverty and violence that people in the ghetto go through, and how it has become normal to them. He explains this with the chorus, “that 's just the way it is, things will never be the same”. It explains how the poor do not deserve to be poor, and try to overcome poverty, however their skin
copies, and I want that so badly, but I can't do that. I would be wrong to do that, knowing what I know and having the brain that I have, for me to even go and write some simple *censored* would be wrong even though I would get paid and I would get more people's money." (Patrick, Tony, n.p.) This means that Tupac has a strong will and values. He resisted the temptation to write some easy rhyming words and get peoples money. He instead followed his values and worked
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996) was a highly influential, best-selling American hip hop artist, considered by many to be one of the greatest and most legendary rappers of all time. Throughout his work, Tupac Shakur consistently uses repetition, symbolism and rhythm to express what he wants the world to know about society; what's going on also about kids been on drugs and gangs etc. In tupac's song, Changes he uses repetition and repeats “I see no changes” to show what things in the world are and that all that we have been through there is no changes. “I see no changes wake up in the morning, and I ask myself Is life worth living should I blast myself?” , “I see no changes all I see is racist faces Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races” all through his song he says he sees no changes then he describes what he sees happening in the world as into racism.
Tupac believes that justice and liberty are unfair when it comes to race and status in America. When reading this poem the first thing I noticed was his syntax. The syntax is very interesting because he uses “text talk” to spell some words, such as saying “R” (Line 3) instead of are and “thru” (Line 4) instead of through. He also uses slang terms such as “‘em” (Line 17) and “Trippin” (Line 6) to emphasize the “Thug Life” that he lives. Another thing I noticed was that he seemed to capitalize random words as if they had a significance to him, such as, “Big Toe” (Line 9).
When most people hear the name Tupac, they think of a tattooed thug, a gangsta rapper killed in a tragic shooting who only got what was coming to him, a man who lived by the gun, and who died by the gun. However, those people probably have never taken a chance to look beyond what their eyes tell them, past the ignorance and into the depths of the man who really was Tupac.
To gaze into the lyrics of both Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur is like living in the ghettos of New York City where violence never stops. Both of these artists grew up seeing and living a life filled with violence. Gunshots and drive-byes, death and murder were a daily occurrence. Although the lyrics of both artists are simply telling their life stories and how hard it was to grow up in their “hoods” they contain vulgar, hateful, and sexual verses that send the wrong message to their listeners. Whether these listeners are teens or adults, white or black, they are continually sending notions of hatred and fear through their lyrics and actions. Ultimately,
Throughout the song, Tupac gives an inside look on the social problems affecting African-Americans and suggests possible solutions. In the first stanza of the song, Tupac first talks about how certain social issues are linked together; he makes a correlation between his skin color and being poor. Tupac says “I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black.” Then he explains how poverty causes crime by saying “My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch.” And finally, he demonstrates the relationship between police brutality and race by saying “Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero.”
Sadly, this lyric is still relevant decades after - the repeated murders of African-American males by American police officers are constantly discussed in the media. Tupac himself had also been a target of unfair treatment by officials because of his race, which is why he had a strong opinion on the topic. The famous chorus of “Changes” is a rework of Bruce Hornsby’s and the Range’s ballad “The Way It Is”, with the second line “Some things’ll never change” changed to “Things’ll never be the same”, suggesting instead that a change is coming, creating an oxymoron with the previous line “That’s just the way it is”. In addition, the beat of the song is quite uplifting, while the lyrics are describing the sad truth.
The song Changes was recorded by Tupac Shakur, a deceased African American hip-hop artist. He rapped about the African American subculture in America. The record label released this song in 1998; it is still popular within subcultures of America. He grew up in the 1980s, and the social policies of that period, such as the War on Drugs, influenced his music. The videos of the song were found after a quick search on YouTube. The lyrics of this song are found on the internet from Google search of “Tupac, changes”. I have read the lyrics and listened to the music. Tupac focused on “that’s just the way it is” through the song (2Pac-Changes). He wanted the African American community to change their behaviors and rise above the social perception
To help understand Tupac’s poem, you must grasp yourself around the image of a very young boy, who has no father, grew up in the rougher parts of New York, and was barely supported by his mother.
The song ¨Changes” is written and performed by Tupac Shakur who was born June 16, 1971 and was shot down September 13, 1996. Tupac was quite successful and was known to be a gangsta rapper as well as a poetic rapper at the same time. Changes seeks the best out of both these worlds and addresses the issue of poverty and poor treatment by police that the African American community face often on a day to day basis.
2pac (Tupac Shakur) is known as one of the most influential rappers of all time and his music expresses transcendentalism. In the song Changes he raps about how the world needs change and that its corrupt. People need to change and treat others with respect instead of with hate. In the song it says "It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.-Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live-and let's change the way we treat each other." 2pac wants the people to become something better and make an effort to help and treat others with respect. He is advocating a movement. A movement that is dedicated to peace. He had a hard life in New York with a drug dealing father and a missing mother. Although he had an awful life he was optimistic and hopeful this is shown in all of his music. In the song "Keep Your Head up" 2pac raps about being yourself and doing what you believe is right. He wants to start a movement that influence people to act for themselves. A movement where people will be influenced to change and treat others better like his song
Throughout its history, music has permeated the significant events of American history. Its effect on American society and the way the American people cope with each event has only grown as popular music evolves and new genres reach more and more individuals. People can remember where they were and their exact surroundings to amazing detail when asked about life-changing events in history. Older generations will remember the bombing of Pearl Harbor. Their children will remember when Kennedy was assassinated and when man walked on the moon. Their grandchildren will remember much of the turmoil of the ‘70s and ‘80s and their great grandchildren grew up in the world impacted by the events of September 11, 2001. Even one’s surroundings during the start or end of a relationship or personal events such as graduation, getting a driver’s license, or getting married can all be paired with the music that was popular at the time.
In the song “Changes”, Tupac is speaking to African Americans. The song talks about the racial issues that occur on the streets. It gives the message that there have not been any changes in the African American communities and there never will be. It also talks about the injustice attitudes toward African Americans. This song criticizes how dispersed African Americans are, because they can’t come together to overcome racism and poverty.
Changes - Tupac Shakur Changes by Tupac, is a song about the struggles and racial issues of African American people living in the poverty stricken areas or ‘Ghetto’s’ of America. Tupac sings about the injustices for his people living in poverty and how people need to stand up and make a change for the better, as the way things are going are not helping to
Tupac is just one of the many artists that talked about social justice issues. He along with many others gave a voice to people that were scared whilst expressing themselves. Even though Tupac did not have the best life he still found a way to express himself through music. Social justice issues are something that we can left untouched that is why artists talk about them throughout