2Pac's Keep Ya Head Up: Song Analysis
Poetry Analysis
Tupac Amuru Shakur or better known by his stage name 2Pac was an American rapper and actor who came to fame in the 80’s-90’s era. Both Tupac’s mother and father were active members of the “Black Panthers”. Shakur’s parents were very outspoken and tenacious individuals, although they divorced during Tupac’s younger years both of their qualities can be seen through Tupac’s words and actions. From an early age Shakur was surrounded by struggle and relatives who were imprisoned, this plays a big role in his works or literature. Tupac can be seen as one of the pioneers of “controversial rap”. Most of his works shed light on current events in the African American community. He mostly spoke of the wrong doings of young African American’s and also the mistreating of young African American’s by society during this time (80’s-90’s).
One of Shakur’s more noted works was his song titled “keep ya head up”. During this era of hip-hop and even in the African American social community, women were constantly being degraded in not only the lyrics of rap songs but also in the images of rap music videos (which just gained its popularity during this time). Young black women were constantly being referred to as “tricks,bitches, and hoes”, also in videos would be displayed as promiscuous creatures in scantily clad attire. In Tupac’s song “keep ya head up” Shakur is trying to shed light on the fact that it’s not right to treat women this way, and he is trying to influence young men in the African American community to change their ways. The N.O.W.R. (national organization of women’s rights) called it the “most black women friendly song to ever be written”. Tupac was raised by his single mother Afeni Shakur, who was the highest rank women in the “Black Panthers” for the New York chapter. At a young age Shakur excelled in academics attending the Baltimore School of Arts, despite growing up in poverty unlike many of his classmates. Afeni (Tupac’s mother) worked
Tupac Amuru Shakur or better known by his stage name 2Pac was an American rapper and actor who came to fame in the 80’s-90’s era. Both Tupac’s mother and father were active members of the “Black Panthers”. Shakur’s parents were very outspoken and tenacious individuals, although they divorced during Tupac’s younger years both of their qualities can be seen through Tupac’s words and actions. From an early age Shakur was surrounded by struggle and relatives who were imprisoned, this plays a big role in his works or literature. Tupac can be seen as one of the pioneers of “controversial rap”. Most of his works shed light on current events in the African American community. He mostly spoke of the wrong doings of young African American’s and also the mistreating of young African American’s by society during this time (80’s-90’s).
One of Shakur’s more noted works was his song titled “keep ya head up”. During this era of hip-hop and even in the African American social community, women were constantly being degraded in not only the lyrics of rap songs but also in the images of rap music videos (which just gained its popularity during this time). Young black women were constantly being referred to as “tricks,bitches, and hoes”, also in videos would be displayed as promiscuous creatures in scantily clad attire. In Tupac’s song “keep ya head up” Shakur is trying to shed light on the fact that it’s not right to treat women this way, and he is trying to influence young men in the African American community to change their ways. The N.O.W.R. (national organization of women’s rights) called it the “most black women friendly song to ever be written”. Tupac was raised by his single mother Afeni Shakur, who was the highest rank women in the “Black Panthers” for the New York chapter. At a young age Shakur excelled in academics attending the Baltimore School of Arts, despite growing up in poverty unlike many of his classmates. Afeni (Tupac’s mother) worked