Transcript Music as Poetry: Hip Hop and Tupac

Poetry and
Music as Social
Commentary:
Hip Hop and
Tupac
Kool Herc Father of Hip Hop and Rap
Born Clive Campbell in
Kingston, Jamaica in
1955, he is credited with
first extending the
breaks in songs
by using two turntables
playing the same song.
Kool Herc Father of Hip Hop and Rap
His block parties in the
Bronx, New York in the
1970’s were legendary.
His style included rhyming
over instrumentals as well
as Jamaican toasting which
directly influenced modern rap dj’s.
Sugarhill Gang’s
“Rapper's Delight”
was first mainsteam
rap hit, reaching #36
on Billboard Music
Charts in 1979.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b
6gD_CwF5YM
The Message by
Grand Master Flash
and the Furious
Five was the first
rap record to openly
address socioeconomic and
political issues.
Watch the video on
You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=k3kRuJhIVIo
It's like a jungle sometimes, it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under
Broken glass everywhere
People pissing on the stairs, you know they just don't care
I can't take the smell, I can't take the noise
Got no money to move out, I guess I got no choice
Rats in the front room, roaches in the back
Junkie's in the alley with a baseball bat
I tried to get away, but I couldn't get far
Cause a man with the tow-truck repossessed my car
Don't push me, cause I'm close to the edge
I'm trying not to loose my head
It's like a jungle sometimes,
it makes me wonder
How I keep from going under
Kurtis Blow, the
first rapper to
appear on national
television (Soul
Train), released
"The Breaks" on
Mercury Records
in 1980. The
record went on to
sell more than a
million copies.
If your woman steps out with another man
(That's the breaks that's the breaks)
And she runs off with him to Japan
And the IRS says they want to chat
And you can't explain why you claimed
your cat
And Ma Bell sends you a whopping bill
With eighteen phone calls to Brazil
And you borrowed money from the mob
And yesterday you lost your job
Well, these are the breaks
Break it up, break it up, break it up
After the success of early rap
artists, rap became a profitable
cultural influence: Hip Hop.
Record companies like Def Jam
and artists like Run DMC, the
Beastie Boys allowed it to
become a permanent part of
mainstream American Music.
Since the late 1980’s, Hip Hop
and Rap have influenced
language – def, dis, aight
clothing – throwback jerseys
tv - CRIBS
Hip Hop and Rap are Known For:
Gangsta Rap
Self-pride
Renewed Activism
Sampling Music
Misogynistic Lyrics
Unifying Cultural Force
Tupac Shakur:
Lesane Parish Crooks was his birth
name.
He was born June 16, 1971 in
Brooklyn New York
Married briefly;
no children
Born after his mother successfully
defended herself against federal
charges.
Attended Baltimore School for the
Performing Arts where he excelled in
acting and dancing.
While still a teen, his family relocated to
California. He drifted into gang life and
was arrested nearly 20 times before he
was 20 years old.
In 1991, he became a dancer for the
group Digital Underground and soon
released his groundbreaking cd, 2
Pacalypse Now.
Throughout his life, he was shot a
number of times, served time in jail for
assault and for sexual assault.
He also starred in the movies Juice and
Poetic Justice.
In 1996, Death Row Records
CEO Suge Knight secured his
freedom from his prison
sentence with a 1.4 million
dollar bond.
Tupac died Sept. 13, 1996 at
University Medical Center, in
Las Vegas, NV after being
shot.
Since his death, Tupac has
sold over 60 million records
and had at least 10 movies
made about his life.
"If you walked by a street and you was walking
on the concrete and you saw a rose growing
from the concrete, even if it had messed up
petals and it was a little to the side you would
marvel at just seeing a rose grow through
concrete. So why is it that when you see some
ghetto kid grow out of the dirtiest circumstance
and he can talk and he can sit across the room
and make you cry, make you laugh, all you can
talk about is my dirty rose, my dirty stems and
how I am leaning crooked to the side, you can't
even see that I've come up from out of that."
1. What kind of cultural influences
impacted the life of Tupac Shakur?
2. What about the significance
of the rumors surrounding his
death? Does this add to his
influence as a poet and literary
figure?
3. What about the self-fulfilling
prophecy in his lyrics about his
death?
4. Were his lyrics a positive or
negative influence on youth and the hip
hop culture? Elaborate and give
examples.
5. Look at the lyrics for “Brenda’s Got a
Baby.” What are some poetic
elements that the song contains?
Be specific and give examples.
What is the theme of the poem?
What are some details we learn
about Brenda’s life? Why is it
significant that he calls her Brenda?
Watch the video on You Tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrvTjleqF1w
I hear Brenda's got a baby
But, Brenda's barely got a brain
A damn shame
Tha girl can hardly spell her name
(That's not our problem, that's up ta Brenda's
family)
Well let me show ya how it affects tha whole
community
Now Brenda never really knew her moms and
her dad was a junky
Went in death to his arms, it's sad
Cause I bet Brenda doesn't even know
Just cause your in tha ghetto doesn't mean ya
can't grow