Analyzing Tupac Shakur's Song 'Changes'

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“We gotta make a change .. It’s time for us as a people to start makin’ some changes.” Many people know that verse from the infamous song, “Changes” by Tupac Shakur. Now every time someone plays this song, they’re probably all thinking the same thing. This song makes you think about the issues that we face on a daily basis in society still to this day, whether you are African American, White, Mexican or Asian. We can all relate to this song in some way, and the things that Tupac Shakur talks about, such as racism, drugs and poverty. Tupac feels, if we as the people never make any changes, than the world will continue to stay this way. Tupac Shakur was not only a poet, but he was an artist as well. In many of his songs, just like “Changes”,…show more content…
People are so focused on hating other races, but in all reality there are bigger problems that we face, then to focus on something as small as racism and skin color. During the 1990’s the song “Changes” was released and America was having racism problems of their own. Things like the Los Angeles Riots broke out in 1992, where riots stemmed from four white Los Angeles Police Department officers beating an African American named Rodney King in 1991. The riots lasted over five days and left more than 50 people dead and 2,000 people were injured. Seeing people beaten and mistreated showed Americans that racism was still around and the civil rights decade didn’t really make much of a…show more content…
In reference to this verse, Tupac is referring to Los Angeles Police Department and how he believes that there are some corrupt cops in L.A.P.D. He’s also stating that if a police officer were to kill an African American or any other race other than being White, a White cop might not necessarily get looked at in bad light. During the times that Tupac lived in, seeing certain things and events happen, has shaped his perception of how he feels about L.A.P.D and racism than before. He feels as if other races aren’t being treated necessarily fair compared to White Americans. “Give crack to the kids: who the hell cares? One less mouth on the welfare” tupac says this at the beginning of one of his versus. Crack cocaine soon became so popular that it started an epidemic and spread through the United States. Crack first began to be used on a large scale in Los Angeles in 1984.Eventually drug use raised the public’s concern throughout the 1970’s and 80’s mainly from media, as it portrayed people addicted to crack cocaine. They would glamorize it, making users seem like they have energy and confidence when using crack

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