Tupac Impact

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It is undeniable that music has the power to effect social change. According to Sullivan (2003), “music functions as a vehicle for mediating ideas and experiences about modernity and its crisis”. This paper is going to analyze the lyrics to the song “Letter to the President” by Tupac Shakur in relation to race. Shakur was an African American rapper during the late 20th century. During that time he was one of the most influential rappers with fans lauding him for his political views and lyrical genius. Over a century ago, African Americans were mainly a Southern rural peasantry. Laws were continuously made to continue with oppression even after slavery was abolished. . For instance, Pierce (2006) states that although the intention of the…show more content…
According to Stanford (2011), Tupac had the same experiences during George Bush, Sr., Ronald Reagan,and Bill Clinton administrations as other young African Americans. Through his lyrics in ‘Letter to the President’, he articulates what he perceives as wrongs perpetuated against the African Americans (Shakur,…show more content…
Stanford argues that Tupac’s political beliefs and activism should be analyzed in order to avoid characterizing him as a rebel but as a political activist who was committed to improve society and could be wrong. He asserts that by studying Tupac’s public utterances, lyrics and political work establishes his connection to the Black Nationalists’ ideas that African Americans should work towards achieving their own interest since they are a distinct people . In the line ‘’I guess it's cause we black that we targets’’, it is clear that that the African Americans felt prejudiced because of their race. They felt like second class citizens. “..Mr. President, it's evident, nobody really care for a struggle out the gutter, ...Cadres of coppers patrol us like we some animals…” he also points out the high numbers of blacks in prison (…whole family behind bars And they wonder why we

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