Marvin Barnhill

Mr. Henderson
CAS 137H, section 008
10/6/15
Deeper than Music
Tupac Amaru Shakur was a brilliant philosopher. Along with that,
he was a philanthropist, as well as an artist. In addition, Kanye West is
a brilliant activist, humanitarian, and artist. These descriptions differ
largely from the ones commonly associated with the artists in the rap
genre. Throughout history rappers like Tupac and Kanye West have
spoken out against injustice, despite this, many factors have prevented
these characteristics from contributing to their reputation in the public
eye. These artists and many more call for civic duty in our
communities, unfortunately those intentions have been shaded by
history, leaving them as unheard cries for help.
Musical artists, like many other public figures do countless
interviews and appearances. More likely than not, these engagements
are used to promote the Artists own works of art, as well as their
reputation. It is not uncommon however, for rap artists to use this
platform to express their opinions on social issues. During an interview
with MTV in 1994, Tupac was asked about the evolution of Hip-Hop into
a violent art form. His response was full of uncharacteristic wisdom.
Rather than directly addressing the problem, Tupac elaborates his
concerns through a metaphor that describes the evolution of Hip-Hop.

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He begins by describing a door that hides behind it a feast of food. This
door is metaphoric in that it is the barrier between blacks and
economic success. He sings a song to exemplify the citizens outside of
the doors plea to get in. The tone is soft and harmonious, signifying a
peaceful cry for help. We are hungry, please lets us in, we are hungry,
please let us in, he pleads, then explains that this tone evolves into a
more desperate We hun-gry. We. Need. Some. food. Tupacs final
plea is not so much of a plea at all. He says that at this point, Weve
reached our level and describes that the tone now refers less to
singing and more to picking the lock and busting through the door with
the food behind it (1). Tupacs phrasing was perfect for anyone to
understand his position. Through his phrasing he is able to put the
viewer into a situation full of commonplaces and emotional appeals,
then trusts that the viewers morals and general concern for others will
enable them to act upon their new enlightenment.
Tupac continues his interview by elaborating why this calls for
civic duty. He appeals to the emotions of the listener in his exigency,
which states, The people who were asking [peacefully] are all dead or
in jail now. He then calls on the viewer to draw their own logical
conclusion with a rhetorical question, he states, Now what do you
expect us to do? Tupacs point is that he feels rather than inciting
violence, his music makes people aware of the problems in poor black
communities. His argument supports his ideology that we truly need

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to help these people rather than labeling them. Tupacs interview was
in the midst of the early 90s. A time when violent crime rates were
very high. In support of his kairos, the U.S. Department of Justices
department of Uniform Crime Reporting Statistics reported that the
estimated violent crime total jumped by over 200,000 incidents from
1989-1994, the worst of those years being 1993(3). These statistics
not only support the fact that these issues were prevalent at the time,
but also the fact that when Tupac states the people who are fed up
are picking the door to get in, this could be taken both metaphorically
as well as literally. Tupac addressed these issues through both
interviews and his music. Both his Kairos and the statistics support his
ideas and concerns, triggering a strong response towards his
trustworthiness.
Similar to Tupac, Kanye West also used his status to express his
opinion on social issues. After hurricane Katrina, the nation was in awe
at the amount of destruction and flooding in the effected areas. Many
efforts for Katrina relief called for action from the citizens to donate for
the cause. One national news station, NBC, hosted a concert with tons
of celebrities to raise both awareness and donations to assist the
survivors. During the program, A Concert for Hurricane Relief,
hosted by NBC, Kanye West was given a platform to promote
awareness of this cause. Kanye, in the midst of his appearance went
off script and began to ad-lib. His plea was that of desperation and

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identification of carelessness in American government. His comments
culminated with the infamous iteration of George Bush doesnt care
about black people. This comment shook the nation, creating more of
a spectacle than was expected, but this is not all we should remember
Kanyes outburst for. In the moments before the infamous comment he
states If you see a black family, it says theyre looting, if you see a
white family, it says theyre looking for food(2). His comparison
focuses on his ideology that there is injustice in the perception in which
the media portrays the troubled citizens. The platform in which Kanye
is speaking is that of a national effort for relief. Because of this, his
expression of his ideologies are frowned upon because this experience
is intended to be unifying rather than dividing. Unlike Tupacs
Interview, Kanyes Platform did not do his intentions justice, similar to
his poor phrasing.
Kanyes phrasing causes him to lose focus from one point to the
next. While arguing his point he even stops to address his own
hypocrisy in the situation. By doing this, he achieves the opposite of
his intention to establish ethos and rather loses his trustworthiness as
a source. He regains focus when stating Just to imagine if I were
down there, those are my people down there(2). This is effective in
the sense that he establishes and emotional connection between the
donor and the victims by putting the donor in the victims shoes.
However, he once again creates a divide by saying those are my

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people which breaks the commonplace that we should help all of the
people and suggests that we should assist solely his people. He
continues to say that Red Cross is doing everything they can and that
A lot of the people that could help are at war. It is a commonplace at
this point that there are a lack of resources. By listing the resources
that are doing everything they can, he states his case through ethos
that it is only right for you to follow your own civic duty and assist
where you can. Kanyes phrasing doesnt help his case as much as it
should. However, similarities exist between the intentions of these two
artifacts.
Tupacs original metaphor was that of a starving person outside
of a door beholding a feast. This metaphor is similar to the real
situation in which people were starving after their lives were destroyed
during hurricane Katrina. Because of this, looting ensued in many
neighborhoods. The looting only occurred because there was a lack of
support from the American Government, as stated by Kanye in the
video. Just as there was a lack of support from the person holding the
door in Tupacs metaphor. Both situations end violently because of a
lack of support from the people in power. Despite discrepancies in
phrasing and platform, the intentions of each artist remain the same.
The intention is a call for help for our poorest and most desperate
communities. One thing that gets between these artifacts and positive
reception for the artists reputation is their reputations.

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As rap artists, both Tupac and Kanye are initially put into the
public with a stigma of being bad or rebellious solely because of
their profession. In addition to this, they both had a tendency to speak
their minds regardless of conflicting ideologies. This along with
multiple arrests of both artists, and negative media interaction led to
the popular dislike of these artists. Their personalities, portrayed by
the media, show more negative than positive, thus lessening the
significance of their contributions to society and silencing their calls for
civic duty. Tupac understood this concept in his own interview. Because
of this, he states I may not change the world, but I guarantee you
that I will spark the brain that will change the world(1). By saying this,
he acknowledges that his philosophy may not be widely received
because of his phrasing and previous actions, however his belief is that
even then, his words will inspire others to help grow our communities
and out society. This is the sole intention of both of these artifacts, it is
only the hope of the artists that these intentions are not blinded by the
media.