Bryanna Colan

Mrs. Maurer

Literature and Composition I

18 April 2019

Rapper and Secret Poet: Tupac Shakur

Who is Tupac Shakur and why should he be remembered? Tupac Shakur was an actor,

rapper, and poet. A lot of his poetry relates to people who have struggles in their life. Tupac

Shakur once said, “If you can make it through the night, there’s a brighter day” (Shakur). This

quotation shows that he struggled a lot in his short life so he can connect to people who are also

struggling. Many people didn’t know how much Tupac Shakur suffered and changed. He took a

long path to get where he was at. He is a very independent person. Tupac Shakur is an author

whose poetry should be studied in American literature.

Tupac Shakur life was very short but he continues to live on. He was born on June

16,1971 in New York, New York. He was shot on September 7, 1996 in Las Vegas, Nevada and

he died from gunshot wounds on September 13th. Tupac’s body was cremated, his ashes is

scattered in Soweto, South Africa, the “birthplace of his ancestors.”

Tupac Shakur had a good education. He attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and

Baltimore School of Arts in Baltimore Maryland. He studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He

performed in Shakespeare’s plays and in the ballet, The Nutcracker. He was very popular in the

school because of his sense of humor, rapping skills, and he can mix with all kinds of people.

Fun fact: he and Jada Pinkett Smith went to Baltimore School of Arts together and remained

friends until his death.

In his short life, he had a very successful career. He began recording in the 1980’s, but his career

didn’t take off until the 1990’s. Some of his famous songs are “Dear Mama”, “Bury Me a G”,

“Cradle to the Grave”, and “So Many Tears”. He first appeared in the film “Nothing But

Trouble” but he acted in a leading role in seven more films including “Juice” and “Poetic

Justice”

Tupac Shakur had many talents but he should be most remembered for his poetic

skills.Tupac started writing poetry between 1989 and 1991. His poems are mostly for people who

don’t realize they have a secret power. For example, Tupac’s poem “Power of A Smile” tells us

that a smile has a lot of power. ” The power of a gun can kill and the power of Fire can Burn The

power of wind can chill and the power of the mind can learn The power of anger can rage inside

until it tears u apart But the Power of a Smile especially yours can heal a frozen Heart”1 His

poetry is about racism. “I’m not out 2 offend the positive souls only the racist dogs who lied 2

me An American culture plagued with nights like the night Yusef was killed if it were reversed it

would be the work of a savage but this white killer was just strong-willed with the blood of

Malcolm in my veins America will never rest if Yusef dies in vain!”2 This quotation is

important because he is referring to racist individuals in America. Tupac Shakur also writes

poetry about love. In this poem, Tupac uses metaphors and personification in this poem. His

poetry also has a message for people who are in need of guidance. “In the midst of passion 2

figures stand emerged in ecstasy joined hand and hand words R unnecessary feelings R heard the

body takes control deaf 2 words It is at this stage that I think of u in gratitude 4 this joy u have

1
The Rose That Grew from Concrete Tupac Shakur
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The Rose That Grew from Concrete Tupac Shakur
exposed me 2 Each Day is Bright with you as the Dawn with the collapse of each night a strong

bond is born”3 This quotation is also important because it talks about being strong even when

you are struggling. His style is also different than other poets. He doesn’t use punctuation and he

uses numbers instead of words.

In conclusion, In his twenty-five years of life, Tupac accomplished more than most

people had. He was an actor, rapper and poet. We should study his poetry because it has themes

that people can relate to and he’s able to use words give guidance. His poetry will have the same

meaning in one hundred years as they do today. His poetry will last a lot longer than his music.A

really cool quote by Tupac Shakur is “Don’t believe everything you hear. Real eyes, Realize,

Real lies.”

3
“In the Midst of Passion” Tupac Shakur