His first album, 2pacalypse now, was a success among many of the underdogs of America. It made Tupac one of the first socially conscious rappers of the early 90’s because the album spoke on many of the problems going on in society. Many people were able to relate to Tupac, regardless of where they were from. Though Tupac was a born leader, he had many legal problems as well. He had constant run-ins with the law which made his leadership very controversial.
History of American rap; 1990's Rapper MC Hammer became a huge success after his multi-platinum album, "Please Hammer, Don't Hurt 'Em" turned into the #1 record. The first single, "U Can't Touch This" was on the top 10 of the billboard Hot 100. MC Hammer became one of the most popular and successful rappers of the early 90's. His album, having sold over 18 million copies, made rap music rise to a whole new level of popularity. Another rapper, Dr. Dre, released his album, "The Chronic," in 1992 and helped establish West Coast gangsta rap as more commercially viable than East Coast hip hop.
He was named after Tupac Amaru II, who was the leader of an indigenous uprising in 1780 against the Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire, by his mother. He also had ties to the Black Panther Party through his mother and other close family friends. Though he had a very limited education Shakur was an intelligent individual and was also a frequent reader. While in Prison in 1995 for allegedly sodomising a fan and through his short life he read many books including some by Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Goines, Sun Tzu, Kurt Vonnegut, Mikhail Bakunin, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Khalil Gibran. (Mickey Hess) “2Pac”’s officially started his entertainment career when he recorded a verse for Digital Undergrounds “Same Song”.
He started writing lyrics in his High School where he also performed at concerts, the concert led to him being signend with Atron Gregory who set him up as a roadie and backup dancer with the young rap group Digital Underground in 1990. Soon people saw his talent and Tupac started rapping on features but his first Solo Album 2Pacalypse did not went well at all. In 1993 him and his friends, including Big Syke formed the group "Thug Life". The group released their only album Thug Life: Volume 1 which went gold and Tupac became known as one of the best rappers in the game. Shakur was also part in the East Coast – West Coast hip hop rivalry in the early 90's where he got involved after the 1994 shooting.
Dwayne Michael Carter, Jr. is probably one of the most influential rappers alive, and more than likely one of the most well-known across America. Dwayne, aka Lil Wayne, is the one guy I would sponsor to be my “National Living Treasure” out of any other American, no doubt. Lil Wayne landed in the rap scene when he was at the young age of eleven years old. Ever since the day he was signed by Cash Money Records in nineteen ninety-three, he has exploded and become one of the most successful artists Hip-hop/Rap has come across. With nine studio albums and twenty-five mixtapes, all eyes are on Lil Wayne to see what is bound to come next.
The term “selling out” plays a big role in the dichotomy of underground and mainstream music across all genres and I will explain more about this term further on in the essay. Consumption and commerce interface with rebellion and expression in many ways according to Wahl (1999). Historically, hip hop didn’t gain much commercial success in the mainstream until the influential act ‘Run-DMC’ made their way onto the scene. Their album ‘Raising Hell’ in 1986 was the first hip hop product to go gold in the US. As Wahl (1999) points out, this was largely due to their hit single and cover of Aerosmith’s 1975 song, ‘Walk This Way’.
<BR> You can barely read a magazine or flip on the television without hearing about one of these new hip-hop/rock groups. Media such as Rolling Stone and MTV treat these bands like miraculously they created this "new" genre of music. Bands such as Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock, and Sugar Ray are treated as creative geniuses when they are only doing things that have already been done before. Some of these new bands are very talented, but bands such Run DMC, the Red Hot Chili Peppers, and Rage Against the Machine, blended the seemingly mismatched flavors of rap and rock with brilliant results long before any of these bands had ever even seen a turntable. <br> The earliest example of this mix of hip-hop and hard rock, came in 1985 with the release of Run DMC's "Rock Box".
Tupac Shakur Final Draft Tupac Shakur was one of the greatest rappers of all time. As good as he was a rapper, he was a well known poet even though many people considered him a thug. He wrote many poems that expressed how he was feeling and talked about other people’s lives. The poem “The Rose That Grew From Concrete’’ is one of my favorite poems from him. It inspired me to never give up on my dreams and no matter how hard it gets and no matter how many struggles you have to go through, at the end it’s all worth it.
Major Writing Assignment: Tupac and Hip-hop Every musical generation has had its pioneers that have left an impact on the genre and all its constituents. For hip-hop, there have been a couple of pioneers, but one that will never be forgotten is Tupac. Tupac’s ideologies and the way he incorporated these ideologies into his music became the voice of, not only the black or poor community, but also to those who had goals of changing the world. His music stood out from the rest because of its controversial subjects, Tupac’s straight-forward attitude, and the realness of his rhymes. Tupac addressed the street’s problems in his rhymes and was a voice for the ghetto.
Tolu Salawu SPCH 1311 Charles French February 13, 2009 Tupac Shakur (Final Draft) Tupac Shakur is undoubtedly considered to be one of the greatest entertainers to have ever stepped foot on planet earth. There is no other reason to this but because of his communication skills. The actor, rapper, songwriter, poet, singer, screen play writer, and activist was born in June 16, 1971 in the east ends of New York. His mother, Afeni Shakur before his birth had just had to defend herself at the court with over 150 counts as well as other several Black Panther members for rebellious acts. The name “Tupac Amaru” was gotten from an Inca chief meaning “shining serpent”.