Rap, poetry and changes

Me, myself and I

The song “Changes” by Tupac Shakur is one of his most famous songs.

In this song many subjects about Afro-American injustices are examined: themes like poverty and racism influence the life of African-American deeply, indeed. In the song “Changes”, Tupac gives an inside look at the daily life of an African-American: in the first part of the song Tupac first talks about how some social problems are linked together. He makes a correlation between his skin color and being poor: “I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black”.

Then he explains how poverty causes crime: “My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch".

Tupac suggests that the African-Americans should work together to solve poverty, racism and violence: “I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other. We gotta start makin' changes”. In these two verses, it could be noticed that Tupac uses the pronoun “we” to represent Afro-American unity. The importance of unity makes it possible to change the ways to deal with these social problems.

In the song Tupac also speaks about Huey Percy Newton: Huey was an Afro-American political activist and revolutionary who, along with Bobby Seale, co-founded the Black Panther Party in 1966The Black Panther Party or BPP was a revolutionary black nationalist and socialist organization active in the United States from 1966 until 1982. Government oppression initially contributed to the growth of the party as killings and arrests of Panthers increased support for the party within the black community. Black Panther Party membership consisted of recent migrants whose families traveled north and west to escape the southern racial regime.

Tupac says then that they aren’t ready to see a black president: in my opinion he was saying that maybe someday in the future this would be a wonderful thing but at that time people should try to focus on the willingness to change because there are many reforms needed in the black community (it sounds strange thinking that the song was released in 1998 and that 11 years later Barack Obama would have become President of the USA).

In some verses Tupac says that it is time for Afro-American people to do some changes from the way they eat to the way they live, becoming independent and successful people, fighting injustices and staying together. Then Tupac speaks about the war on drugs instead of the war of poverty that people are fighting for, he sees in the police a reason to bother him about drugs and not about poverty. A couple of verses further, Tupac talks about the unity for changes that has not happened because there are too many selfish people who are not ready to give up their personal interests.

“Try to show another way, but they stayin' in the dope game”: these verses show that people have a choice but they choose the life of crime instead . I like this song for two reasons: the first one is that I think Tupac is the best rapper ever existed and the second reason is that this songs talks about the everyday reality of black people all around the world. Maybe black people lived bigger and more evident injustices before (in the 50’s or 60’s) but even now they have to do with racism and violence: their life is hard, for sure. They have always suffered a lot and this makes me sad and I feel a little useless because I can’t do much to help them. I hope someday people will not make differences between black and white skin because we are all in this together and we are all the same.

Come on come on

I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myself

Is life worth living should I blast myself?

I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black

My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch

Cops give a damn about a negro

Pull the trigger kill a nigga he's a hero

Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares

One less hungry mouth on the welfare

First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal the brothers

Give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each other

It's time to fight back that's what Huey said

Two shots in the dark now Huey's dead

I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere

Unless we share with each other

We gotta start makin' changes

Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers

And that's how it's supposed to be

How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?

I'd love to go back to when we played as kids

But things changed, and that's the way it is

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

I see no changes all I see is racist faces

Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races

We under I wonder what it takes to make this

One better place, let's erase the wasted

Take the evil out the people they'll be acting right

'Cause both black and white is smokin' crack tonight

And only time we chill is when we kill each other

It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other

And although it seems heaven sent

We ain't ready, to see a black President, uhh

It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact

The penitentiary’s packed, and it's filled with blacks

But some things will never change

Try to show another way but you stayin' in the dope game

Now tell me what's a mother to do

Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you

You gotta operate the easy way

"I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy way

Sellin' crack to the kid. " I gotta get paid"

Well hey, well that's the way it is

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

We gotta make a change

It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.

Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live

And let's change the way we treat each other.

You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do

What we gotta do, to survive.

And still I see no changes can't a brother get a little peace

It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East

Instead of war on poverty they got a war on drugs

So the police can bother me

And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do

But now I'm back with the blacks givin' it back to you

Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up,

Crack you up and pimp smack you up

You gotta learn to hold ya own

They get jealous when they see ya with ya mobile phone

But tell the cops they can't touch this

I don't trust this when they try to rush I bust this

That's the sound of my tool you say it ain't cool

My mama didn't raise no fool

And as long as I stay black I gotta stay strapped 

And I never get to lay back

'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the pay backs

Some buck that I roughed up way back

Comin' back after all these years

Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat that's the way it is uhh

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

That's just the way it is

Things will never be the same

That's just the way it is

Aww yeah

Some things will never change.

Glossary
Linked: when something is connected
Explains: when you give a reason for something
To solve: when you have something to do
Noticed: something that can be seen
Pronoun: I, you, he/she/it, we , you, they
Deal: when you accord something with someone
Further: something additional
Worth: something that has got a value
Erase: to remove something, to delete
Snatch: to steal something and to run away
Trigger: it is a metal lever that when pulled discharges a gun
Dope: street name for marijuana
Step back: to return back
Close: near to someone
Wonder: to ask yourself
Chill: when you get relaxed
Heal : to get recover from an illness
Conceal: hiding from being seen or discovered
Penitentiary: it is a prison for big-time criminals convicted of big-time crimes
Packed: something filled to capacity, full
Sleazy: something low and nasty
Jack you up: to lift with a special device
Strapped: when you are strong and large, or when you have no more money
Buck: slang word for dollar
Selfish: when a person is egoist and thinks only about himself
Give up: to admit defeat