Tupac Amaru Shakur - My life be like

The two sides of the coin

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in New York , 16 June 1971 and he died in Las Vegas, 13 September 1996. He was a rapper, activist and actor.
Artist of great success, with over 85 million records sold worldwide, he is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, despite the short musical career and his disappearance occurred in September 1996 in Las Vegas, when he was hit by four bullets fired from a speeding car. His disappearance was followed by another violent death, Notorious B.I.G’s one. These two disappearances have marked a deep grief in rap history.
Tupac released a large amount of albums (many of them are posthumous) which include “All Eyez on Me” in 1996 and his “Greatest Hits” in 1998, both listed among the best-selling albums of all time in the United States of America. Many of his songs were also focused on the difficult life in the ghetto, on racism and social exclusion, corruption institutions and also clashes with other rappers , alcoholism, drug, prostitution and violence between street gangs.
His attitude, both on and off the music, and his idealism have meant that Tupac was, and remained even after the untimely demise, a benchmark for Black America. The famous magazine Rolling Stone placed Tupac at 86th place in its list of Top 100 artists of all time.

In 1994 Tupac wrote a special song: “My life be like”.

It is a very beautiful song, and above all it is the mirror of a different reality that still exists "on the road" and Tupac is a great artist and a great poet “of the road”. The song is very blunt and blends perfectly on the beat on which he sings in his West Coast style. Listening to him and his entire discography is always an exciting experience, because from his deep and meaningful lyrics you can understand what his crime and on-the-road life was.
Despite all the problems he got - such as racism and marginalization - because of the way he grew up but didn’t choose (he was forced to sell drugs to earn his living), the song talks about how much Tupac liked his life.

Lyrics - “My life be like”

My life be like Ooh Ahh

CHORUS:
It's times like these that make me say,
Lord if you see me please come my way.
Leavin bread crumbs for when I stray
Rely on sacrifice and the price you paid
Feel me like a fingertip
(flow fingertip flow fingertip)
Sometimes I fall I slip
Got a heartfelt desire be more like you
Trying not to quench your fire by the things that i do

I'm on an island by my lonesome stranded
Low key and stayin' candid
Reflectin on the things I try my hand at
Search for the equations to persuasions I'm used to
Findin comfort in the zones of closet bones I get loose to
A mountainous fontaine,
Spinnin and monsoonin
Grinnin its high octane
This worlds out wacky
Rollin down the hills cause lifes a hassle
Encircled by my folly like a moat surround a castle
Stay a float,
Catch a second wind thin is the air I breathe
Teary-eyed nose runnin, wipe the snot on my sleeve
I'm callin on my savior to be all that I need
Please forgive me my behavior had me lost at light speed

CHORUS

The fear of never falling in love
And the tears after losing the feelings
Of what you thought love was
Like the dirt still up under the rug
(My life be like)
Bad characteristics covered in Christ's blood
The joy of new birth and the pain of growing up
The bliss between giving my all and giving up
The highs and lows,
Paths and roads I chose
In the cold I froze
Trying to ease my woes
In this world of sin
Clothes to thin to fend
So to God I send
Words of help to win
In grumblings so deep letters could never express
So the sounds of Ooh Ahh beneath my breath projects

CHORUS

My life be like (Toby Mac)

My life be like ooh aah ooh
Dum dum diddy
Here comes that boy from the capital city
Last up on the Grits new ditty
But eight bars of the truth will do,
uh
I believe there's a pride thats stunning,
And I believe in the kingdom coming
I believe if you seek the truth,
You don't need to look far cuz it's gonna find you
So why, oh why, do I trip and stumble?
And ooh ahh as commitment crumble?
I can't believe that I'm here again?

Glossary

Hip-Hop: the popular subculture of big-city teenagers, which includes rap music, break dancing, and graffiti art
to Grumble: to murmur or mutter in discontent
Kingdom: a state or government having a king or queen as its head
Path: a way or small passage on the ground beaten by human or animal feet: a path through the woods
to Catch: to seize or capture, esp. after chasing: The police tried for weeks to catch the thief
Ghetto: a section of a city, esp. a thickly populated slum area, in which mostly members of a minority group live
Benchmark: a mark made on a measuring device at a known height from which other heights may be calculated
Gang: a group or band
to Disappear: to cease to exist or be known; pass away
Worldwide: throughout the world
Untimely Demise: a death for decease occurred before the expected, normal or proper time
Blunt: having a thick or dull edge or point

NWA - A history of racism and violence

 The speakers

NWA is a rap band. They performed many songs in a gangsta rap style. The band was composed of five famous rappers such as Ice Cube, Dr Dre, Dj Yella, MC Ren and the leader Eazy-E, affectionately called "The Godfather of Gangsta Rap”. All of them were from Compton (California) and operated from 1986 to 1992 when the band broke up because of Eazy-E’s death due AIDS. “Fuck The Police” is a very famous song from the album “Straight Outta Compton”, the only album released by the band. Composed in 1988 it talks about the racist behavior the cops had (and still have) towards black people, the testimonies in rhyme express anger against racism and violence by cops . Because of this song NWA were watched by the police and in Detroit when they performed “Fuck The Police” during a gig the cops stopped the concert and arrested NWA. We have chosen this song because it says in a loud voice what most people think about the police but are afraid to report because of the violence and the repression they could be affected by.

Excerpts from Lyrics - "Fuck The Police"

[Ice Cube]

Fuck the police coming straight from the underground

A young nigga got it bad cause I'm brown

And not the other color so police think

they have the authority to kill a minority

Fuck that shit, cause I ain't the one

for a punk motherfucker with a badge and a gun

to be beating on, and thrown in jail

We can go toe to toe in the middle of a cell

Fucking with me cause I'm a teenager

with a little bit of gold and a pager

Searching my car, looking for the product

Thinking every nigga is selling narcotics

You'd rather see, me in the pen

than me and Lorenzo rolling in a Benz-o

Beat a police out of shape

and when I'm finished, bring the yellow tape

To tape off the scene of the slaughter

Still getting swoll off bread and water

I don't know if they fags or what

Search a nigga down, and grabbing his nuts

And on the other hand, without a gun they can't get none

But don't let it be a black and a white one

Cause they'll slam ya down to the street top

Black police showing out for the white cop

Ice Cube will swarm

on ANY motherfucker in a blue uniform

Just cause I'm from, the CPT

Punk police are afraid of me!

HUH, a young nigga on the warpath

And when I'm finished, it's gonna be a bloodbath

of cops, dying in L.A.

Yo Dre, I got something to say

[cut and scratched 4x] "Fuck the police"

[Dr. Dre]

MC Ren, will you please give your testimony

to the jury about this fucked up incident?

[MC Ren]

Fuck the police and Ren said it with authority

because the niggas on the street is a majority

A gang, is with whoever I'm stepping

and the motherfucking weapon is kept in

a stash box, for the so-called law

Wishing Ren was a nigga that they never saw

Lights start flashing behind me

But they're scared of a nigga so they mace me to blind me

But that shit don't work, I just laugh

because it gives em a hint, not to step in my path

For police, I'm saying, "Fuck you punk!"

Reading my rights and shit, it's all junk

Pulling out a silly club, so you stand

with a fake-assed badge and a gun in your hand

But take off the gun so you can see what's up

And we'll go at it punk, and I'ma fuck you up!

Make you think I'ma kick your ass

but drop your gat, and Ren's gonna blast

I'm sneaky as fuck when it comes to crime

But I'ma smoke 'em now and not next time

Smoke any motherfucker that sweats me

or any asshole, that threatens me

I'm a sniper with a hell of a scope

Taking out a cop or two, they can't cope with me

The motherfucking villain that's mad

With potential, to get bad as fuck

So I'ma turn it around

Put in my clip, yo, and this is the sound

[BOOM, BOOM] Yeah, something like that

but it all depends on the size of the gat

Taking out a police, would make my day

But a nigga like Ren don't give a fuck to say

[cut and scratched 4x] "Fuck the police"

[Dr. Dre]

Eazy-E, won't you step up to the stand

and tell the jury how you feel about this bullshit?

[Eazy-E]

I'm tired of the motherfucking jacking

Sweating my gang, while I'm chilling in the shack, and

shining the light in my face, and for what?

Maybe it's because I kick so much butt

I kick ass - or maybe cause I blast

on a stupid-assed nigga when I'm playing with the trigger

of any Uzi or an AK

Cause the police always got something stupid to say

They put out my picture with silence

Cause my identity by itself causes violence

The E with the criminal behavior

Yeah, I'm a gangsta, but still I got flavor

Without a gun and a badge, what do ya got?

A sucker in a uniform waiting to get shot

by me, or another nigga

And with a gat it don't matter if he's smaller or bigger

([MC Ren:] Size ain't shit, he's from the old school fool)

And as you all know, E's here to rule

Whenever I'm rolling, keep looking in the mirror

And ears on cue, yo, so I can hear a

dumb motherfucker with a gun

And if I'm rolling off the 8, he'll be the one

that I take out, and then get away

While I'm driving off laughing this is what I'll say

[cut and scratched 4x] "Fuck the police"

 

Fuck the police! [3x]

Glossary
To watch: to keep someone or something under close observation
Cruelty: behavior or action that causes pain to others
Warpath: the path or course taken by American Indians on a warlike expedition
Slaughter: a brutal or violent killing (murder)
Gang: a group of persons associated for some criminal purpose (terrorist gangs)
Sneaky: a person who should not be trusted
Gun: a weapon consisting of a metal tube from which bullets are shot by the force of an explosive
Dumb: lacking intelligence or good judgment; stupid
Hint: an indirect, partly hidden, or helpful suggestion
Cop: a police officer

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

Seven seconds against racism

The Galsen Boys

"7 Seconds" is a song composed by Youssou N’dour, Neneh Cherry, Cameron McVey and Jonathan Sharp. It was released in 1994 as a single performed by Youssou N'Dour and Neneh Cherry and reached the top three in several countries, including Italy. All instruments on the track were produced and arranged by the Swedish music producer Christian Falk, who also played bass on the track.The song also appeared on N'dour's album "The Guide" and in 1996 it was included on Neneh Cherry's album "Man". The song was also included in two movies: "Northern Skirts" and "Alone in the Dark".

The song focuses on racism and how people judge the others. The singer says we shouldn’t look at somebody else from top to bottom, because the pain we feel is the same everybody feels. He talks about judging people by how they look like: you can't tell somebody is good or evil from the colour of his or her skin. He says we are all equal without any difference and we all have been created by the same God. It is a song against war, hunger, violence and poverty. The song is performed by a black singer and a white one just to suggest the idea that if we are united we can create wonderful things such as this song. It also talks about a newborn baby who is innocent and not aware of what the colour of its skin concerns, but growing up he or she will be told how to behave. The song suggests that sometimes we should be like that bay, forget what we’ve been taught, go back to the first 7 seconds and start over again.

Lyrics - 7 seconds

Boul ma sene, boul ma guiss madi re nga fokni mane
Khamouma li neka thi sama souf ak thi guinaw
Beugouma kouma khol oaldine yaw li neka si yaw
mo ne si man, li ne si mane moye dilene diapale

Roughneck and rudeness,
We should be using, on the ones who practice wicked charms
For the sword and the stone
Bad to the bone
Battle is not over
Even when it's won
And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone the skin is living in

CHORUS
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting
It's not a second
7 seconds away
Just as long as I stay
I'll be waiting (x3)

J'assume les raisons qui nous poussent de changer tout,
J'aimerais qu'on oublie leur couleur pour qu'ils esperent
Beaucoup de sentiments de race qui font qu'ils desesperent
Je veux les portes grandements ouvertes,
Des amis pour parler de leur peine, de leur joie
Pour qu'ils leur filent des infos qui ne divisent pas
Changer

CHORUS

And when a child is born into this world
It has no concept
Of the tone of the skin he's living in
And there's a million voices
And there's a million voices
To tell you what she should be thinking
So you better sober up for just a second

Glossary 
 
Roughneck: someone who behaves in a rough, rude, or aggressive way
Rudeness: the quality or state of be deliberately impolite
Wicked: morally bad
Charm: something that is believed to have magic powers and especially to prevent bad luck; an attractive quality
Sword: a weapon, typically having a long, edged blade attached to handle or hilt
Suber: a submarine
Boul ma sene: don't look at me
Khamouma ak thi guinaw: you don't know my "background" 
Li neka si yaw : what is my inner self
Dilene diapale : I'll help you
 

Knock knock America...

Newsroom: From streets to stars

Welcome to America! The rich country, the powerful world power, where people criticize other people for the skin color, vote inefficient politicians and do war without any reason.

Hey, but we’re in America, don’t they live well here?

This song was very criticized for the irony with which EMINEM talks about subjects like police, racism and the average American man. Eminem is a perfect example of the union between the black culture and the white culture: that’s why our newsroom thinks that the lyrics should be read and understood deeply. Here is the lyrics:

America, hahaha, we love you, how many people are proud to be citizens of this beautiful

Country of ours, the stripes and the stars for the rights that men have died for to protect,

The women and men who have broke their neck's for the freedom of speech the United States

Government has sworn to uphold, or

(You, I want everybody to listen to the words of this song) so we're told...

I never would've dreamed in a million years I'd see,

So many motherfucking people who feel like me, who share the same views

And the same exact beliefs, it's like a fucking army marching in back of me, so many lives I

Touch, so much anger aimed, in no particular direction, just sprays and sprays, and straight

Through your radio waves it plays and plays, 'till it stays stuck in your head for days and

Days, who would of thought, standing in this mirror bleaching my hair, with some peroxide,

Reaching for a t-shirt to wear, that I would catapult to the forefront of rap like this, how

Could I predict my words would have an impact like this, I must've struck a chord, with somebody

Up in the office, cause congress keeps telling me I ain't causing nuthin' but problems, and now

They're saying I'm in trouble with the government, I'm loving it, I shoveled shit all my life,

And now I'm dumping it on...

[Chorus]

White America, I could be one of your kids, white America, little Eric looks just like this,

White America, Erica loves my shit, I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get, white America, I

Could be one of your kids, white America, little Eric looks just like this, white America, Erica

Loves my shit, I go to TRL, look how many hugs I get...

Look at these eyes, baby blue, baby just like yourself, if they were brown, Shady lose, Shady

Sits on the shelf, but Shady's cute, Shady knew, Shady's dimple's would help, make ladies swoon

Baby, {ooh baby}, look at my sales, let's do the math, if I was black, I would've sold half, I

Ain't have to graduate from Lincoln high school to know that, but I could rap, so fuck school,

I'm too cool to go back, gimme the mic, show me where the fucking studio's at, when I was

Underground, no one gave a fuck I was white, no labels wanted to sign me, almost gave up, I was

Like, fuck it, until I met Dre, the only one to look past, gave me a chance, and I lit a fire up

Under his ass, helped him get back to the top, every fan black that I got, was probably his in

Exchange for every white fan that he's got, like damn, we just swapped, sitting back looking at

Shit, wow, I'm like my skin is it starting to work to my benefit now, it's...

[Chorus]

See the problem is, I speak to suburban kids, who otherwise would of never knew these words

Exist, whose mom's probably would of never gave two squirts of piss, 'till I created so much

Motherfucking turbulence, straight out the tube, right into your living room I came, and kids

Flipped when they knew I was produced by Dre, that's all it took, and they were instantly hooked

Right in, and they connected with me too because I looked like them, that's why they put my

Lyrics up under this microscope, searching with a fine tooth comb, it s like this rope, waiting

To choke, tightening around my throat, watching me while I write this, like I don't like this,

Nope, all I hear is, lyrics, lyrics, constant controversy, sponsors working 'round the clock, to

Try to stop my concerts early, surely hip-hop was never a problem in Harlem, only in Boston,

After it bothered the fathers of daughters starting to blossom, so now I'm catching the flack

From these activists when they ragging, acting like I'm the first rapper to smack a bitch, or

Say faggot, shit, just look at me like I'm your closest pal, the poster child, the motherfucking

Spokesman now for...

[Chorus]

So to the parents of America, I am the derringer aimed at little Erica, to attack her

Character, the ringleader of this circus of worthless pawns, sent to lead the march right up to

The steps of congress, and piss on the lawns of the White House, to burn the casket and replace

It with a parental advisory sticker, to spit liquor in the faces of in this democracy of

Hypocrisy, fuck you Ms. Cheney, fuck you Tipper Gore, fuck you with the freest of speech this

Divided states of embarrassment will allow me to have, fuck you, [vocal melody],

He, hahaha, I'm just playing America, you know I love you...

Glossary

Proud: when you are proud you feel satisfaction with yourself (proud=arrogant, sometimes)
Citizens: people who live in a country
Strips and stars: it is a reference to the American flag
Freedom of speech: a situation in which all people can speak freely
Sworn: promised
Uphold: to support something
Believe: for example, I believe in Santa Claus
Anger: a strong emotion you feel when you think someone has done you wrong
Waves: Eminem means the radio signal
Stuck in your head: something fixed in your head
Bleaching my hair: make hair lighter, for example make it blonde
Ain’t: it is a slang expressions to say “I am not” 

Trouble: difficulty
Trl: Total Request Live, it is an American TV program
Swoon: to faint, to overcome with emotion
Give a fuck: not being interested in something
Gave a chance: to give an opportunity
Suburban: people who doesn’t live in a centre of a city
Lyrics: the words of a song
Comb: a small plastic or wooden tool you can use to untangle your hair in the morning
Choke: when someone suffocates
Throat: neck
Bothered: when someone is annoyed
Faggot: an offensive slang term
Pal: friend
Derringer: it is a small pistol
Worthless: without any value
Parental advisory: it’s a sort of parental control on the children’s computer
Allow: to consent something