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

BURY ME A G

FSP Crew

Tupac Shakur wrote "Hit 'Em Up" with collaboration of the Outlawz. This song talks about the rivalry with the enemy Notorious B.I.G. In this song Tupac insults Notorious with bad words.
B.I.G. and Tupac were friends, but when in 1994 at the Quad Recording Studios Tupac suffered an aggression with many shots of firegun, the rapper thought that his friend Notorious was responsible of his aggression, and this is the reason why Tupac wrote this song against Notorious B.I.G.
Hit em’ up is a single, this song was written in 1996 and it is known as one of the most famous dissing of hip-hop.
We think this song is very aggressive, very gangsta, that is what we like about this song.

Lyrics - Hit 'Em Up

First off, fuck your bitch

And the clique you claim

West side when we ride

Come equipped with game

You claim to be a player

But I fucked your wife

We bust on Bad Boys

niggas fuck for Life

Plus Puffy tryin' to see me weak

Hearts I rip

Biggie Smalls and Junior Mafia

Some mark ass bitches

We keep on coming

While we running for your jewels

Steady gunning

Keep on busting at them fools

You know the rules

Little Ceasar go ask you homie

How I'll leave you

Cut your young ass up

See you in pieces

Now be deceased

Little Kim,

Don't fuck around with real G's

Quick to snatch your ugly ass, off the streets

So fuck peace

I'll let them niggas know

It's on for Life

Don't let the west side

Ride the night (ha ha)

Bad Boys murdered on Wax and kill

fuck with me

And get your caps peeled

You know, see

Grab your glocks when you see 2pac

Call the cops when you see 2pac, uh

Who shot me,

But your punks didn't finish

Now you 'bout to feel the wrath of a menace

nigga, I hit 'em up

Glossary

Westside: Tupac is from Harlem, he says the West Coast is where he learned the “game”.
Quad Recording Studios: Tupac was there when he was shot.
Outlawz: a gangsta rap group.
Bad Boys: the record label of Notorious B.I.G.
Dissing: a song with the aim of insulting other rappers or groups.
1996: in this year Tupac Shakur was killed.
Gangsta: gangsta rap is a musical genre born in Compton, a city in southern Los Angeles County, California, United States.

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