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Tupac: The Words of an Inspirational Lyricist Essay

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What defines someone as being inspirational to others, do they have to wear a suit and tie, have a Harvard degree, drive a fancy car and speak of nothing but glory? I beg to differ; it depends on the person of whom they are trying to inspire that is why I believe Tupac Shakur is an inspirational icon to underprivileged individuals. Tupac Shakur, through his music, poetry, and political views, inspires young disadvantaged people to recognize that there is life for them outside of the ghetto, poverty, drugs and other adversities. He speaks of poverty, teenage pregnancies, single parenting, self-esteem and an array of other problems that people living in the ghetto are faced with. Despite all of the negative associations with his name, Tupac …show more content…

Dyson shows an example of the hypocritical behavior implied by Tupac; he states “His eager embrace of ethical ambivalence came off to critics as mere hypocrisy. After all, how could the same artist—or, given the unwilling suspension of disbelief, the same man—encourage women to keep their heads up one moment and then quickly pelt them with harsh epithets”(15). Tupac has done a lot of mischief during his career that disqualifies him to be considered ideal for people to look up to. He states in his song “Hit ‘Em Up”, “Little Ceasar go ask you [your] 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” (Shakur, 1998).The lyrics in this song shows outrage and negativity of an artist who desires to put harm upon someone. No parents wants their daughters and sons looking up to a coward who is constantly in trouble with the law, gang banging, and a sexist. Most inspirational people live a life of decency, honor, glory, simplicity, and obscurity. Even though Tupac lyrics imply good qualities, his life style and negative actions are looked at with a side eye, when being considered inspirational. Regardless of the negativity surrounded around Tupac, his lyrics gives hope and inspiration to deprived, poverty stricken individuals. Through his songs and poetry, Tupac uses his ethos as a

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