2pac Keepin\' it Real Irony

2pac Keepin' it Real

Irony is an important element of many poems and songs. However when Tupac Shakur wrote the lyrics to "Dear Mama," "Changes" and "Keep Ya Head Up," little did he know that the irony in his rhymes would end up being magnified by his own death. 2 Pac, as he is known to his fans, used a brilliant combination of rhythm, rhyme, tone and word choice to express his frustrations with the way society functions. He was not big into metaphors or similes or anything abstract. He spoke straight from the heart, using dialects and dialogues that his audience could relate to. In this essay I will show that 2 pacs straightforward approach to poetry and lyrics is more effective and moving than more conceptual poetry, such as Linda Pastan's "Marks." Although both are excellent poets, 2 pac touched people's hearts by saying exactly how it was, with no tricks, devices or gimmicks.

Tupac Shakur was born on June 16, 1971 in New York City. He would be 38 years old today if he had not been gunned down in the prime of his life in 1996. Tupak spent most of his childhood in Harlem, surrounded by gangs, drugs and violence. Although he had several brushes with the law, he was determined to rise above his circumstances and become a famous rapper and movie star. He accomplished both goals before he died, but he still had so much more to give. At least we can be grateful that he left us with some amazing poetry to remember him by.

One of 2 pac's best songs was "Dear Mama." The lyrics are very real and raw, and 2 pacs choices of words is strong and powerful. The fact that he does not speak/write in "proper English" adds to the realness of his lyrics. You can tell by reading or hearing the lyrics to "Dear Mama" that 2 pac felt truly sorry for not appreciating his mother when he was growing up. He makes it very clear that he wants to make up for that now and he hopes that it is not too late. The rhythm and tone are kept perfectly to the beat of the song. 2 pac doesn't need to use poetry devices like metaphors to show how deep his pain is. He could have said something like "we were poor as dirt" instead of "Over the years we was poorer than the other little kids" but that would have taken away from the honesty and down-to-earth tone of what he was trying to express. Of course 2 pac wasn't just about feeling sorry for himself. He was about inspiring people to change.

Throughout the song "Changes" it is clear that 2 pac is fed up with the state of things in most black neighborhoods. He is tired of racism, of brother killing brother, of drugs and crime and everything that keeps people oppressed. One of the most ironic lines of this song is "We ain't ready, to see a black President." Of course, when he wrote that line, it was probably true, but I am sure he would be both shocked and proud to find out that we have a black president now. Like "Dear Mama," the lyrics in "Changes" do not just talk about everything that is wrong with the world, but they talk about how people need to join together to make the world a better place. Again, he uses dialect that his fans can relate to instead of being concerned about 'proper English'. This is very effective at making the words identifiable to his audience. The more people can relate to what you are saying, the more likely they are to take it to heart and actually do what you are asking them to do: "It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes." The most ironic thing about this song is the last few lines. I cannot help but wonder if 2 pac was having some kind of premonition when he wrote: "Cause I always got to worry 'bout the pay backs/some punk that I roughed up way back/comin' back after all these years/rat-tat-tat-tat-tat that's the way it is."

That may be the way it is, but to 2 pac, that did not mean things had to stay that way. "Keep Ya Head Up" is a song about staying true to yourself and staying proud no matter what kinds of awful things life throws at you. There is a very inspirational tone about this song, and the artist's choice of words is very encouraging. 2 pac uses a lot of hopeful words and phrases such as "don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up" and "girl keep your head up." This song is basically geared toward women who are treated poorly by the men in their lives, including their boyfriends, husbands, fathers and sons. 2 pac's choices of words are meant to be inspirational and to encourage women not to put up with the way they are being treated because they deserve so much better. It is also a call to men to stop treating women so badly. His words are very moving when he says "Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman/I wonder why we take from our women/Why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it's time to kill for our women/Time to heal our women, be real to our women." Like in his other poems, 2 pac is always extremely straightforward and says exactly what he means.