Further Oral ActivityFurther Oral Activity

Primary source

My primary source is: Dear Mama by Tupac Shakur.

The song broke all typical Rap stereo types, for example; Misogyny, Homophobia, Hyper-Masculinity, Glorifying of drugs & crime, and the Worship of money.

My primary source relates to two learning outcomes of part 1, these are:

"Analyze how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts".

"Demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning a shaped by culture and context".

Different register and Intonation used in other songs, compared to Dear Mama, where the audience is his mother not other rap artists or people. The purpose is to apologize to her instead of showing off and insulting.

“beef” is a good example for outcome 3, its a part of Rap Language and means “Grudge or trouble” in Standard English. The culture of drug dealing and imprisonment that Tupac was brought up in has shaped the meaning of “beef” for him.

Who was Tupac Amaru Shakur ?Who was Tupac Amaru Shakur ?

Born on 16th of june 1971 in New York.

Left his mothers house at 17.

Son of Anfei Shakur and Billy Garland, Anfei belonged to the BPP.

rapped for 18 years in his whole life, and became 6th immortal artist, selling 67 million copies, and 8th to earn most after death

He put himself into every character: the gangsters, the pimps, the crack dealers and street kids.Tupac's "thug poetry" as it was called became important because he told a story that millions of other poor black youth could identify with.

Died at the age of 25, was shot on 7th of september 1996.

started his career with a television show in late 1980’s, not only an MC also an actor and dancer.

HIs openness of speaking about his real life and a hard childhood made him the fans hero!

More about his identity.More about his identity.

The tattoo of “Jesus Christ burning on cross” and “only god can judge me” shows that he was a religious person.

Panther head tattoo: Mother from black panther party, himself founder of junior panther party.

Tattoo of “outlaw” is there because he was also a founder of the outlaws.

“The tattoo saying “Heartless” is what people called him when his father died, because his anger didn't’t let him cry.

BackgroundBackground aboutabout “Dear Mama” “Dear Mama”

Song for his mother

21st Feb 1995, reveals 2 Pac’s emotional identity, very different to his other songs for example “California Love” in which he talks about partying and sex, this also allows us to compare the two songs along with his identities.

He also narrates his life as a road map to suffering, wrenching with brutal victory which brought him the fame and fortune that both blessed and cursed him.

"Dear Mama" is Tupac at his best: a proud poet from the ghetto who was the voice of a disillusioned generation. Michael Eric Dyson (138)

The main purpose of the song was to tell her that he appreciates everything she did for him and asks her to forgive him for the wrong he has done to her

Link : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Mb1ZvUDvLDY

Register.Register.

Informal register.

Different because normally formal register with parents , his culture and background influences could be a reason.

Words such as “whoopin”, “mama”, “backside”relates to first learning outcome: He uses such words to make him sound like a child as he will always be a child for his mother, this is a great example of audience affecting content of a text.

"Analyze how audience and purpose affect the structure and content of texts".

ThemesThemes..

This is because most of them live in poverty, and also according to [Dan Sullivan,1998]

”blacks in 1980 constituted 13% of the population but only held 1% of the privately owned land. Moreover, the median value of real estate in African American communities is generally lower than the value in white communities”.

Income and racial inequality, keeps them poor making things such as paying the rent a big deal.

Dear mama and Dear mama and Tupac’sTupac’s tattoos. tattoos.

His tattoo of “heartless” referred to his fathers death, where as he mentions in the song how He felt about it.

The tattoo saying “notorious” refers to him being famous for things such as drug dealing as mentioned in the song.

Him thanking the Lord in the song refers to the two tattoos on his arms one of “ jesus burning on a cross” and the other saying “ only god can judge me”.

Rhyme.Rhyme.

Poem effect

Easy to remember

Makes it feel like its natural ( as they are his personal experiences)

Typical rap features

“Thug poetry”

Colloquialism.Colloquialism.

Words misspelled, show informality

“crack” = cocaine.“beef”= trouble.“slangin”= selling drugs.

relates to 3rd learning outcome meaning is shaped by the producers culture and context, it created a different meaning of these words for them.

"Demonstrate an awareness of how language and meaning a shaped by culture and context".

Not standard English meanings

Meanings created by several communities most probably African American communities.

Assonance.Assonance.

“S” words.

Creates an emphasis in the mind , “Suspended” , “School”. This brings up the topic of Black and failed schooling. Statistics show that

“70 percent of all black students who enroll in four-year colleges drop out at some point, as compared with 45 percent of whites”[Claude M. Steele, 1992]

Inequality and relating back to 1995, poverty has been the biggest issue behind Blacks failing school.

Assonance allows us to remember that point, as it echoes in the mind due to the repetition.

Stylistic Devices and Identity.Stylistic Devices and Identity.

There are several examples of stylistic devices in the song, each of which reflect Tupac Shakur’s identity. These are:

Rhyme: rhyme shows how he has a poetic personality, especially with the words he rhymes such as “mama”, “drama”, “hell”, “cell” giving a natural feeling as all these words are attached to his personal experience.

Colloquialism: the colloquialism used shows that informal identity of rapping, and the community that he is part off, as its also a rapping stereotype. This reflects on his identity being “violent”.

Assonance: assonance shows his poetic characteristics, again also because of the words he emphasizes on, words like: “suspended”, “school” and “scared”. Referring to his prior experiences and being real.

Irony.Irony.

Tupac describes him self as a criminal selling drugs who goes to jail in a young age.

But during the time the song was released in 1995 Tupac was at the peak of his career.

He was very famous, respected and a proud musician.

Conclusion. Conclusion.

In conclusion my primary source “Dear Mama” gives a great detail of evidence about Tupac’s identity with his mother and his

emotional side. Examples of his prior experience are mentioned in the song, which allows us to understand its meaning by

trying to put our selves in his shoes. I mentioned what the purpose of the song was and how it was different from his other

songs , and how it allows us to view compare his identities in different songs, also relating back to the first learning outcome.

We discover themes and ideas in his songs that we never would have thought about, along with other complex ideas of

“Blacks and failed schooling” and “Black children and single mothers”. This FOA taught me that a song and its lyrics can tell

a lot about its writer than just their writing skill.

Bibliography.Bibliography.

http://www.aceshowbiz.com/celebrity/tupac_shakur/biography_2.html

http://songmeanings.com/songs/view/46587/

www.essortment.com/tupac-shakurs-life-bio-20332.html

http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0000637/bio

hollowverse.com/tupac/

http://www.rollingstone.com/music/artists/tupac-shakur/biography

http://prezi.com/xmwmonawq1wj/tupac-dear-mama/

http://www.shmoop.com/2pac-dear-mama/songwriting.html

http://savingcommunities.org/issues/race.html

http://mvgazette.com/news/2011/08/22/poverty-and-failure-education-system-weigh-black-students?k=vg525e8b54e6ba3&r=1

http://www.theatlantic.com/past/docs/unbound/flashbks/blacked/steele.htm

Thank you for watching. Thank you for watching.