arts school to be named after thug
BALTIMORE - Jada Pinkett Smith donated $1 million to the high school from which she graduated and asked that a theater there be dedicated to one of her classmates, Tupac Shakur.
full article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061212/..._pinkett_smith
is she and this school insane? glorifying a thug like this?
full article:
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20061212/..._pinkett_smith
is she and this school insane? glorifying a thug like this?
Comments
Yeesh. Stick with acting and being damn cute.
As far as the Tupac thing, he was a prolific rapper. Though the thug image and attitude was the death of him.
If you knew more about him you might not say that.
In the event of my Demise
when my heart can beat no more
I Hope I Die For A Principle
or A Belief that I had Lived 4
I will die Before My Time
Because I feel the shadow's Depth
so much I wanted 2 accomplish
before I reached my Death
I have come 2 grips with the possibility
and wiped the last tear from My eyes
I Loved All who were Positive
In the event of my Demise
- Tupak Shakur
Nick
There is a big difference between being morally good and basically advocating a life of crime including killing and harming others.
Advocate a little drug use... fund my school.
Advocate a little extra-curricular sex, fund my school. You aren't harming anyone but yourself.
Advocate a life where you take from, kill and hurt others... don't fund my school.
Nick
There is a big difference between being morally good and basically advocating a life of crime including killing and harming others.
Nick
Really? Because who has he killed? He's never been convicted of any violent crime.
Even his 1993 sexual assault conviction was dicey and very suspect, and it shows as he was released almost 2 months after his 5 year sentence...
The level of Tupac's "crookedness" is entirely the point here. I will take it for granted that he is not a good moral character, but that is not a disqualifying characteristic for an artist receiving recognition and praise.
I actually use Tupac's "Dear Mama" as an example when I do my personal narrative unit. It's a great song.
You are appreciated
When I was young me and my mama had beef / Seventeen years old kicked out on the streets
Though back at the time, I never thought I'd see her face / Ain't a woman alive that could take my mama's place
Suspended from school; and scared to go home, I was a fool / with the big boys, breakin all the rules
I shed tears with my baby sister /Over the years we was poorer than the other little kids
And even though we had different daddy's, the same drama / When things went wrong we'd blame mama
I reminice on the stress I caused, it was hell / Huggin on my mama from a jail cell
And who'd think in elementary? / Heeey! I see the penitentiary, one day
And runnin from the police, that's right / Mama catch me, put a whoopin to my backside
And even as a crack fiend, mama
You always was a black queen, mama / I finally understand
for a woman it ain't easy tryin to raise a man
You always was committed / A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how ya did it
There's no way I can pay you back / But the plan is to show you that I understand
You are appreciated
Lady, don'tcha know we love ya? Sweet lady
Dear mama, place no one above ya, sweet lady
You are appreciated, don'tcha know we love ya?
Now ain't nobody tell us it was fair / No love from my daddy cause the coward wasn't there
He passed away and I didn't cry, cause my anger / wouldn't let me feel for a stranger
They say I'm wrong and I'm heartless, but all along / I was lookin for a father he was gone
I hung around with the Thugs, and even though they sold drugs / they showed a young brother love
I moved out and started really hangin / I needed money of my own so I started slangin
I ain't guilty cause, even though I sell rocks / It feels good puttin money in your mailbox
I love payin rent when the rent's due / I hope ya got the diamond necklace that I sent to you
Cause when I was low you was there for me / and never left me alone because you cared for me
And I could see you comin home after work late / You're in the kitchen tryin to fix us a hot plate
Ya just workin with the scraps you was given / And mama made miracles every Thanksgivin
But now the road got rough, you're alone / You're tryin to raise two bad kids on your own
And there's no way I can pay you back / But my plan is to show you that I understand
You are appreciated
Pour out some liquor and I reminisce, cause through the drama / I can always depend on my mama
And when it seems that I'm hopeless / You say the words that can get me back in focus
When I was sick as a little kid / To keep me happy there's no limit to the things you did
And all my childhood memories / Are full of all the sweet things you did for me
And even though I act craaazy / I gotta thank the Lord that you made me
There are no words that can express how I feel / You never kept a secret, always stayed real
And I appreciate, how you raised me / And all the extra love that you gave me
I wish I could take the pain away / If you can make it through the night there's a brighter day
Everything will be alright if ya hold on / It's a struggle everyday, gotta roll on
And there's no way I can pay you back/ but my plan is to show you that I understand
You are appreciated
Nick
I believe Grove's example is proof that roses can grow in horse crap.
Nick
Hmm...
Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up around violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society, and sometimes his feuds with fellow rappers. Shakur is known for the political, economic, and messages of racial equality found in much of his work.
On April 17, 2003, Harvard University co-sponsored an academic symposium entitled "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero." The speakers discussed a wide range of topics dealing with Shakur's impact on everything from entertainment to sociology.[51]
Many of the speakers discussed Shakur's status and public persona, including State University of New York English professor Mark Anthony Neal, who gave the talk "Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity Gramscian" in which he argued that Shakur was an example of the "organic intellectual" expressing the concerns of a larger group.
At one Harvard Conference the theme was Shakur's impact on entertainment, race relations, politics and the "hero/martyr"
You say Tupac
He hears Baby Got Back......
heh.
Hmm...
I'll give Grove credit for at least citing a primary source. You cite an adoring fan who has written up his life for Wikipedia and declare the matter done.
Trump is prisoner to a stereo type.
You say Tupac
He hears Baby Got Back......
heh.
I'd gladly prefer to hear Baby Got Back by Sir Mix-a-Lot. I much preferred rap as a social force and rap as a means to a good time as opposed to rapping egomaniacs who cap all suckaz for pleasure. Tupac got his wish in that the lifestyle he advertised was delivered to him. However I'd still rather listen to even him than the played out nonsense that passes for rap today. It is like a hair band in 1990. We are all waiting for the next real thing that will get rid of all the third cousins with record deals and pass for "rap" artists.
Nick
I'll give Grove credit for at least citing a primary source.
Utterly irrelevant.
Are you disagreeing with the content or substance of what I quoted?
You cite an adoring fan who has written up his life for Wikipedia and declare the matter done.
An "adoring fan?"
That article has been edited thousands and thousands of times by all sorts of people.
Address the substance please.
Rap with socially relevant lyrics still exists, and you are far more likely to find socially relevant rap than anything the rock genre is putting on the radio. Take a listen to Kanye West's "All Falls Down".
...and
Common
Talib Kweli
Fugees
Lauryn Hill
A Tribe Called Qwest
De la soul
Mos Def
The Roots
among others...
What is controversial in rock?
What does rock have to offer anyone? It is crap.
The only decent rock-type music worth listening to comes from indie scenes.
Best beat ever.