"Your Complexity is Something I can Understand: Tupac Shakur"
“Something about the West Coast…
Shhh don’t tell nobody…
Something about the West Coast…
It makes me wanna ride…
Shake it Westsideeee…
Throw yo’ hands up
Let’s rideeee”
Who remembers that song? Or better yet, who has heard that song? Those lyrics are from Oakland, California’s own Richie Rich. I am pretty sure some people are wondering why that was even necessary since this post is not about Richie Rich. However, I want to convey that there are no real words for how dope the West Coast is. Like Richie Rich said, there is just something about it (and yes, I am bias. I live out here, so don’t go there lol).
There is something peculiar about being and living in the West Coast. One of the things that make the West Coast so peculiar is the music of Tupac Shakur.
If I had left out Tupac Shakur, the son of Afeni Shakur and taught the Black Panther philosophy, the music Gods would be displeased. It would not have been right to say that this hop-hop legend does not feed my soul anytime and every time I listen to him. I may not know that much about hip-hop, but I know it was born out of struggle. It was a way for the Black younger generation who was tired of injustice, discrimination, and hatred to say what they had to say. To most of them, it was unnecessary to suffer in silence.
Tupac rapped about what White people wanted to silence his community with: drugs, poverty, lack of quality education, and much more. He was very loud, he was very clear, and he was very unafraid. Black music has a social responsibility, whether that means to make you smile in the midst of adversity, to get angry at the injustices, or just to love on each other; Black music has a responsibility. Tupac Shakur takes this responsibility on. He has the ability to make me think deeply, feel good, and revolutionary. I am proud to be Black when I listen to him!
However, I am not going to make it seem as though Tupac does not have a complexity. He has some songs that reveal his Black male misogynistic ways. With songs and videos such as “I get around”, I wonder why he calls us hoes, while simultaneously creating songs that say “Keep [your] head up”? Although there are songs and videos that show his Black male misogyny, I cannot take away the fact that Tupac is courageous.
It may seem very hypocritical of me to understand Shakur’s misogyny and not Kanye’s (as in my earlier post). However, the difference is this: Shakur never gave up. Tupac NEVER sold-out. It hurts most when you, as a Black person, try to use your Blackness to benefit only you. Kanye is selfish, and does not give a damn about the ones who really helped create him: Black women. Therefore, I cannot accept anything about him right now. Why would I love you and you really hate me?
When Shakur says these lines from his song, "Keep ya Head Up",
“Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots
I give a holla to my sisters on welfare
Tupac cares, if don’t nobody else care
And, I know they like to beat you down a lot
When you come around the block, brothers clown a lot
But, please, don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up
Forgive but don’t forget, girl, keep ya head up
And when he tells you you ain’t nothin’, don’t believe him
And if he can’t learn to love ya, you should leave him
Cause sistah, you don’t need him”
Shakur is acknowledging Black women existence, and some of our experience. That is powerful. Some rappers never acknowledge (d) our existence. Some Black men forget that racism affects us too. Whether we are the poorest of the poor or if we are rich, it affects us. Black mothers/ women deal with traumatic experiences while trying to feed you, clothe you, and make sure our younger ones stay alive.
It is a very complex love that I have for Tupac Shakur. In fact, this complex love is seen for any Black male rapper that tends to feed my soul. These other rappers are J.Cole and Kendrick Lamar. Yet and still, I understand and appreciate their complexity. Someone has to say something. However, it does not mean that I accept all that is said.
Ava Duvarney tweeted this powerful statement, “To be a woman who loves hip hop at times is to be in love with your abuser. Because the music was and is that. And, yet, the culture is ours.” Ms. Duvarney, I could not have said it any better. I really could not.