Changes by Tupac Shakur is considered to be one of the greatest and well written rap songs ever. Tupac chases a lot of major issues in this topic, he really raps from his heart about the oppression of African Americans in the United States, how they are always depicted to be criminals and how they are always abused by the police for drug use. Tupac does also talk about the hatred and lack of unity among the African American community and it's residents. He talks about how many African Americans are just forced to go into drugs to get by in life and that there is no other choice.
In the beginning of the song, the first verse. Tupac talks about how he sees no changes in his African American community. He sets the stage of the African American community as being one that is filled with poverty and corruption. He notes that being an African American that there is no choice but to go into criminal like habits such as stealing and drug dealing.First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers. This line signifies how he takes the stance of an African American being forced into dealing. Tupac also talks about how African Americans must see each other as "brothers" and not some "distant strangers" since the community is completely split apart and no one looks out for one another. He continually repeats that there are no "changes" and wants people to change for their own good. He repeats "I see no changes" twice which displays the use of an anaphora. The anaphora helps 2pac try to get into his black target audience on the fact that he doesn't see them moving further from what they are and that they have to change their lives and habits. He also uses an allusion as he refers to a man named Huey and he uses him in the first verse as an example of the disparity among the people in the African American community as he refers to Huey being dead again. The bridge of the song is portrayed as a sort of inner voice as the inner voice states that what Tupac wants to change will not and that we African Americans can't control the disparity in the community.
In the 2nd verse, Tupac brings White Americans into his song and he compares them to African Americans. 'Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight he Tupac here shows that white and black Americans are the same and no ethnicity is particularly superior to the other. He continues to bring up that African Americans are really doing things the wrong way and he brings up how the "penitiary" is packed and it is "filled with blacks" which shows that it is the ultimate sign on how they have suffered and what the causes of their actions have resulted into. Tupac also says that the onlt time "we chill is when we kill eachother". This takes into account the negative part of his community and shows how violent it is because people are being shot on the streets in African American neighborhoods everyday. Tupac does have a realistic view as he realizes that some things may not change as a lot of African Americans are into drugs and not even the slightest bit close to realizing their flaws.
The 3rd verse is a sort of motivation as Tupac is constantly reminding his fellow African Americans that our current lifestyle is not acceptable and if we continue to live this way, bad things will keep on piling up. He wants them to really change because he knows that on this path, they will continue to be oppressed, hated on and in the news for all the wrong reasons. The 4th verse, Tupac talks about the government focusing more on drugs than on the poverty in the African American community. He tells the members of the community to stay independent as they are clearly not in safe hands and that white people will continue to oppress them as being the drug deals of society. Rat-ta-ta-ta! is an onomatopoeia in the song that he uses in the end to signify the violence in the community with the simple sound of a gun shot. Overall I believe that Changes is one of the best songs ever written because Tupac speaks out about his own neighbourhood and where he came from and he explains the truth on how his community really has a lot of corruption. He is very realistic as he sees that some of their oppression is a bit overstated but at the same time Tupac realizes how his community is far from perfect and has many issues which need to resolved or else everything could be going downhill. I respect the way Tupac comes out and admits the truth on all that has gone wrong with this community and it is one of the few rap songs that I genuinely like. Tupac really calls out his community for a change and he tackles one of the biggest issues in America.
In the beginning of the song, the first verse. Tupac talks about how he sees no changes in his African American community. He sets the stage of the African American community as being one that is filled with poverty and corruption. He notes that being an African American that there is no choice but to go into criminal like habits such as stealing and drug dealing.First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers. This line signifies how he takes the stance of an African American being forced into dealing. Tupac also talks about how African Americans must see each other as "brothers" and not some "distant strangers" since the community is completely split apart and no one looks out for one another. He continually repeats that there are no "changes" and wants people to change for their own good. He repeats "I see no changes" twice which displays the use of an anaphora. The anaphora helps 2pac try to get into his black target audience on the fact that he doesn't see them moving further from what they are and that they have to change their lives and habits. He also uses an allusion as he refers to a man named Huey and he uses him in the first verse as an example of the disparity among the people in the African American community as he refers to Huey being dead again. The bridge of the song is portrayed as a sort of inner voice as the inner voice states that what Tupac wants to change will not and that we African Americans can't control the disparity in the community.
In the 2nd verse, Tupac brings White Americans into his song and he compares them to African Americans. 'Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight he Tupac here shows that white and black Americans are the same and no ethnicity is particularly superior to the other. He continues to bring up that African Americans are really doing things the wrong way and he brings up how the "penitiary" is packed and it is "filled with blacks" which shows that it is the ultimate sign on how they have suffered and what the causes of their actions have resulted into. Tupac also says that the onlt time "we chill is when we kill eachother". This takes into account the negative part of his community and shows how violent it is because people are being shot on the streets in African American neighborhoods everyday. Tupac does have a realistic view as he realizes that some things may not change as a lot of African Americans are into drugs and not even the slightest bit close to realizing their flaws.
The 3rd verse is a sort of motivation as Tupac is constantly reminding his fellow African Americans that our current lifestyle is not acceptable and if we continue to live this way, bad things will keep on piling up. He wants them to really change because he knows that on this path, they will continue to be oppressed, hated on and in the news for all the wrong reasons. The 4th verse, Tupac talks about the government focusing more on drugs than on the poverty in the African American community. He tells the members of the community to stay independent as they are clearly not in safe hands and that white people will continue to oppress them as being the drug deals of society. Rat-ta-ta-ta! is an onomatopoeia in the song that he uses in the end to signify the violence in the community with the simple sound of a gun shot. Overall I believe that Changes is one of the best songs ever written because Tupac speaks out about his own neighbourhood and where he came from and he explains the truth on how his community really has a lot of corruption. He is very realistic as he sees that some of their oppression is a bit overstated but at the same time Tupac realizes how his community is far from perfect and has many issues which need to resolved or else everything could be going downhill. I respect the way Tupac comes out and admits the truth on all that has gone wrong with this community and it is one of the few rap songs that I genuinely like. Tupac really calls out his community for a change and he tackles one of the biggest issues in America.
This commentary demonstrates excellent engagement with the text. However, by re-using a song that you already analyzed thoroughly for your FOA, you are not really engaging with this task, or improving your analysis skills.
ReplyDeleteThank you. Yes I know I am analyzing the same song again but this time I analyzed it in the correct way and with more depth and detail, things that I didn't do with my analysis in the FOA before and therefore my analysis skills have improved since I feel that I did things better overall.
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