{"id":127050,"date":"2017-06-16T09:14:10","date_gmt":"2017-06-16T13:14:10","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/?p=127050"},"modified":"2017-06-16T09:46:43","modified_gmt":"2017-06-16T13:46:43","slug":"tupacs-life-struggles-triumphs-generation-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/2017\/06\/tupacs-life-struggles-triumphs-generation-2\/","title":{"rendered":"In Tupac\u2019s Life, the Struggles and Triumphs of a Generation"},"content":{"rendered":"

Beginning June 16, moviegoers will be able to see the much-anticipated \u201cAll Eyez on Me<\/a>,\u201d the biopic of Tupac Shakur, one of the most iconic and influential musicians of the 20th century.<\/p>\n

Since his death in 1996, Tupac\u2019s place in the pantheon of cultural icons has been firmly cemented. Scores of books<\/a> and documentaries<\/a> have detailed his life, career, and tragic death, while musicians continue to pay tribute to his influence in their songs. He has sold more than 75 million albums<\/a> worldwide, and earlier this year he was inducted<\/a> into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.<\/p>\n

But beyond the commercial success, the life of Tupac could be thought of as a metaphor for a generation of African-American youth. A personification of hip-hop\u2019s ascendance and the vexing forces that shaped it, Tupac was born in 1971 at the dawn of the post-civil rights era. His life would span the war on drugs, the rapid expansion of the prison-industrial complex, a black power reprise, the mainstream recognition of hip-hop \u2013 and all the pitfalls therein.<\/p>\n

Enemies of the state<\/strong><\/p>\n

Tupac\u2019s mother, Afeni Shakur, was a leading member of a Black Panther Party chapter in Harlem. In 1969, Afeni was arrested with 20 others in the infamous Panther 21 case<\/a>. Part of a nationwide effort to disrupt the Panthers\u2019 political activities \u2013 just three years earlier, FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover had called them<\/a> \u201cthe greatest threat to national security\u201d \u2013 the group was charged with conspiring to bomb buildings in New York City. The group ended up being acquitted of all 156 charges on May 21, 1971.<\/p>\n

Afeni\u2019s son, Tupac, was born a month later, on June 16.<\/p>\n

A day after Tupac\u2019s birth, President Richard Nixon issued a written statement to Congress about illegal drugs, calling them<\/a> \u201cpublic enemy number one.\u201d The following day, he held a press conference<\/a> during which he asked for more federal funds to wage a \u201cwar on drugs.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both events \u2013 the systemic crackdown on the political activities of black activists and the nascent war on drugs \u2013 would have a profound effect on the life of Tupac, along with millions of other African-Americans.<\/p>\n

Crackdown<\/strong><\/p>\n

Few forces were as disruptive to Tupac\u2019s generation as the illicit drug trade. When he was born, heroin use was concentrated in the New York City metro area<\/a>. Crime rates spiraled, overdoses increased and black communities \u2013 disproportionately affected by the violence \u2013 demanded action: stop illegal drugs, create jobs and implement responsible policing.<\/p>\n

In 1973, New York state passed the Rockefeller Drug Laws<\/a>, the most punitive anti-drug legislation in the country. Possession of four ounces of narcotics now had a mandatory minimum sentence 15 years to life. Many in the black community were initially supportive<\/a> of the Rockefeller Laws. Yet the fundamental demands from the black community \u2013 jobs, health care, police reform \u2013 went unmet.<\/p>\n

Over the course of the decade, unemployment in black communities across the country soared. By 1983, it had reached 21 percent<\/a> \u2013 a rate higher than all but three years<\/a> of the Great Depression. And as police brutality and corruption continued to plague black neighborhoods<\/a>, a new drug was introduced to the streets: crack cocaine, which Tupac\u2019s mother became addicted to.<\/p>\n

Hip-hop meets politics<\/strong><\/p>\n

Even though black and white drug use rates were similar<\/a> during this period, poor black communities ended up being the battlegrounds \u2013 and killing fields \u2013 for the war on drugs. The homicide rate for black males between the ages of 18 and 24 years old more than doubled between 1983 and 1993<\/a> \u2013 to a high of 196 per 100,000 people. (The national homicide rate was 9 per 100,000.) Meanwhile, incarceration rates skyrocketed<\/a>. In 1970, blacks were 4.6 times more likely to be arrested than whites. By 1990, they were 6.8 times more likely to be detained.<\/p>\n

The spiraling violence and conflict fomented a new sense of black political alarm, with many gravitating to black nationalist messages. Young black people started donning African medallions and African-inspired fashion, while pushing hip-hop into a politically subversive realm of musical expression.<\/p>\n

Hip-hop groups and artists like Public Enemy, Brand Nubian, Ice Cube, and X-Clan started promoting a political message of resistance in its music to a greater extent than any popular genre at the time. Rappers attacked the crack trade, white supremacy, and police brutality in scores of songs, from Public Enemy\u2019s \u201cNight of the Living Baseheads<\/a>\u201d to Ice Cube\u2019s \u201cI Wanna Kill Sam<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a><\/p>\n
<\/div>\n
The music \u2013 and fashion \u2013 of groups like X-Clan were infused with black nationalism.<\/span> hiphopandpolitics.com<\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<\/figure>\n

Tupac immersed himself in this movement, embracing and adorning the politics of the black power reprise in his lyrics. While R&B, soul, and jazz musicians were largely silent on the challenges in poor black communities, Tupac\u2019s first LP, \u201c2Pacalypse Now\u201d (1991), directly confronted issues like mass incarceration, violence, illegal drugs, police brutality, and racism.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m tired of being trapped in this vicious cycle,\u201d he rapped in \u201cTrapped<\/a>,\u201d \u201cIf one more cop harasses me, I just might go psycho.\u201d<\/p>\n

His next three LPs \u2013 like those of many of his hip-hop contemporaries \u2013 balanced their subject matter between carefree party songs (\u201cI Get Around\u201d) and calls for social justice (\u201cSouljah\u2019s Revenge\u201d), while rapping about violence against rival rappers (\u201cHit ’em Up\u201d), and his love for his mother, even through her struggles with addiction (\u201cDear Mama\u201d).<\/p>\n

The trappings of success<\/strong><\/p>\n

As his popularity grew, Tupac personally and professionally struggled over his appeal to the mainstream, while battling the allure of conspicuous consumption, excess, and sexism.<\/p>\n

He knew the destructive forces of violence and what critics call the prison industrial complex<\/a>, making calls for social justice in his hit \u201cChanges,\u201d which criticized drug dealers and the horrifying effects of mass incarceration. In multiple songs he alerted listeners to the story of Latasha Harlins<\/a>, the 15-year-old black girl whose murderer was given probation by a California court system that had given harsher sentences to people who abused dogs. He created a plan to mitigate the violence in black communities with a code of ethics<\/a> for drug dealers and truces between gangs.<\/p>\n

Nonetheless, Tupac found himself personally mired in violent criminal cases. There were assault charges against him in 1993 and again in 1994. That same year, he was robbed and shot five times in New York City \u2013 the day before he was sentenced on sexual assault charges.<\/p>\n

And just as commercial hip-hop retreated from the political lyrics of the early 1990s, Tupac\u2019s lyrics gravitated to a gangsta style more aligned and palatable to mainstream audiences and radio stations. From \u201cAmbitionz az a Ridah\u201d through \u201cWhen We Ride,\u201d references to \u201cmoney over bitches\u201d and gang-banging shootouts became commonplace. In 1995, Tupac signed with Death Row Records, a label notorious for its violent atmosphere and its volatile founder<\/a>, Suge Knight.<\/p>\n

In time, he adopted Death Row\u2019s gangster rivalries, bluster, and violence. Then, while in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996, he joined in the beating of a rival gang member accused of assaulting a Death Row associate. Later that night, Tupac was shot multiple times and died from his wounds six days later. Many investigators believe<\/a> it was a direct retaliation for the beating.<\/p>\n

‘I might fall, but I\u2019m gonna get up\u2019<\/strong><\/p>\n

In the end, Tupac\u2019s life isn\u2019t just an embodiment of the struggles, contradictions, creativity, and promise of a generation. It also serves as a cautionary tale. His life\u2019s abrupt end was a consequence of the allure of success, much like the pull of the streets. His sensitivity, intelligence, and creativity were measured against the hostile external forces that had antagonized him since birth. And while these forces inspired him to rebel, they also tempted him, inviting him to gorge on the excesses of fame and celebrity.<\/p>\n

Tupac admitted that he wasn\u2019t perfect. In his own words<\/a>:<\/p>\n

‘God ain\u2019t finished with me yet. [There\u2019s] a path for me, and I make mistakes, and I might fall, but I\u2019m gonna get up and I keep trying ’cause I believe in it \u2026 It\u2019s still from my soul, my heart.’<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Today, Tupac\u2019s legacy lives on, with hip-hop playing more prominent roles in academia<\/a>, the arts<\/a>, and political movements such as Black Lives Matter.<\/p>\n

Taking the baton from Tupac, artists like Kendrick Lamar speak to a new generation of black youth with hopeful lyrics like \u201cwe gonna be alright<\/a>.\u201d<\/p>\n

But it won\u2019t happen with anything less than overt action and involvement with purpose \u2013 mistakes and all.<\/p>\n

Originally published in The Conversation<\/a>.<\/em><\/p>\n

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Beyond his commercial success, Tupac Shakur’s life can be thought of as a metaphor for a generation of African-American youth, says history professor Jeffrey Ogbar. The biopic ‘All Eyez on Me’ opens today. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":76,"featured_media":120096,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_crdt_document":"","wds_primary_category":0,"wds_primary_series":0,"wds_primary_attribution":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1711,2226,2225],"tags":[],"magazine-issues":[],"coauthors":[175],"class_list":["post-127050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-arts-culture","category-clas","category-uconn-storrs"],"pp_statuses_selecting_workflow":false,"pp_workflow_action":"current","pp_status_selection":"publish","acf":[],"publishpress_future_action":{"enabled":false,"date":"2026-04-12 14:27:44","action":"change-status","newStatus":"draft","terms":[],"taxonomy":"category","extraData":[]},"publishpress_future_workflow_manual_trigger":{"enabledWorkflows":[]},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127050","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/users\/76"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=127050"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127050\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":127060,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/posts\/127050\/revisions\/127060"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media\/120096"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=127050"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=127050"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=127050"},{"taxonomy":"magazine-issue","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/magazine-issues?post=127050"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/today.uconn.edu\/wp-rest\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=127050"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}