![]() With the big boys, breaking all the rules Suspended from school, and scared to go home, I was a fool Though back at the time, I never thought I'd see her faceĪin't a woman alive that could take my mama's place ![]() Seventeen years old kicked out on the streets Struggling with Dear Mama? Become a better singer in 30 days with these videos! I love you In 2009, the song was added to the National Recording Registry in the Library of Congress, who deemed it a work that is "culturally, historically, or aesthetically important, and/or inform or reflect life in the United States." In a press release, the organization called the song "a moving and eloquent homage to both the murdered rapper's own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference." more » ![]() "Dear Mama" has been consistently ranked among the best of its genre, appearing on numerous "greatest" lists. The single was certified Platinum by the RIAA on July 13, 1995. The song topped the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart for five weeks and also peaked at number nine on the Billboard Hot 100. In the song, Shakur details his childhood poverty and his mother's addiction to crack cocaine, but argues that his love and deep respect for his mother supersede bad memories. The song is a tribute to his mother, Afeni Shakur. Period."Dear Mama" is a song by American hip hop recording artist 2Pac, released on February 9, 1995, as the lead single from his third studio album, Me Against the World. And then outlaw is being black and minority. Tupac's mentor, rapper Big Syke, had an even more succinct and straightforward breakdown of what "thug" and "outlaw" meant, saying "I call thugs the nobodies, because we really don't have nobody to help us but us. They would never harm me, they would never rob me, they would never do me wrong." ( The Lost Prison Tapes) I believed that I didn't have to fear my own community. Tupac also spoke out firmly against Black-on-Black violence, and despite the media's attacks on him, was very clear that he thought people in his community should be using their power to organize, to build something better, and to stop violence and rape.Īfter a shooting in 2003 that put him in the hospital, he said, "I really did believe that no Black person would ever shoot me. Part of being is to stand up for your responsibilities and say this is what I do even though I know people are going to hate me and say, 'It's so politically un-correct' and 'How could you make black people look like that?' I want to be real with myself." ( Source)Įven though the media spilled endless ink fretting about Tupac's encouragement of gang activity, he didn't like the label "gangsta rap" and had a complex analysis of what gangs were. I mean like I'm not scared to say how I feel. In an interview for MTV, Tupac responded to the criticism: "It's not thugging like I'm robbing people, 'cause that's not what I'm doing. It was also criticized from within the Black community for giving white America the impression that violence and materialism were all Black people stood for. ![]() People argued that Pac's words and behavior encouraged violence and criminal behavior, especially for Black youth. Tupac was widely criticized for embracing T.H.U.G. stood for "The Hate U Give Little Infants F-s Everyone," basically meaning that like it or not, thugs are the products of this society. "It's not an image it's just a way of life," he said in 2005.
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