How to Listen to Tupac

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in Brooklyn, New York on June 16, 1971. By the time he was in his twenties, Tupac was a legendary gangsta rapper whose musical influence can still be heard in many rap and hip hop songs. Some of his raps are mellow and others are very angry. Tupac died amidst controversy on September 13, 1996 after a shooting six days earlier.

Difficulty:

Easy

Instructions

1. Learn about Tupac's life so you can understand his music. Tupac based most of his raps on his life and the lessons that he learned. He rapped mostly about life in the ghetto, drugs, police and racism.

2. Buy Tupac's music. You can find his music on CD's and tapes. Find some of his music under 2Pac or Makaveli. Remember that friends and family discovered some of Tupac's songs after his death, so some albums will have produced dates that are after his death. If you are under 18, you may have to buy the edited or clean versions of his albums.

3. Pick a quiet time when you can focus on the music to listen to Tupac. His songs are very powerful and moving. You need to really concentrate on the song to get the full meaning.

4. Pay extra attention to the words of Tupac's raps. The beat is always catchy when you listen to Tupac, but the true wonder of his music is in the lyrics. Tupac was a pioneer of true life raps.

5. Remember that some of Tupac's lessons can help get you through hard times. You can learn from his mistakes and find inspiration in the positive things he did during his short life.

Tips & Warnings

• Some people may be offended by Tupac's raps. Most of his songs contain obscene words. Never listen to Tupac around anyone who will be offended by his gangsta rap style.

Resources

• Click for information about Tupac albums.
• Download some of Tupac's music.