Favorite Poem by Tupac

The Rose that Grew from Concrete
-Tupac Shakur

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

This is my favorite poem by Tupac because it speaks so much to the adversity he, and many others who relate to him, faced growing up. Its message of perseverance in the face of impossible odds is so powerful yet elegant at the same time.

Home Sweet Home

While reading about D and her wandering ways, it reminded me of when I was a kid of the same age. My brother and sisters and I would take off on summer mornings and just wander around Cupertino on adventures. Like D, we rarely had a destination picked out before we left home. We would just go where our fancy led us that day. We would stay away all day, returning home around dinner time. Reading about D sparked a whole flood of memories of those times for me. I thought about things I hadn't thought about in years. Like how we would go to different neighborhoods and look at the houses and imagine about the lives of the people who lived there. Like D, we were free to roam at will as long as we came back before dark. It was a great way to grow up and learn about ourselves and the world around us.

A Sad Reality

I've met many people who criticize Tupac's lyrics saying "Why does he have to use foul language? Why's he always talking about such horrible things?" The sad reality is that most of the world does not live in cozy homes and have food to eat everyday. Like D said, Tupac speaks to her. It's like they are the same person. With his raw lyrics, he speaks for many children and adolescents who go to sleep without any food in their stomachs and have no other option but to go to school hungry. Tupac is the voice for so many without one. He expresses what they are feeling, letting them know they are not alone. He talks about an issue that few others actually talk about. It is sad to think that there are people who continue to ignore the conditions of poverty in which children and adolescents live here in the United States and all over the world.

Juice

I remember watching Juice when I was in 5th grade on VHS at my friend's house. I thought that movie was so awesome because at that time (1995) "California Love" had come out. Even though I didn't have anyone clock me or watch me and I didn't have diamonds shining looking like I had robbed Liberace, I still felt like I could relate to the culture. Of course, as a scrawny suburban Asian kid I'd never been fresh out of jail California dreamin', never stepped on a scene hearing hoochies screamin' and it wasn't till recently that I've been fiendin' for money and alcohol, but when Pac sings from "Oakland to Sactown, the Bay Area and back down" I can't help but feel represented in some way.

Brenda's Got A Baby

The first Tupac song I ever heard was "Brenda's Got A Baby." I was in college, participating on an assignment for my Humanities class. Students were divided into pairs and asked to bring in a song of their choosing that had substance. We were to provide lyrics for everyone in the class. Then, as each song was played, we listened intently and analyzed the lyrics.

The girls in After Tupac and D Foster feel a deep connection to Tupac and this song.

"He was so beautiful, I felt like I could see Brenda inside of him. Like even though he was singing about a girl who threw her baby away, he was thinking about himself."

"It's like I look at him and see myself. It's like I'm looking in a mirror."

They see Brenda in Tupac, and Tupac in themselves.

How can one song make all of these connections?

When I heard this song, I was taken aback by its cruel reality. I'd never heard anything like it before. I had known girls like Brenda and I suddenly gained a profound compassion for her and those like her. I truly believe that compassion, empathy, understanding - all of these things - are the highest achievement that the arts can make.