The Sunday Mail
IF ever there is a piece of writing that does justice to the person, the spirit, the character and the personality of Tupac Shakur, it is the collection of his poetry.
Presented in a set aptly titled “The Rose that Grew from Concrete”, the name of one of his most famous and deep poems, the departed legendary rapper has never been more alive.
The Tupac that the world knew was a thug, a nuisance, even an murderer. This is how the mainstream media has presented him.
But in the collection of his poetry — with a preface, foreword and introduction by those he closely associated with — we get closer to the real Tupac.
His mother Afeni Shakur, and first manager Leila Steinberg, shed light not on a misunderstood artiste; one deliberately and persistently put down by a system that feared a black genius who threatened the status quo.
“Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack? In the concrete. Proving nature’s laws wrong, it learned to walk, without having feet…” reads part of the poem “The Rose that Grew from Concrete”.
According to Steinberg, “The poem tells you a great deal about him in just a few lines. Tupac was the rose that grew in spite of all the obstacles. His life showed that a young man/boy could rise, shine, grow and bloom beyond overbearing conditions to become one of America’s most beloved men.”
Reading through the poems blows to smithereens notions that Tupac was a heartless thug. Rather, as Steinberg puts it, he was as concerned about people as any leader should be.
“The poems show a side of Tupac Amaru Shakur that popular culture has yet to realise existed — pensive, introspective, loving and concerned about world affairs.”
He is a hero in the eyes of many across the world.
Tupac stood up and spoke out against injustices perpetrated against people of colour by a system that boasts of being democratic and the best in the world.
Tupac delivered his art not just to please and entertain, but more importantly to address issues that up to today continue to keep blacks down and in the periphery, far from the centre.
“I guess it will always be the case that when someone brings a new idea or more accurately a truthful idea, there will be complaints.
“There will always be those people, especially those people who are wrong, who try to shut the truth and the daring down … Tupac stayed fresh and strong and committed to himself and his people,” writes Nikki Giovanni in the foreword.
