Displayed above is an image of iconic rapper, Tupac Shakur, who died in 1996 at the age of 25 and is known for revolutionizing the world of hip hop during the span of his short life. Historically, the relationship between art and life has been one exhibiting a high level of reciprocity, both strongly influencing and feeding into one another. Within the short story, "Virgins", all of the characters involved are highly influenced by 90's hip hop which was dominated, at the time, by artists such as Tupac, Nas, and Notorious B.I.G. who were in the midst of shaping rap into the charismatic and complex genre that it is today.

Especially prominent within the text is the issue of the death of Tupac, an event that causes anxiety not only amongst the main characters, but also within the community in which the story takes place, demonstrating Tupac's level of importance and influence as a role model. Within the first couple pages of the text, the girls' elementary school teacher references this influence, as well as the relationship between art and life, by saying,"you live like a thug, you die like a thug" (2). By this, the teacher is insinuating that the often violent lyrics written by Tupac have directly influenced the action of his life - and death - and that this same relationship is applicable to the society in which the girls live. This, however, begs the inevitable question: do we produce or are we products of the various forms of art and media in which we surround ourselves on a daily basis?

In order to understand the influence of famous rappers like Tupac, it is important to understand him as an artist. To this day, Tupac still exists as one of the most influential and best selling musicians of all time. Born in East Harlem and raised by parents who were active members of the Black Panther Party, Tupac studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet at the public arts school he attended in Baltimore. Tupac's love for poetry lead him to develop what would eventually become a brilliant ability to write lyrics and rap. When he was noticed in 1990 during a concert in which he performed with his group at the time, Strictly Dope, he was signed and experienced his first taste of success as a backup dancer for the rap group Digital Underground. In 1991, Tupac released his first solo album, 2Pacalypse Now which, despite failing to achieve any top 10 hits, is still hailed for its underground feel and the political conviction it displayed. In 1993, Tupac released his first album to reach platinum status titled, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. which continued to show Tupac's social activism through hits like "Keep Ya Head Up". After this, Tupac launched fully into the success of his controversial and whirlwind career, releasing the albums Thug Life: Volume 1, Me Against the World, All Eyez On Me between 1994 and 1996. On September 7, 1996,Tupac was shot to death, the criminal investigation of which has now become a cold case. His final album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released posthumously.

Although dearly loved by his fans, Tupac, to this day, is often criticized for many of the themes in his music as well as his conviction of sexual abuse in 1993 for which he went to prison for 11 months in 1995. His lyrics often dealt heavily with controversial issues such as violence against police, sexual aggression towards women and drug use, and have been claimed to be the source of deadly inspiration behind many violent acts. However, Tupac's lyrics also embrace different aspects of Black Nationalism, and in albums like "2pacalypsenow", he attacked racial and social injustices in society. As detailed in the film Tupac: Resurrection, Tupac viewed the concept of "thug life" as a personal philosophy to live by. However, he also held the opinion that the common perception of the word "thug" as one describing a "rogue or criminal" did not encapsulate its correct meaning. He defined a "thug" as, "someone who came from oppressive or squalid background and had little opportunity but still made a life for themselves and were proud". Tupac used his influence to spread this philosophy, and came under fire for its alleged endorsement of criminal behavior.
Due to opposing representations and portrayals of Tupac like the ones mentioned above, a gray area exists when trying to decide the influence that his rapping had and continues to have on youth. On one side, we have songs such as "Brenda's Got A Baby", which discusses the pregnancy of a young girl and includes lyrics such as, "Just cause you in tha ghetto doesn't mean ya can't grow". On the other hand, we have songs such as,"High Speed" that focuses on violence and sex, with lyrics such as, "But I f*cked your wife/We bust on Bad Boys/nig*as f*ck for Life".

What is your opinion of the influence that these kind of artists had on youth at the time? Additionally, what kind of effect do you see this having on Erica and Jasmine or even the men in their community such as Michael and Ron? If this kind of music really does have a strong influence on our characters, what are its implications as far as sexual agency?
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Megan Peters
4/30/2012 10:12:38 am

Music has a huge influence in society at any day in age, especially for the youth because they are still developing so the music they listen to will affect their thoughts. So when listening to songs by Tupac probably had an influence in what people thought and did at the time. This goes into what Erica and Jasmine thought about sex. To them it seemed like it was something you just had to do because of the current music and the attitude about it with society. Collins brings up mass media in Black Sexual Politics and states, “global mass media circulates images of Black femininity and Black masculinity and, in doing so, ideologies of race, gender, sexuality, and class” (122).

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Monica Wisniewski
5/1/2012 10:47:11 pm

I think that when Tupac represents songs of such varying nature it's a reflection on the different approaches to the varying experiences that individuals encounter. I think its poignant to consider that there's hope in a situation like growing as an individual in the ghetto, just as much as its important to save face or express an extreme that invokes a strong emotion like Tupac's use of explicit lyrics. Nothing is as clear cut as we view it, and just like people are a blend of different emotions, experiences and beliefs I think that our artistic representations do the same.

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1/4/2016 11:15:09 pm

Within the short story, "Virgins", all of the characters involved are highly influenced by 90's hip hop which was dominated, at the time, by artists such as Tupac, Nas, and Notorious B.I.G. who were in the midst of shaping rap into the charismatic and complex genre that it is today.

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