Cold winters are sheltered by crack houses instead of recreational centers that they claim to not have the paper to keep open for operation…
What’s a young boy to do when he doesn’t want to do wrong but there’s a lock on the right door?
When he has the heart of a soldier, the aggression of a prize fighter but no one’s taught him what to fight for…
Young Tupac was one of many boys without fathers {as Black Ice says}. However, the absence of his father was eclipsed by his mother’s fierce love. Afeni {a former Black Panther} passed on infinite wisdom to her son so it isn’t true that “no one taught him what to fight for.” “My mother taught me three things: respect, knowledge, search for knowledge. It’s an eternal journey.” -Tupac I included this caption of Tupac because he had “the heart of a soldier and aggression of a prize fighter”- not to mention the mind of a revolutionary leader.. In the end, Tupac defined manhood for himself and became quite the revolutionary man. I would have loved to see Tupac become a father…
See, most of our families are fatherless and quite poor so we miss out on meals as well as kisses and hugs.
Imagine we lived in a world where there was no suffering, injustice/oppression, “third world” class distinction or any class distinction whatsoever.
This is the world that I want to live in…
Art by BANKSY
Peace & Namaste.
{More posts about poverty/social inequality/injustice, sociology, spoken word poetry, Tupac, Dead Prez, Black Ice and hip hop coming up in the future…}
Tupac Amaru Shakur was an inspiration to millions.
While 2Pac was most famous for his rap career, he was also a gifted actor, poet and thoughtful while outspoken advocate for the poor and the overlooked in America. During his life, he produced an immense amount of artistic work, which included studio albums, major Hollywood feature films, and published works. He was most prolific in the music industry, selling over 75 million albums. 2Pac’s unapologetic lyrics were relevant, important, and reflective of the hard lives led by many. His music earned attention and respect through a poetic style that embraced street vocabulary while being innovative. Today, 2Pac is still considered by many to be one of the biggest influences on modern hip-hop.
2Pac’s career has earned him six Grammy nominations and three MTV Video Music Award nominations. In 1997, Shakur was honored by the American Music Awards as the Favorite Hip Hop Artist.
Born on June 16 1971 in New York City, Shakur’s parents were both members of the Black Panther Party whose militant style and provocative ideologies for civil rights would come to influence 2Pac’s music. At an early age, Tuapc’s love for performance and the arts began to show, as he began acting at age 13 and later enrolled in the Baltimore School of the Arts before dropping out at 17. Shakur broke into the music business with rap group Digital Underground as a back-up dancer and roadie. Eventually Shakur released his first solo album in ’91, 2pacalypse Now. 2Pac’s music career began to grow as his second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z included two top 20 pop chart tracks: I Get Around and Keep Ya Head Up.
Shakur’s legal battles began after he established his rap career. In the early nineties Shakur faced a wrongful death suit which settled out of court, accusations of assaulting police officers where charges were ultimately dropped, and even an incident where Shakur sustained five gunshot wounds from shooter Dexter Isaac. In 1995 2Pac was sentenced one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual abuse. However, not even prison could slow the success of Shakur’s career.
While incarcerated 2Pac’s latest album at the time, Me Against the World, was number one in the pop charts and would later go double platinum. Shakur became the first artist to reach number one in the pop charts while serving a prison sentence. Making the most of his time in jail, 2Pac became a passionate reader. Among his favorites were the works of Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian Renaissance writer whose works were in part the foundation for western political science. Shakur’s appreciation of his work inspired the nickname: Makaveli.
After serving only eight months of his sentence, 2Pac was out on parole thanks to a 1.4 million dollar bond paid by Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records. Now signed with Death Row Records, Shakur went on to create All Eyez on Me, which featured hits How Do You Want It and California Love.
2Pac’s life was cut short in September of 1996 when Shakur became the victim of a drive-by shooting while his car waited on a red light. While Shakur survived the surgery that followed he was pronounced dead almost a week after the attack.
Even today, 2Pac’s influence is wide-spread. From the Library of Congress where his song Dear Mama was added in 2010 to the National Registry, to artists like 11 time Grammy winner Eminem who in an interview with MTV said:
“He made you feel like you knew him. I think that , honestly, Tupac was the greatest songwriter that ever lived. He made it seem so easy. The emotion was there, and feeling, and everything he was trying to describe. You saw a picture that he was trying to paint.”
2Pac leaves a legacy of honesty and passion in his songs. Respected by many, 2Pac has become an inspiration for artists and a standard in rap music.”
Our mission is to provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents. Each and every child desires freedom to creatively express themselves. We provide an environment that encourages freedom of expression, serves as a resource for families, and empowers via education.
ABOUT
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF) is home to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, just outside of Atlanta in Stone Mountain, Georgia. TASF was founded in 1997 originally as the Shakur Family Foundation by Afeni Shakur, mother of multi-talented Tupac Amaru Shakur. Since its inception TASF has offered performing arts camps, essay competitions, youth book clubs, visual arts workshops, community development projects, and scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate degrees.
On June 11, 2005 the TASF opened the Center! The Center is dedicated to providing youth and the community with educational programs in the arts. It is a fact that early arts education improves school grades, as well as offers invaluable life lessons while building self-esteem and confidence. For nearly 15 years, the Foundation’s programs have served youth of all social and economic backgrounds, giving countless young people the courage to get off the streets and learn vital skills that have the potential to positively impact their communities. The Center is open to the public and hosts several noteworthy events throughout the year.
MORE ABOUT TUPAC
Tupac Amaru Shakur dealt with great obstacles such as homelessness, hunger, and pain, amongst other situations during his youth. Performing arts provided the hope that would seed the expression that would one day influence generations worldwide.
Tupac accomplished a lot before his murder at the age of 25. At an early age, he wrote and organized family productions, casting himself as the lead and his older cousins in supporting roles. Tupac formally trained at the 127th Street Ensemble and Baltimore School for the Arts. At the age of twelve, he experienced his first formal stage role as the character “Travis” in the stage play ‘Raisin In the Sun’ at the prestigious Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Tupac was eventually cast in several feature films and recorded several chart topping albums. In fact, he released the first ever double hip-hop CD. Today, years after his physical departure, he is the second highest selling Hip-Hop artist of all time. His gift- his words and creative talent- continues to inspire others around the world!“
“With his arms around your love Oh no, here comes the pain that you can’t ignore
With his arms around your girl He’ll do all of the things you didn’t do before You had every chance, but you closed the door
[Chorus] Now you’re just gonna have to take it (‘Cause if you didn’t know) She’s gonna make you pay for it (Price you can’t afford) You’re just gonna have to take it With his arms around your love [Repeat: x3]
Oh, yeah
Pretend that you don’t mind But you know everything that you left behind
And it would have been alright If you’d gave half of the praise that you held inside You thought she’d hang around for the ride
[Chorus]
Coming clean feels so dangerous Just a little bit would have been enough But you never said all the words caught in your head
As if your heart was dead Well now its surely bled and broken up
And it would have been alright If you’d gave half of the praise that you held inside You thought she’d hang around for the ride
[Chorus]
(Take it) With his arms around your love (Pay for it) With his arms around your love With his arms around your love With his arms around your love.”
We need to love. Even when it leads us to the land where the lakes are made of tears, to that secret, mysterious place, the land of tears!
Tears speak for themselves. And when we feel that we have cried all we needed to cry, they still continue to flow. But when we believe that our life is destined to be a long walk through the Vale of Sorrows, the tears suddenly vanish.
Because we managed to keep our heart open, despite the pain.
Because we realised that the person who left us did not take the sun with them or leave darkness in their place. They simply left, and with every farewell comes a hidden hope.
It is better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all.”
“Broken bottle won’t hurt me
Nothing worse that I have dreamed Gun shot in my chest you’ll leave
I can take that you will see
Late at night is when I dream
Horrible things are what I see
Hard for me to believe
I wake up and I won’t freeze
Car crash highway tragedy
Nothing worse than I have dreamed Loss of my best friend I grieve
I can take that you will see.”
“Learning how to be kind to ourselves is important.
When we look into our own hearts and begin to discover what is confused and what is brilliant, what is bitter and what is sweet, it isn’t just ourselves that we’re discovering.
We’re discovering the universe.
When we discover the buddha that we are, we realize that everything and everyone is Buddha.
We discover that everything is awake, and everyone is awake.
Everything and everyone is precious and whole and good. When we regard thoughts and emotions with humor and openness, that’s how we perceive the universe.”
There are Tibetan Buddhist monks in a temple in the Himalayas endlessly reciting mantras for the cessation of your suffering and for the flourishing of your happiness.
Someone you haven’t met yet is already dreaming of adoring you.
Someone is writing a book that you will read in the next two years that will change how you look at life.
Nuns in the Alps are in endless vigil, praying for the Holy Spirit to alight the hearts of all of God’s children.
A farmer is looking at his organic crops and whispering, “nourish them.”
Someone wants to kiss you, to hold you, to make tea for you.
Someone is willing to lend you money, wants to know what your favourite food is, and treat you to a movie.
Someone in your orbit has something immensely valuable to give you — for free.
Something is being invented this year that will change how your generation lives, communicates, heals and passes on.
The next great song is being rehearsed.
Thousands of people are in yoga classes right now intentionally sending light out from their heart chakras and wrapping it around the earth.
Millions of children are assuming that everything is amazing and will always be that way.
Someone is in profound pain, and a few months from now, they’ll be thriving like never before. They just can’t see it from where they’re at.
Someone who is craving to be partnered, to be acknowledged, to ARRIVE, will get precisely what they want — and even more. And because that gift will be so fantastical in it’s reach and sweetness, it will quite magically alter their memory of angsty longing and render it all “So worth the wait.“
Someone has recently cracked open their joyous, genuine nature because they did the hard work of hauling years of oppression off of their psyche — this luminous juju is floating in the ether, and is accessible to you.
Someone just this second wished for world peace, in earnest.
Someone is fighting the fight so that you don’t have to.
Some civil servant is making sure that you get your mail, and your garbage is picked up, that the trains are running on time, and that you are generally safe.Someone is dedicating their days to protecting your civil libertiesand clean drinking water.
Someone is regaining their sanity. Someone is coming back from the dead. Someone is genuinely forgiving the seemingly unforgivable.Someone is curing the incurable.
“Danielle LaPorte is the creator of WhiteHotTruth.com, which has been called the best place on-line for kick-ass spirituality.”
Please visit her website for some inspiration and wisdom…She is so brilliant. I just “discovered” her and will most likely be doing more blog posts about her and her writing.
If you want more inspiration and wisdom from Danielle, please go to her website: http://www.daniellelaporte.com/to sign up for her newsletters. You can choose to receive via email a “daily truthbomb”, a “somewhat weekly” newsletter and a “monthly digest” newsletter. I am signed up for all of them and highly recommend them.
Danielle has generously provided the first chapter of her book for free on her website. You can read it on Scribd or download it in pdf format. Please click on this link: The Fire Starter Sessions Chapter One.
According to the artist Cristina McAllister: “The heart is a symbol of love, of emotion, the center of our Selves. Wings represent freedom, divinity, and transcendence. Together they suggest the form of an owl – an animal sacred to Athena, ancient Greek goddess of wisdom, civilization, strength and strategy. Owls have been revered throughout the world as messengers of sacred knowledge, insight and intuitive awareness, as well as scholarly pursuits. At the top, a Native American shaman’s eye offers wisdom and protection. In many tribal cultures, shamans serve as intermediaries between the human and spirit worlds. They interpret omens and offer insight through mystical, as well as practical means, in effort to protect and guide their people. Below twines a pair of snakes. These creatures signified wisdom to the ancient Egyptians, Jews, Gnostics, Eastern Indians and Chinese. The notion of snakes being wise was based on observations of their behavior. When hunting, snakes appear to think deeply and consider every move before acting. Also present are two West African adrinka symbols. Sankofa, or “return and get it” (above the winged heart) represents the ability to learn from the past. Nyansapo, or “Knot of Wisdom” (at bottom center) indicates intelligence, wisdom and cleverness.”
“I beg you…to have patience with everything unresolved in your heartandtry to love the questions themselves as if they were locked rooms or books written in a very foreign language.
Don’t search for the answers, which could not be given to you now, because you would not be able to live them.
And the point is, to live everything.
Live the questions now.
Perhaps then, someday far in the future, you will gradually, without even noticing it, live your way into the answer.”
“To love at all is to be vulnerable.
Love anything, and your heart will certainly be wrung
and possibly be broken.
If you want to make sure of keeping it intact,
you must give your heart to no one, not even to an animal.
Wrap it carefully round with hobbies and little luxuries;
avoid all entanglements; lock it up safe in the casket orcoffin of your selfishness.
But in that casket — safe, dark, motionless, airless — it will change.
It will not be broken;
it will become unbreakable, impenetrable, irredeemable. The alternative to tragedy, or at least to the risk of tragedy,
is damnation.
The only place outside of Heaven where you can be perfectly safe from all the dangers and perturbations of love is Hell.“ -C.S. Lewis The Four Loves
Exotic beauty Sherilyn Fenn looks into your soul…
Can you really be vulnerable in order to love?
Can you really be spiritually naked and intimate with another’s soul?
Reflection for today…Potential -Doris Lessing
26 Mar“Any human anywhere will blossom in a hundred unexpected talents and capacities simply by being given the opportunity to do so.”
— Doris Lessing
Photo Courtesy of: http://intotheshadows.org/
*
Society is not a level playing field.
Equal opporunities are mostly urban legends.
Spoken word poets and hip hop artists often speak about social inequalities and injustice through social commentary.
Some hip hop artists educate, enlighten/uplift consciousness and inspire.
Stic Man & M-1 are Dead Prez: My favourite hip hop artists/activists/revolutionaries
Tupac Shakur was a brilliant poet/artist/activist/revolutionary
This poetic narrative story telling made me fall in love with hip hop because it gave a voice to the voiceless.
It was the poetry of the streets.
Many will not like the social commentary.
It is so incisive and critical but it has to be because the living conditions are full of suffering and injustice.
*
It should be noted that conscious hip hop and punk music have many parallels.
They both fight against the status quo.
They both subvert the dominant paradigm.
*
Black ice is such a gifted poet and spoken word artist.
He shoots from the hip and his poems go straight to your heart and mind.
In his poem Imagine, he meditates on social inequality and how different life would be if equal opportunities actually existed.
He proposes to “put love where the hate is.”
*
Please enjoy his poem Imagine.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8kVT89O6cLo
“What happens in neighborhoods where the self-esteem has been overshadowed by the decay and the children no longer play the way they used to?
Where young boys choose to follow figures that had no father figures…
Whatever happened to that we shall overcome shit?…
Photo Courtesy of: http://www.neh.gov/files/divisions/preservation/images/we_shall_overcome_full_page.jpg
Cold winters are sheltered by crack houses instead of recreational centers that they claim to not have the paper to keep open for operation…
What’s a young boy to do when he doesn’t want to do wrong but there’s a lock on the right door?
When he has the heart of a soldier, the aggression of a prize fighter but no one’s taught him what to fight for…
Young Tupac was one of many boys without fathers {as Black Ice says}.
However, the absence of his father was eclipsed by his mother’s fierce love.
Afeni {a former Black Panther} passed on infinite wisdom to her son so it isn’t true that “no one taught him what to fight for.” “My mother taught me three things: respect, knowledge, search for knowledge. It’s an eternal journey.” -Tupac
I included this caption of Tupac because he had “the heart of a soldier and aggression of a prize fighter”- not to mention the mind of a revolutionary leader..
In the end, Tupac defined manhood for himself and became quite the revolutionary man.
I would have loved to see Tupac become a father…
See, most of our families are fatherless and quite poor so we miss out on meals as well as kisses and hugs.
Photo Courtesy of: http://zunlee.com/
You’ve got the audacity to cut the funding for the facilities that keep us off the streets then ask us why we sell drugs.
Imagine if we put down our dices and guns, picked up our daughters and sons and put a little love right there where the hate is…
Photo Courtesy of: http://zunlee.com/images/sized/assets/blog/DSC_9675-Color_720_1080_c1.jpg
Imagine if these little inner city kids had the same type of schools that these rich kids have way out there in the sticks…”
-Black Ice
*
Imagine we lived in a world where there was no suffering, injustice/oppression, “third world” class distinction or any class distinction whatsoever.
This is the world that I want to live in…
Art by BANKSY
Peace & Namaste.
{More posts about poverty/social inequality/injustice, sociology, spoken word poetry, Tupac, Dead Prez, Black Ice and hip hop coming up in the future…}
*
For more information…
Dorris Lessing…http://www.dorislessing.org/
Black Ice…https://twitter.com/BLACKICETHEPOET
Tupac…http://www.2pac.com/
The Tupac Shakur foundation…http://www.tasf.org/
Dead Prez…http://deadprezblog.wordpress.com/blog/
“Tupac’s Legend
Tupac Amaru Shakur was an inspiration to millions.
While 2Pac was most famous for his rap career, he was also a gifted actor, poet and thoughtful while outspoken advocate for the poor and the overlooked in America. During his life, he produced an immense amount of artistic work, which included studio albums, major Hollywood feature films, and published works. He was most prolific in the music industry, selling over 75 million albums. 2Pac’s unapologetic lyrics were relevant, important, and reflective of the hard lives led by many. His music earned attention and respect through a poetic style that embraced street vocabulary while being innovative. Today, 2Pac is still considered by many to be one of the biggest influences on modern hip-hop.
2Pac’s career has earned him six Grammy nominations and three MTV Video Music Award nominations. In 1997, Shakur was honored by the American Music Awards as the Favorite Hip Hop Artist.
Born on June 16 1971 in New York City, Shakur’s parents were both members of the Black Panther Party whose militant style and provocative ideologies for civil rights would come to influence 2Pac’s music. At an early age, Tuapc’s love for performance and the arts began to show, as he began acting at age 13 and later enrolled in the Baltimore School of the Arts before dropping out at 17. Shakur broke into the music business with rap group Digital Underground as a back-up dancer and roadie. Eventually Shakur released his first solo album in ’91, 2pacalypse Now. 2Pac’s music career began to grow as his second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z included two top 20 pop chart tracks: I Get Around and Keep Ya Head Up.
Shakur’s legal battles began after he established his rap career. In the early nineties Shakur faced a wrongful death suit which settled out of court, accusations of assaulting police officers where charges were ultimately dropped, and even an incident where Shakur sustained five gunshot wounds from shooter Dexter Isaac. In 1995 2Pac was sentenced one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison for sexual abuse. However, not even prison could slow the success of Shakur’s career.
While incarcerated 2Pac’s latest album at the time, Me Against the World, was number one in the pop charts and would later go double platinum. Shakur became the first artist to reach number one in the pop charts while serving a prison sentence. Making the most of his time in jail, 2Pac became a passionate reader. Among his favorites were the works of Niccolò Machiavelli, an Italian Renaissance writer whose works were in part the foundation for western political science. Shakur’s appreciation of his work inspired the nickname: Makaveli.
After serving only eight months of his sentence, 2Pac was out on parole thanks to a 1.4 million dollar bond paid by Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records. Now signed with Death Row Records, Shakur went on to create All Eyez on Me, which featured hits How Do You Want It and California Love.
2Pac’s life was cut short in September of 1996 when Shakur became the victim of a drive-by shooting while his car waited on a red light. While Shakur survived the surgery that followed he was pronounced dead almost a week after the attack.
Even today, 2Pac’s influence is wide-spread. From the Library of Congress where his song Dear Mama was added in 2010 to the National Registry, to artists like 11 time Grammy winner Eminem who in an interview with MTV said:
“He made you feel like you knew him. I think that , honestly, Tupac was the greatest songwriter that ever lived. He made it seem so easy. The emotion was there, and feeling, and everything he was trying to describe. You saw a picture that he was trying to paint.”
2Pac leaves a legacy of honesty and passion in his songs. Respected by many, 2Pac has become an inspiration for artists and a standard in rap music.”
-Copied & Pasted from: http://www.2pac.com/legend/
The Tupac Shakur Foundation
“MISSION
Our mission is to provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents. Each and every child desires freedom to creatively express themselves. We provide an environment that encourages freedom of expression, serves as a resource for families, and empowers via education.
ABOUT
The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF) is home to the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, just outside of Atlanta in Stone Mountain, Georgia. TASF was founded in 1997 originally as the Shakur Family Foundation by Afeni Shakur, mother of multi-talented Tupac Amaru Shakur. Since its inception TASF has offered performing arts camps, essay competitions, youth book clubs, visual arts workshops, community development projects, and scholarships to students pursuing undergraduate degrees.
On June 11, 2005 the TASF opened the Center! The Center is dedicated to providing youth and the community with educational programs in the arts. It is a fact that early arts education improves school grades, as well as offers invaluable life lessons while building self-esteem and confidence. For nearly 15 years, the Foundation’s programs have served youth of all social and economic backgrounds, giving countless young people the courage to get off the streets and learn vital skills that have the potential to positively impact their communities. The Center is open to the public and hosts several noteworthy events throughout the year.
MORE ABOUT TUPAC
Tupac Amaru Shakur dealt with great obstacles such as homelessness, hunger, and pain, amongst other situations during his youth. Performing arts provided the hope that would seed the expression that would one day influence generations worldwide.
Tupac accomplished a lot before his murder at the age of 25. At an early age, he wrote and organized family productions, casting himself as the lead and his older cousins in supporting roles. Tupac formally trained at the 127th Street Ensemble and Baltimore School for the Arts. At the age of twelve, he experienced his first formal stage role as the character “Travis” in the stage play ‘Raisin In the Sun’ at the prestigious Apollo Theatre in Harlem.
Tupac was eventually cast in several feature films and recorded several chart topping albums. In fact, he released the first ever double hip-hop CD. Today, years after his physical departure, he is the second highest selling Hip-Hop artist of all time. His gift- his words and creative talent- continues to inspire others around the world!“
-Copied & Pasted from: http://www.tasf.org/the-foundation/about-tasf/
Tupac Sends You Peace…
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