Lit Mag Capstone Project | Page 8

TUPAC SHAKUR Rapper, actor, poet, legend, Tupac. Tupac Shakur is the son to Afeni Shakur, member of the Black Panther Party, and is also an avid supporter of Black Nationalism – “the political belief and practice of African Americans as a distinct people with a distinct historical per- sonality who politically should develop structures to define, defend and develop the interests of Blacks as a people” (Karenga, 1980, as cited in Stanford, 2011). His lyrical and poetic genius allows him to surface his frustra- tion with the state of the American society, usually in clear and blatant language. For the most part, this got him into trouble. Hence, we want to know how he came to be the beloved political activist-rapper icon of the Black American commu- nity, and what his thoughts are regarding the plight of Blacks in the American society.