No win situation

Have you ever been in no-win situations? No win situations are when someone has a choice but does not benefit form that choice, the result from the decision will be the same. Tupac wrote a poem about it called “No win.” The poem relates to his life, I believe the poem speak of Tupac’s experience living in places where he is surrounded by chaos; such as the living in the ghetto. Tupac found himself being challenged almost every day while living in that kind of environment. It seemed like no matter what he did he was in no win situations. He felt like he was in a state of affairs where he had to, kill or be killed. The poem has three different aspects that relate to his life such as, feeling backed into a corner, his manhood being abused, and feeling the right to defend himself even though he knows it’s a no win situation.

Furthermore in this poem Tupac felt like the chooses he had to pick from were none beneficial and because of this he felt backed into a corner. The poem states, “Backed into a corner alone and very confused tired of running away.” I believe by this, Tupac meant he was tired of running from the thuggish mentality of gang members. At the same time he also felt the need to protect himself in that kind environment, and if that meant getting a gun he would. He was also backed into a corner because he was facing huge amounts of presser. The pressure he felt was because of stress to sell drugs. He knew that he could make large amounts of money selling drugs and he also knew the dangers of selling drugs. He could get a regular job, but he could not survive on that kind of low wage. There were not many options for a young male minority without any education living in the ghetto. I can see how that made Tupac feel like he was being backed into a corner.

Nevertheless Tupac was also facing other problems he was getting tired of his manhood being challenged and abused by gang members, he started defending himself by any means necessary. The poem states, “My manhood has been abused not my choice to be so blunt but u must fight fire with flame.”By this he meant that he was going to fight back and keep his manhood intact by having protection. I believe that the protection was his fist or a gun. Tupac would kill or fight anyone threatening his life or trying to abuse his manhood. The thuggish mentality that he was tired of running from became something that was a part of him. He used that thuggish mentality agents’ those who were trying to kill him. Some may say it’s wrong to “fight fire with flame” as Tupac said but he only retaliated when he felt seriously threatened. Nevertheless America commits the same acts by going to war. If Americans feel seriously threatened by other countries we normally go to war, so to say Tupac was wrong for his actions would be a hypocritical comment; but both situations don’t really benefit anyone if people are dying in the process.

Consequently most know that situations where people “fight fire with flame” are none beneficial. Tupac even knew this; the poem states, “I allowed myself to run once and was hunted by the shame, if I must kill I will, and if I must do it again I would, but the situation is no win.” Tupac was in situations where he felt the right and the need to defend himself. Tupac was a young black male living in the ghetto, surrounded by drugs, gang members, and chaos. It was hard for him to not attack others that he felt where attacking him or planning to. Tupac’s life was hard at times as he felt he was being backed into a corner; almost forced to accept a thuggish life because he was tired of his life being threatened and manhood being abused. Even though he fought “fire with flame” he also knew that it was a no situation.

Where there is a will

It’s important for us as a society to keep a positive outlook on our lives. It is easier to get trough hardships when we have hope in the possibility of that hardship getting better. Tupac wrote a poem about the ability to make tomorrow a better day, It’s called “Where there is a will” The poem is about keeping a positive outlook on life, having respect for other, and finally never giving up. If we stay positive in times of turmoil it allows us to have faith in our ability to reach successes half of the battle is believing that we can get through the rough times we have in life. If we set a goal for our self we can always find a way to reach that goal where there is a will there is a way. If we have the will to reach a goal we have mental power in which we deliberately chose a course of action to reach that goal the poem states “Where there is a will there is a way to search and discover a better day.”


Furthermore Tupac also spoke of having respect for others in the poem. If we have respect for others it shows consideration and appreciation. I believe that if we deliberately show disrespect to others for no reason we cannot truly respect ourselves; we don’t have to like everyone but we should show respect. Disrespect shows lack of character and insecurity. It’s hard to be successful in life when we are insecure. People that get high levels of respect normally get it because of their actions and the respect they show to others the poem states “Where young minds grow and respect each other based on their deeds and not their color.” Some people may say that when we show disrespect it does not mean we are insecure but in fact it does because people normally show disregard and disrespect when they are unsure. Being disrespectful does not show courteous reared for esteem of others probably because they lack that esteem in them self.


Nevertheless never giving up is something that becomes a necessitate in life if we want to succeed Tupac’s poem spoke of this. All of us do not reach success the first time we try and at times it’s discharging to fail. We must stay positive and never give up when things get hard. It only makes us stronger when we keep trying. When we fail we must analyze what we did and try not to make that mistake again if we make another mistake its ok because we have the opportunity to learn from that mistake to, the poem states “When times are dim say as I say where there is a will there is a way.” Life is like a game when you play you don’t always win but that doesn’t mean you can’t try again.

When Your Hero Falls

Many people have heroes, but what happens when that hero falls from grace? A hero is a person well known foe feats of courage and nobility; especially one who has risked or sacrificed his or her life. Tupac’s hero was his mother. He wrote a poem about her called “When your hero falls.” The poem is about his disappointment in his mother, the hypocritical aspects of their relationship, and the pain and loneliness he felt from seeing his hero fall from grace. Tupac always looked up to his mother. He saw her strength and resilience and admired all the sacrifices she made for him. Tupac felt great disappointment when he found out his mother was addicted to crack-cocaine. The poem states “When your hero falls from grace all fairy tells are uncovered myths exposed and pain magnified the greatest pain discovered.”

Furthermore Tupac also saw his mother as a hypocrite. Tupac’s mother raised him to be strong, enduring and a leader. She created a hypocrisy she pretended to oppose a behavior while holding the same behaviors in her life; such as doing drugs and not having enough strength to seek help to kick the habit of being addicted to crack-cocaine. The poem states “You taught me to be strong but I’m confused to see you so weak you said never give and it hurts to see you welcome defeat.” Some may say that it’s not hypocritical of his mother to try to instill things in him that she was not strong enough to do herself; Such as never giving up and staying away from drugs. No one really wants to wish the same harsh conditions onto others especially their own children. I believe that if Tupac’s mother expected him to never give up and be a leader she should have expected the same from herself and set a example for him to fallow because actions speak louder than words.

Almost anyone would feel confusion and pain if they saw someone they loved addicted to drugs. Tupac expresses his pain and loneliness he felt in the poem. Anybody addicted to drugs stays in a constant foggy state of mind. Most drugs impair people’s ability to make responsible decisions. Tupac felt alone because he couldn’t really go to his mother for advice are consoling. He wrote this poem when he was a teenager and that is a stage where he still needed his mother for guidance because he was not a man yet but only a young boy. His mother was not in the right state of mind to guide or comfort him. The poem states “Without my hero there is only me alone to deal with my sorrow your heart ceases to work and your soul is not happy at all.” In conclusion Tupac loved his mother he wrote songs and many poems about her. She may have made some bad decisions in her life but she never left his side. She soon kicked her habit of doing crack and even though he wrote a poem about his mother falling from grace, he never once said she was no longer his hero.

Ambition over Adversity

Almost everyone has made a mistake at some point in their life. The true hardship is not making the mistake, it’s the events that take place when someone has not learned from that mistake. Tupac wrote a poem about learning from the misfortune of others as well as your own called “Ambition over adversity.”The poem is broke down into three supportive steps to help people reach success; believing in our self, learning from others destitution, and finally using adversity to motivate people to do better. First off it's important for us as a society to believe in our self because goals are harder to reach when we don't have faith in our ability to reach that goal. If someone believes in them self and has confidence and commitment in their capabilities anything is possible, only because the goal that person has set for them self doesn’t seem out of reach. The poem states “believe in something believe in ourselves.”


Many people say Tupac was just an incompetent, belligerent thug. Countless times people only saw his tattoos, vulgar language, and defiant message. Yes his music did speak of, death, corruption, and a heavy thuggish life style, but his poem “Ambition over adversity” also spoke of how to learn from the harsh conditions of others. If he was such a heartless man he would have never thought of how to make others victorious. Tupac wanted others to except people’s adversity and learn from it, if he raps about a thug life, did anyone ever think maybe he wanted others to take that adversity and learn from it. The poem states “Turn adversity into ambition.”


If Tupac was just a thug why would he write a poem about how to make others successful? The poem states “Take ones adversity, learn from their misfortune. Learn from their pain." Learning from other peoples bad dissensions and turmoil gives almost anyone the opportunity to avoid being in the same ill favored situations, because they have knowledge of the consequences; for example my friend’s mother Mrs. Brown never went to college. She spent most of her life taking care of her kids, because of this she was depended on her husband to take care of all financial aspects of their relationship, as he promised he always would. When they got a divorce she got half of everything which was not a lot to begin with. She soon found herself lost in life and not having a degree of any kind made her unqualified for many jobs that paid good money. The last time I saw her she was fifty-four working at a fast-food restaurant. When I saw her I thought of Tupac’s poem it states “Turn adversity into ambition now blossom into wealth” Her adversity motivates me to do better in my life. Learning from her hard times helped me understand why it's important to be an independent women and go to college so I can make a good amount of money with or without a man. Knowledge of bad decisions that others make helps me better myself in my own decisions. Tupac would say “use ones adversity to fuel ambition.”

Tupac is the rose that grew from concrete

Striving to overcome obstacles and turn dreams into realities is something that is important to anyone that has set a goal for themselves. This was exemplified in Tupac’s poem “The rose that grew from the concert.” In particular the poem was an analogy for the ambition needed to achieve goals and the will Tupac had to persevere with all odds agents him. Ambition is an eager or strong desire to achieve something, and a goal is that desire sought out to accomplish. The rose had ambition to grow and defy nature’s law. The rose grew through a small crack in the concert it grew through something that was hard and rough. All odds were agents the rose but it did not lose its strong desire to reach its goal of spreading its leaves to the sun. The flower was persistent and soon turned into a beautiful rose, the poem states “Proving nature’s law is wrong it learned to walk without having feet.”Nevertheless I found that Tupac had a similar upbringing; he was raised in the ghetto something that was also rough and hard, the odds of him surviving were slim as he found himself addicted to a thug life. Many people thought he would never make it, but he did escaping the preachers and struggle of living in the ghetto. He slowly evolved turning into more and more of a star until he was a rap legend.

Furthermore the poem was also about reaching goals and holding onto dreams. The seed reached its goal by escaping the weeds and growing through concert. Its dream was to become an attractive rose, the poem states. “Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air, long live the rose that grew from the concrete when no one else ever cared”. In comparison Tupac also kept his dreams of becoming a rap legend. Many people didn’t care about whether he reached his goals or not as their expectations of Tupac were low; due to his blunt personality, tattoos, and vulgar language and the media only portraying Tupac’s faults. What many people didn’t notice was all the good things he raped and wrote poems about. Tupac continued to keep his dreams and he learned that if there is a will there is a way. Tupac had the will and made a way to reach his goals because he is “The rose that grew from concrete that nobody cared about”

Keep your head up

Happiness is different from pleaser; Happiness has something to do with struggling enduring and accomplishing. Tupac describes the struggle that women have in society in the song “keep your head up.” The song advocates the self respect a woman should have while being a single mother. This song gave hope for women that felt like they could not keep their head above water. The lyrics of the song in the first verse, gives advice to women that are with men that don’t show them respect and love the way a man should, the song states. “When he tells you, you ain’t nuttin don’t believe him, and if he can’t learn to love you, you should leave him cause sista you don’t need him.” These lyrics intergraded me because my sister was in a abusive relationship. She was with a man that didn’t learn to love her. When he told her she was nothing, she believed him and because of this she thought that the ability to find someone better was not an option my sisters husband made her believe that she could not do any better then him and didn’t deserve any better.
In addition parenting is also something that can be very difficult at times, especially for a single parent. Tupac illustrates the difficulty of being a single mother. The song encourages single mothers to be strong. Encouraging single mothers was important to Tupac because he was raised by a single mother. He had seen his mother go through the struggle of having to be a mother and a father to him. Topic lyrics are comforting and understanding for example the hook of the song “keep your head up” is “Baby don’t cry even though the road is hard never give up.” Tupac also describes the feeling of being a single mother as lonely and exemplifies how even though a single mother may feel like giving up sometimes she must endure overcome and accomplish. Tupac also complements the strength, determination, and drive a single mother must have to raise her children for example the song states. “To all my ladies havin babies on they own, I know its kinda rough and you’re feelin all alone, daddy’s long gone and he left you by ya lonesome, thank the lord for your kids even if nobody else want em, cause I think we cam make it, in fact, I’m sure and if you fall stand tall and come back for more.” In conclusion “keep your head up” is a beautiful song dedicated to single mothers; cheering them on to do the right thing and make the right decisions. Sometimes people must make lemonade out of lemons because when it rains it poor’s but there is always a rainbow after the storm.

Brendas got a Baby

Life on this world is born by woman, and for some it becomes a struggle. In the poetic lyrics of tupac shakur’s “Brenda got’s a baby” has a lot of relevant events that happen throughout our society daily, such as the challenges of teen pregnancy. This song indicates the effects of single teen pregnancy and the struggle that many teenage girls have to endure alone, emotionally and financially. While I listened to this song, I realized that this struggle isn’t rare and it can really have an effect on the choices you have to make to survive. In the song theirs an example of the choices Brenda makes during her struggle alone, Tupac Shakur describes how Brenda’s family unaffiliated themselves from her and her baby. For instants, during Tupac’s lyrics he state: “Can't go to her family, they won't let her stay No money no babysitter, she couldn't keep a job She tried ta sell crack, but end up getting robbed”. This quote explains to me how without the help of her family she had to find a way to provide for her child by any means necessary, even if it was illegal. Additionally I feel that Tupac also brings to attention the emotional struggle that Brenda was enduring in the choice of whether to keep the baby or to just leave it and forget about it. For example during the middle of his song he imposes these few words: “she had it on tha bathroom floor And didn't know so, she didn't know, what ta throw away and what ta keep She wrapped tha baby up and threw him in tha trash heep”. Furthermore Brenda’s financial struggle was graphically explained throughout his entire song, Brenda starts to feel the preachers of the world coming down on her, she can’t keep a job, has no family and no money. Brenda then starts to think of easier ways of getting money so she starts to sell her body for money she sees her body as more of a money maker then her temple. The life she lead as a prostitute eventually ended in her demise, this particular line caught my eye especially “She sees sex as a way of leavin hell It's payin tha rent, so she really can't complain Prostitute, found slain, and Brenda's her name, she's got a baby”.

As a result my thoughts on teen pregnancy have greatly changed. I now know that being a single mother is challenging and at times can seem impossible. Although all situations do not escalate to these circumstances, some due turn out like Brenda’s. These lyrics are relevant events that occur throughout society periodically. Sometimes people are forced to deal with these situations lost and alone; eventually they have to deal with the emotional turmoil and financial struggles. Tupac made sure that those women’s stories would not go untold.