Tupac vs Marvin Gaye, Music, College Term Papers.com


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Tupac vs Marvin Gaye

Tupac vs Marvin Gaye I come up hard, I had to fight.1 Gutta ways, I live the thug life. These lyrics may be familiar or may be unrecognizable due to the way that they are superimposed upon each other, and because of the intangible time that they represent; an unreachable time when Tupac Shakur and Marvin Gaye would have dialogued. Gaye would discuss, through his music, the love between men and women, personal and social struggles in the time of a war strung society, and his good times. Tupac, on the other hand, would use his music to pose appreciation for women against controversial degradation of them, discuss his intrinsic and social struggles, and his perilous revelries. Yet, aren't these the same things? Both artists' lyrics were shaped by personal and social circumstances. Both artists used their music to convey some message. Different words, approaches, and genres yes, but still the same textual themes, functions, and sometimes similar messages. This paper is an exploration of the correlation between Shakur and Gaye's musical style of reflecting and translating personal and social experiences into sound. Using a variety of lyrics that reflect the life situations and conditions of each artist, this paper will expose the esoteric link and evolution between the musical functions of Marvin Gaye and Tupac Shakur. In similar respects, both Shakur and Gaye began their musical writings with lyrics that functioned to propel messages undaunted by their imperfect existence into the minds of their audiences. With lyrics such as Naw, they can't keep the black man down from Shakur's "Trapped", and If this world were mine, I'd give you anything from Gaye's "If This World Were Mine", these two artists began with a motivating and inspirational reflection on the oppressions of society and the power of love. In time, however, the lyrics of each artist turned more passionate and raw, serving to affirm a more socially depreciated outlook. In lyrics from Tupac's songs "Dear Mama", "That's Just the Way it Is", and "It's all About You" and Marvin's songs "Inner City Blues," "What's Going On," and "Let's Get it On," a new focus appeared that functioned to reflect outlooks on personal strife, politics, and women. When Gaye's first album received little attention, Motown pushed him to record up tempo soul music material. He also recorded a number of romantic duets with Tammi Terrell. However after Terrell's death in 1970, Gaye established a new style of soul music with the album What's Going On, a deeply personal and spiritual reflection on family and social issues. A work that focused on current events rather than romance. Similarly, Tupac Shakur's debut album, 2pacalypse Now, revealed cultural indebtedness with almost disarming naiveté.2 The first sounds of Tupac developing social views through an artist's voice has untold promise. However, like Gaye, in Shakur's subsequent albums, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z and Me Against the World, Tupac's lyrics appeared to coarsen and the "untold promise" seemed to break; culminating into the controversial and notorious sound of his first Death Row album: All Eyez On Me. Reflecting on the lyrics of "Me Against the World" (Shakur) and "Make Me Wanna Holler" (Gaye), another correlation between the artists' musical style is established. Both songs serve as a translation of the artists' personal assessment of his position in their respective societies. Though Gaye uses the outpouring of a syncopated blues rhythm overlain with the sheer honesty of his reality, and Tupac uses obtrusive and jarring language spit out over a percussive sound, the lyrics serve the same essential function. They act to translate the struggle to overcome the oppression induced by the politics of society into sound. Looking first at the choruses of the songs initiates the formation of a similarity between the two. "Make Me Wanna Holler" builds its chorus around the words: Make me wanna holler the way they do my life. This ain't living, while "Me Against the World" emphasizes the lines I got nothing to lose, it's just me against the world. Gaye's text functions to express frustration with the control that the power forces of the country have over Gaye's life making it almost unlivable. Likewise, Tupac is revealing his malcontent with the world that has instilled the hopeless mindset that yielded the words, I got nothing to lose. "Make Me Wanna Holler" begins with the lyric, Money we make it, Fo' we see it you take it. In "Me Against the World," Shakur fires the words, Those that possess steal from the ones without possession. Though they use different words and delivery styles, the artists have parallel objectives: to bring to light the politics of the society in which they exist,. Other exemplifications of the connection of this musical translation style include What's Going On and Mercy, Mercy Me by Marvin Gaye, and Shakur's That's Just the Way it Is and Trapped. Between Shakur and Gaye there seems to be a preoccupation with expressing perspectives, feelings, and experiences with women and love. Though the approaches to and outlooks on the subject of women between Gaye and Shakur may differ at times, both artists retain the same fundamental aspects. They continue to write lyrics that are heavily affected by personal views and experiences, in this case those pertaining to women. Despite the differences in composition and transmission the music was still an exercise of freedom of speech on the part of both artists. Examining Tupac's song "I get Around," listeners are hit with lyrics such as: You don't know me, You just met me? Well if I couldn't have it, why you sweat me?, highlighting Shakur's amorphism with females approaching and pursuing him, but then refusing to engage in sexual acts. In the lines, It's a lot of real G's doing time cause some groupie bit the truth and told a lie, Tupac reflects on his dealings with a 19-year old who woman falsely accused, according to the defendant, Tupac and three of his friends of rape. This bit of information exposes a broader affirmation of Tupac's lyrics about women. He was not only affected by a society that was led by men and their degradation of women, but also by the personal collisions with the opposite sex. So there were few positive examples for him to follow and few positive life experiences for him to draw on and transmit into his music. In stark contrast comes the lyrics of Marvin. "You're all I need to Get By" and "Let's Get it On" are prime selections in which Gaye's expressions epitomize the respective time's value and respect for women. A time when love was one of the few things in the midst of war, crime, poverty, and discrimination that could survive, sustain, and uplift. In the lyrics If I lose my will, you'll be there to push me up the hill and We got love, that's enough, Gaye expresses the mentality that with a strong and grounded love relationship the hardships of the world could be endured. Marvin romanced and inspired with lyrics reflecting beautiful love affairs with women like those in "Let's Get it On": There's nothing wrong with me loving you and giving yourself to me can never be wrong if the love is true, presenting a refocus from the tribulations of the world to the pleasures of love. Despite the most notorious of Shakur's slanderous songs, there are lucrative pieces of Shakur's work, in their own composition and transmission, that mirror the respect, esteem, and appreciation for women that are defined in Marvin Gaye's work. For example, the song "Dear Mama," is a tribute to Shakur's mother that displays heart and sensitivity in a music mostly known for insolence. Tupac's lyrics are an evocation of a life lived within the grace of a woman's love i.e. the lines, Ain't a woman alive who can take my mama place. Slowing his pace to pay proper respect, Tupac made this his most clearly enunciated rap. Using the hard truth, Shakur lays out the words, Even though you was a crack fiend, Mama/ You always was a black queen mama. Looking at the lyrics of this song against Marvin Gaye's "How Sweet it Is," there is a common bond discovered between these two expressions towards women. Gaye says You've been better to me than I have been to myself. I wanna stop and thank you. Both artists use their music to "stop," acknowledge, and "appreciate" the women in their lives who have made a great difference in their existence; though one speaks of his mother while the other speaks of some beloved female partner. Similarly comes Shakur's song "Keep Yo' Head Up" and Gaye's song "If I Could Build My Whole World Around You." Marvin croons that if he could build the whole world around his "darling," he'd put heaven by her side, pretty flowers would grow wherever she walked. The whole world would be wrapped her. Tupac delivers the lines I think its time we kill for our women/ Time we heal our women/ Be real to our women. Please keep yo' head up. Both artists' expressions are relative to their present times, but both use their words to uplift women. Tupac advocates romance with respect: telling women to keep their pride, men to mind their bedside manners. With a plea in his voice, Shakur combines masculine love with social propriety to make a case for the world to respect Black women. Gaye in much the same respect, delivers lines to the listening audience that glorifies the greatness of women and declares the degrees to which one should go in order to honor that greatness. In the final analysis, what most importantly makes these connections between Tupac Shakur and Marvin Gaye possible is the fact that Marvin's soul music was a preceding foundation for the hip-hop style of Tupac. As Marvin wrote and sang, he spread the panorama of his life experience out before his audience. If he loved, cried, agonized, or examined, it was there for the people to feel too. Romances were more exciting, pain intensified, joys elevated, and problems crystallized in the white beat of the music, which was the quintessential function of this blues soul music. In Tupac's appeal there is a blues-like faith that mirrored Gaye's Black American feeling. In Tupac's drive and charisma is a personal image that mixes sincerity with truth, cunning with charm, and rebellious anger with acting. Tupac's, like Marvin's, agony came from the limits that people placed on them; restrictions that they broke free from in their music. Today an evolutionary creation derived from these artists music might go something like this: Oh mercy, mercy me, I'm headed for danger. Brotha, there's far to many of you dying. The projects is full of bullets, leaving dead bodies in abandoned buildings. War is not the answer. Well, that's just the way it is. But only love can conquer hate. What's the use, I got nothing to lose. We got to find a way to bring some loving here today. It's just me against the world, but since we've got to be here, let's live. I'll wash all yo' troubles away, girl keep yo' head up. Like an eagle protects it's nest, for you I'll do my best. The message I stress is don't ever change, keep yo' essence. What people say that's o.k, they don't bother me. I'm ready to make it no matter how hard it g Bibliography:

Word Count: 1901