Tupac Shakur



Growing up in Hayward, local artists have always been part of the music that is most popular in the bay area. Almost everyone not only locally but nationally has heard of Tupac Shakur. Ever since childhood, I can remember hearing Tupac has been a staple growing up and certain memories can be linked to Tupac songs. He is a staple in bay area music and was not only limited to music. He débuted his acting talent in 1992’s Juice where he played a main character and plans a robbery that goes horribly wrong. He continued to make more films and taken at the very young age of 25 shook the rap community and it has never forgotten its fallen member. Tupac’s music has affected many and his movies as well as his poetry will always show how truly talented this man was.




Tupac Amaru Shakur, son of two black panther members was born June 16, 1971, brought to music what very few have spent their entire careers trying to achieve. He started rapping at 17 and through an eight year span he put out twelve albums and wrote memorable songs such as “Dear Mama”, “Hail Mary”, “Life Goes On”, and “Brenda Got a Baby”, which was his first big hit. He was a few movies such as “Gridlock’d” (1997) and “Gang-Related” (1997) that showcased that Tupac was not just a person with one talent. He was born in New York and later went to Baltimore and attended School of Arts where his interest in music stemmed from. He later moved to Oakland and became very involved with the rap scene which leads to him becoming a legend in the rap scene.
His impact on the rap world was immense and today is still evident. He was such a revolutionary because he not only spoke of women and exorbitance in his music but he spoke of his life and the struggles he went through. “Dear Mama” is one of the examples of his childhood and what he went through that lead him to have so much to say to the world and made his story so relatable to so many people in the bay area. In an 8 year span he put out so many albums that many artists are unable to do in a lifetime, for example R. Kelly who has been in the music business far longer has only put out thirteen albums since he started. His music is still being remixed today and he has some underground songs and has collaborated with recent musicians such as Keyshia Cole.
Besides recording an immense number of songs and albums and movies, Tupac has left his mark on the world with literature and most popular is his book “The rose that grew from concrete”. In this book that he wrote he has many quotes and poems of what he has seen, heard, and experienced. Some of his quotes are;
For every dark night, there's a brighter day”,
“we wouldn't ask why a rose that grew from the concrete for having damaged petals, in turn, we would all celebrate its tenacity, we would all love its will to reach the sun, well, we are the roses, this is the concrete and these are my damaged petals, dont ask me why, thank god, and ask me how”,
“since we all came from a women, got our name from a women, and our game from a women. I wonder why we take from women, why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think its time we killed for our women, be real to our women, try to heal our women, cus if we dont we'll have a race of babies that will hate the ladies, who make the babies. And since a man can't make one he has no right to tell a women when and where to create one”, and
“A coward dies a thousand deaths... a soldier dies but once.”
Tupac was a man who despite his life’s struggles he became one of the best artists to ever grace the top of the charts. A man who came from the slums to the big silver screen. That’s a chance not every man or women gets and he made it happen. Even though it has been over a decade since his untimely demise, his music is still played not sometimes, but all the time. Tupac left this world leaving a lot to carry on his name for future generations; He left his music, his poetry and his life story.

if u wud like to see videos of "Brenda's got a baby" or "Dear mama" visit http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Wl54ABY8VgY
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JNcloTmvTeA

CHAPTER 14 EVALUATING INTERNET RESOURCES

Evaluating Internet sources of info helps you determine if they are reliable and useful. Use the Internet source evaluation system as a tool for assessing websites. As a reader and thinker, become open minded and consider each website's Relevancy, Reliability, Credibility and Accuracy using the following seven steps: 1. Know your purpose. 2. Double check facts and sources. 3. Consider the source. 4. Evaluate content. 5. Determine intended audience. 6. Evaluate the writing. And 7. Use what you already know.

CHAPTER 13 READING BEYOND THE WORDS

Critical thinking comprehension involves challenging yourself to understand what you read at different levels of complexity. Bloom's taxonomy lists six levels of critical thinking; knowledge, comprehension, application, analysis, synthesis, and evaluation that you can use to deepen your understanding.

CHAPTER 12 IDENTIFYING AND EVALUATING ARGUMENTS

Recognizing arguments as you read lets you critically examine an author's line of resoning. Arguments always have atleast one reason and one conclusion. One ways to find them is to look for the conclusions and then track the reasons they used to reach them. When you find an argument, you should break it down into parts so that you can figure out whether it's well founded and logical. The two primary types of arguments are deductive and inductive. Deductive arguments have at least one premise that logically leads to a conclusion. If the premise or premises of a deductive argument are true, then the conclusion is true. Inductive arguments begin with series of specific observations and conclude with a generalization that logically flows from them. Being able to detect and evaluate arguments, and to create arguments using your textbook, makes you analyze the logic of what you read and helps you present your own ideas.

CHAPTER 11 READING, UNDERSTANDING, AND CREATING VISUAL AIDS

Textbook author often use visual aids to help their readers understand better the info they are presenting. Some visual aids are mind maps, outlines, charts, diagrams, graphs, illustrations, photographs, and time lines. Learning how to read visuals will help you to understand and remember the information. To create an effective visual aid, you have to recognize the important elements in what you are reading and be able to prioritize and organize them in a logical and useful format. An effective visual well save you from taking s many notes from your texts or in lectures.

CHAPTER 10 TEXTBOOK MARKING

Textbook marking is a systematic mak and label reading tool that helps distinguish important ideas from less important ones. You should try to mark and label the main ideas, important details, and new vocabulary in the textbooks. Always mark information that is unclear, to remind yourself to find out what it means before you are tested on the material.

CHAPTER 9 USING PREVIEW, STUDY-READ, AND REVIEW (PSR) STRATEGIES

The PSR technique which means (preview, study-read, and review) requires that you question yourself before, furing, and after you read. It encourages you to participate in a reader-author conversation. In this conversation, you assess what the auther says and decide if it makes sense to you. The PSR technique also requires you to respond to readings by writing in your journal. Commenting in writing helps you understand an author's ideas and create your own. By knowing exactly where you get confused in a reading, you can return to that part and reread that section. This will help you understand the material on your own.

CHAPTER 12 DEDUCTIVE REASONING: HOW DO I RESON FROM PROMISES?

Deductive reasoning is the process of starting with one or more statements called premises and investigating what conclusions necessarily follow from these premises. Deduction is the subject of formal logic, whose main concern is whith creating forms that demonstrate reasoning. Syllogisms allow logicians to determine what is being said, to identify hidden premises, and to find out if the argument makes sense. Deductive and inductive resoning are not isolated pursuits but are mentally interwoven both in major and mundane problem solving.

CHAPTER 11 INDUCTIVE REASONING AND INDUCTIVE FALLACIES: HOW DO I REASON FROM EVIDENCE?

Inductive reasoning is the process of thinking that you used in describing anything. The inductive method is also called the empirical or scientific method. Induction can be done through sensory observation, enumeration, analogous reasoning, causal reasoning, and from pattern recognition. Inductive reasoning is as a method for obtaining info when it would be impossible to examine all the data available. Hasty generalization is the fallacy of basing a coclusion on insufficient evidence. Inconsistency in evidence is the fallacy of offering evidence that contradicts the conclusion. False cause is the fallacy of claiming there is acausal connection between events without reasonable evidence to support the claim. The slippery slope is the fallacy of claiming without sufficient proof that permitting one event to occur would lead to a chain reaction that cant be stopped. It ignores the many variables or unknowns in the situation.

CHAPTER 10 FALLACIES: WHAT'S A FAULTY ARGUMENT?

Misleading euphemisms are words that hide meaning by wrappping a less acceptable idea in positive or neutral connotations. The use of euphemisms is fallacious in an argument when the goal is to be evasive, to mislead, or to disarm awareness and objections. Appeals to fear and pity seek to persuade through affecting emotions rather than through sound rational support for an argument. Appeal to false authority seeks to influence others ny citing fake or inappropriate authorities. This false authority might be a person, a tradition, or convetional wisdom. Personal attack refutes another argument by attacking the opponent rather than addressing th argument itself. The red herring is a ploy of distraction. It makes a claim, then instead of following through with support, it minimizes the issue or/diverts attention into irrelevent issues.

CHAPTER 9 ARGUMENTS: WHAT'S A GOOD ARGUMENT?

The critical reading of arguments is something that requires involvement, interaction with questions, and evaluation. The conclusion of an argument is the last step in a reasoning process but it can be stated at any time during the argument or not at all. Reason includes data, evidence, and premises. Reasons support conclusions. Once the argument's main conclusion is uncovered, the reasons offered in support becomes clear. Arguments state and defend a claim. Reports that only relate events or state facts cant be analyzed as if they were arguments.

CHAPTER 8 TEXTBOOK METHODS OF ORGANIZATIONS

Authors textbooks usually organize information using certain classic methods and patterns ot write. Able to see the organizational methods; listings, analysis, cause/effect, comparison/contrast, definition/example and sequence, will be the methods to help you with the ideas in your textbooks. It also helps you to remember what you have read. To identify a useful way is to look for the organizational pattern/method the other is using.

CHAPTER 7 USING INFERENCE TO IDENTY IMPLIED MAIN IDEAS

College instructor usually require their students to not only read and understand what is explicitly stated on the page but also to detact ideas that are implied or indirectly stated. To really understand a reading assignment you need to read the material and combine what tool thats stated as an inference tool. While an inference is a skill you should be using it everyday. You also need to understand how the authors purpose, tone, and use of key words and emotive language can be used.

CHAPTER 6 FINDING SUPPORTING DETAILS

Authors usually use details to help ther leaders understand their ideas in the writings. Details in a writing are specific pieces of information that are known as the "arms and legs" the main "body" idea. These "arms and legs" are usually presented as facts, opinions, examples, illustrations, explanations, or definitons and are frequently used by asking questions such as who, what, when, where, how and why? Major details are provided to support the main idea in a reading if you distinguish between the major and minor supporting details you have understood what you have read in the passage. If you are having trouble indicating the passage you may need to re-read to get the main idea.

CHAPTER 5 LOCATING STATED MAIN IDEAS

Locating an author's main ideas is the key to understanding your reading. Seeing the relationship between the main idea and details will support the first distinguished general and specific ideas. The topic is the most general idea, also the most specific idea. The details are the most specific support and illustrate the main idea of your writing. Looking in the usual places, noticing clues, words and categorizing and authors point are four main strategies. You can use them to think about what you read. Asking yurself specific questions such as "What is this all about?" you will actively find the answer you are looking for as you lead your writing.

CHAPTER 4 MANAGING YOUR READING TIME

Comprehension shoud be the main reading goal. Develop a general study schedule that specifically plans the study time for each class. Track reading rates so you can create daily reading plans that set realistic goals for your classes each week. After using a study schedule and daily reading plans for several weeks, you will realize that you began to complete your reading assignments on time and your reading comprehension has improved.

CHAPTER 3 REMEMBERING WHAT YOU READ

In our memory its where we store and retrieve information. When trying to memorize something its important to understand what you are trying to remember. The three primary stages in the memory process are sensory memory, short term memory, and long ter memory. Chunking is an effective strategy for organizing and remembering new information so that it stays in your short term memory long enough to transfer into your long term memory. Ther are some specific strategies you can use to enhance your sensory memory like reading your text aloud, drawing pictures of the info your are learning, visualizing info. in gour exercise bike. Recall techniques called mnemonics can help you retrieve info. once it has been learned and stored properly.

CHAPTER 2 DEVELOPING YOUR COLLEGE VOCABULARY

Building your vocabulary is one of the most important reading strategies you can learn. By increasing your vocabulary, you increase the understanding of the information in your textbook. It also increases your ability to speak and write better so you can communicate more effectively. Using context clues, word analysis, writing in your textbook, creating word maps, understanding denotation and connotation, journa writing, and the card review system help you figure out and remember the meaning of new words.

CHAPTER 1 READING IN COLLEGE

Reading is an active process based on an author's ability to convey meaning through the written word and your ability to extract meaning from those words. Active learners become involved in their learning experience by previewing their reading assignments, outlining chapter or lecture notes, reading books, other than their textbooks, to learn more about the subject their learning. Concentration involves focusing your attention on a task while blocking distractions.

CHAPTER 8: VIEWPOINTS: WHAT'S THE FILTER?

Critical thinking means learning to recognize viewpoints and how they shape the content of any message. Viewpoints like assumptions, opinions, and evaluations can either be consciously or unconsciously assumed. We Can communicate better when we are aware of our own viewpoint and can understand and respect the viewpoints of others also. Unconscious viewpoints include the egocentric, ethnocentric, religiocentric, androcentric, and athropocentric. In alternative periodicals and on the internet a far wide ranger of viewpoints is available than on television and mainstream.