Cogito ergo sum armatus

And Tupac said in one of his songs named "This ain't livin": "I've never pulled the trigger. I didn't touched that bitch". It was recorded by a huge Corporation and sold by the millions.

Who is Tupac Shakur? Type on Google and make a research about an American rapper and you'll find everything you need.

Another quote from a music called "Hit em' up": "First off, fuck your bitch and the clique you claim.." And the american artist continues "You claim to be a player but I fucked your wife". The low tone used in his song is a contrast with his protesting voice. He demonstrates in his music he was sexist, had a personal like for low level words and singed "drunken as a mad man", or in other song "maybe I'm mad man".

One impressive music comes from the disc "Picture my pain", a song named "Neva be Peace". Let's us see some part of this poem:

 

Now of course I want peace on the streets
But realistically
Painting perfect pictures ain't never work.
My misery was so deep
Couldn't sleep through all my pressures.
In my quest for cash
I learned fast
Using violent measures
Memories of adolescent years
There was unity
But after puberty we brought war
To our community
So many bodies dropping
Its gotta stop
I want to help
But still I'm stepping
Keeping my weapon
Must protect myself
The promise of a better tomorrow
ain't never reach me
Plus my teachers were to petrified in class to teach me
Sipping thunderbird
And grape kool-aid
Calling Earl since my stomach was empty
It seduced me to fuck the world
Watch my 'lil homies
Lose there childhood to guns
Nobody cries no more
Cause we all die for fun
So why you ask me if I want peace
If you cant grant it
Niggas fighting across the whole planet
So we can never be peace

Chorus:

 

Will there ever be peace?
Or all we all just headed for doom,
Still consumed by the beefs,
And I know there never be peace,
That's why I keep my pistol when I walk the streets
Cause there can never be peace

Tupac Shakur is invoking, in this specific music, "Neva be Peace", a philoshopical principle of Nicolo Machiavelli: Cogito ergo sum armatus (I think therefore I am armed). "Makiaveli was also another nickname of Tupac Shakur. Now of course I want Peace on the streets, however, painting perfect  pictures ain't never work..." What a man can do when his stomach is empty and he sees another men driving Ferrari? He becomes envy, jealous, sad and start to dream as a super hero of the streets, someone which will produce profit under the cost of blood and drug dealing. Who is the character of this song? The criminal is the reference tupac used to talk about society, when he says something about his belly being empty, only to finish this thought.

Tupac is making reference to the violence in the hood. He was borned and raised on the streets "Educated on these cold streets",  in a poor hood and everyday he was obliged to see shootings, whores, intolerance of police and bandits, drug dealing, and a lot of good people dying because of drug dealing. "Lost all my homies over cocaine".

 Tupac was conscious of his role on society, and as an artist of words, he dare to express his most deep emotions trhough poetry of combat, trough what is so called "Rap", a living part of the hip hop culture, as much as the dancing and the wall painting.

Tupac wished his own neighboorhood were less violent, but he's not alienated by massive culture and do not buy illusions from the Market of propaganda, and, in Tupac's point of view, talking realistically, there will never be Peace.

"In my quest for cash I learned fast, using violent measures, memories of adolescent years. there was unity, but after puberty we brought war to our community". 

Tupac put himself in the place of the thief, or the drug dealer, because otherwise "in my quest for cash I learned fast", in his wish for a better life for himself and his own Family and friends he used violent meanings to achieve products as clothes, food, games, art, music, pay the bills, etc.

In his desire to consume more products he got himself trapped in the dirty game of crime. In order to profit as an outlaw, "the end justify the means", and this modern Robin Hood brings war and sorrow to his own community and perhaps evem to himself.  

"Keeping my weapon, must protect myself". The character of this song does not recognize the State of Law neither as a savior nor as a protector. In other words, protection does not come from Police, it comes from the fact he's armed (Cogito ergo sum armatus).

"Nobody cries no more, because we all die for fun". Being armed is condition sine que non for one's security. A philosophical belief ot Tupac. Everybody is cynic because violence became part of our daily lives, sold by the millions for the press, notices of endless conflicts and deaths turns the citizens frozen, they Wake up in the morning and see a body in front of their house. And Tupac recognizes that they are dying in the search of fun, comfort or a life everybody should deserve, this life of luxury above everything cost many lives: Thug life as he used to call. Try to Exchange positions between the noun and the adjective of the quoted sentence.

He is very objective in his conclusion: Niggas fighting across the whole planet, so we can never be Peace (Si vis pacem, para bellum). He wishes a more just society but he's not nayve to deny reality: The world is really cruel and violent, and it's not only in his hood, it seems violence consumes the world, and in this quest for cash humans are killing each other. Quest for power. Quest for fame. Quest for reason. Does Tupac comprehend the capitalism and complexity of society as a poet?

Tupac says more than that. As long as we will never be Peace, I must be armed to protect myself: That's why I keep my pistol when I walk on the streets, cause there can never be Peace.  

And also from the same disc "Dear Lord can you hear me? I keep my finger on the trigger cause some nigga tried to killed me". The revolutionary scream of "Mamma raised as a thug nigga (with love) I'm millione started as a drug dealer".

 

 

To continue

 

 

Clarissa Lake - Hip Hop