Tupac & Matriarchy

There's no doubt about it, Tupac was prone to objectifying women. Actually, it might be more correct to suggest that he glamourized his sexual encounters with various ladies. Indeed, this is a large part of what rap music talks about and a large part of what rap culture has identified itself with. But behind the sexual smokescreens, Tupac had a deep appreciation for women, not least his mother, Afeni Shakur whom he raps about in Dear Mama and other songs. Ironically, while one part of rap culture objectifies women, another part lifts them up. It is young, single women who are sexual objects but the mothers, especially single ones, who are heroes. Common sense would seem to say that if there former didn't exist, then perhaps all women would have the latter applied to them. Who knows, though? Anyways, I say all that to say that there is a certain matriarchy that coarses through the veins of many of Pac's lyrics. Every time I listen to his "Keep Ya Head" up, I am moved and inspired; that song is just so deep and so true on so many levels. Here are some powerful words from Tupac that are worth sharing. They were just as true when they were first penned as they are today:

...I give a holla to my sisters on welfare
Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care
And uh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot
When you come around the block brothas clown a lot
But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up
Forgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up
And when he tells ya you ain't nothin don't believe him
And if he can't learn to love ya you should leave him
Cause sista you don't need him
And I ain't tryin to gas ya up, I just call em how I see 'em
You know what makes me unhaps? (what's that)
When brothas make babies, and leave a young mother to be a paps
And since we all came from a woman
Got our name from a woman
And our game from a woman
I wonder why we take from our women
Why we rape our women,
Do we hate our women?
I think it's time to kill for our women
Time to heal our women,
Be real to our women
And if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies
And since a man can't make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up?
I know you're fed up ladies,
But keep your head up