stonepicnicking_okapi

Rap is spoken word poetry. I happened to see the collection The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur on the shelf in the library and thought it would be a good addition to April. The poems are simple and straightforward and use textspeak (notable 2 and 4). I had to remind myself sometimes that many of them were meant to be performed or at least created by a spoken word poet. Interestingly, there's one about Van Gogh's starry night so I did a double spread in my Bosch notebook. And the last one is my favourite from the collection. It sounds the most like a spoken word poem to me.



The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Shakur

Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.

Starry Night by Tupac Shakur

A creative heart, obsessed with satisfying
this dormant and uncaring society
you have given them the stars at night
and u have given them
Bountiful Bouquets of Sunflowers
but 4 u there is only contempt
and though u pour yourself into that frame
and present it so proudly this world
could not accept your masterpieces
from the heart.
So on that starry night u gave 2 us
and u took away from us
the one thing we never acknowledged
your life.

Only 4 the Righteous by Tupac Shakur

I'm Down with strictly Dope "So"
That means I'm more than u can handle
"Hot" I'm hotter than the wax from
a candle
"Him" that's Roc he's my microphone companion
"Lyrics" full of knowledge truth and understanding
"Hobbies" rapping is my only recreation
"retire" u must be on some kind of medication
"why" because I'll never loosen up my mic grip
"Drugs" never cuz I'm living on the right tip
"sex" only with my girl because I love her
"Babies" impossible I always use a rubber
"Bored" rarely cuz I'm keeping myself busy
"Scratch" nah I leave the cutting up 2 Dize
"Dize?" yeh that's my D.J. he's the greatest
"Word" nah he's paying me 2 say this
"the mind" is something that I cultivate
and treasure
"Thanks" you're welcome and besides it was
my Pleasure