Thursday, September 13, 2012

 

Today is the anniversary of Tupac's passing (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996). There are two poems at the end of Rose where Tupac says goodbye. Choose one of the poems and reflect on the theme in a 3-paragraph essay. Use a citation in each paragraph: 1 free paraphrase; 1 shorter citation, and one long quote for homework and post here.

We will watch Tupac perform his song: How Long Will They Mourn Me. If I can find it (smile). Here is a link to the song performed by Thug Life: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a6Ihto_Bui0

We talked about the song, located its thesis and supporting evidence. Post a 100 word reflection on the song here. Use one citation from the song to support your argument.

Your Works Cited section for the song:

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1.
Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

2. Pidd Essay 1. We will review the paragraph templates in groups, along with the introduction and conclusion.

3. Type the essay. Print it.

4. Lit Circles

5. Keep reading and keep going in Pidd.



Comments:
Tova Solomon
Professor Sabir
English 201A
13 September 2012

How Long Will They Mourn Me Response
Tupac is mourning his friend Kato and questioning how long people will mourn him when he’s dead. Tupac goes through of the stages of grief in order. Denial is sort of passed over, although he mentions “I can’t cry” maybe because it hasn’t really hit him yet, and “All my homies drinking liquor” to negate the pain of losing a friend. Then anger appears in the same stanza with “I load my clip… [and] retaliate and pull a 187” meaning he wants to kill whoever is responsible for Kato’s passing. Bargaining is in the chorus, “I wish it would have been another” and “Tell me Lord, why you take big Kato?” In the second to last stanza that isn’t a chorus, Tupac finally reaches depression when he says “tired of feeling sad, I’m tired of putting in work, I’m tired of cryin while watching my homies leave the earth.” He’s so worn out that he doesn’t even want to do anything. Later in the stanza he briefly reaches acceptance at “Rest and love to my … Kato, See you in the crossroads real soon, … Rest in peace.”
 
Aden Hagos
Professor Sabir
English 201A
13 September 2012


Free Write:
"How Long Will They Mourn Me"

The importance of this song is to say how crazy life can get when you lose a close ones life and how it can damage your brain. Tupac asked the repetitive question "How long will they mourn me?" to tell about all these lives lost by the gun and to show people they are not remembered forever.In Tupac's song "How Long Will They Mourn Me" he states "Niggas cried to mourn a homies homicide/But i can't cry/instead I'm just a shoulder/Damn, why they take another soldier". Tupac's saying the reality of death and how he can't mourn because he loses a lot of his "soldiers". For Tupac it's just the messed up world he's in.


WORK CITED:

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

Tupac
 
Nicole Rodriguez
Professor Sabir
English 201A
13 Sep 2012

Tupac asks “How long will they mourn me?” I don’t think there is ever a time limit on how long you mourn the death of someone close to you. That person will always be in you thoughts no matter if the death was just recent or 10 years ago. Life does go on but they are never forgotten. He raps the line “Damn, why they take another soldier” (line 13) I use to always ask that question when someone close to me would pass away. I would ask why now? Why them? As time passes you realize everyone has their time it is just a matter of when. Unfortunately, the way our society is these days it is way more common to mourn someone who has passed away now more than ever.

The thesis to the song is the lines he writes “N cried to mourn a homies homicide but I can’t cry. Instead I’m just a shoulder. Damn, why they take another soldier”. (lines 10-13)

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

 
Jessica Howard
Wanda Sabir
English 201B
13 September 2012

Thugs For Life

Tupac was truly a “poetic thug” and the lyrics to this song couldn’t have proven this point any better. I also liked the fact that Nate Dog was singing the chorus because I find Nate Dog to be very similar to Tupac; they were a great collaboration when it came to music.

Although Tupac uses a lot of profanity in his music, he always found a way to get his point across regardless of his word choice. “But niggas say they down and they always be my homie, but when a nigga gone how long will they mourn me?” (Line 91) It’s hard to find loyal friends and you never find out their true loyalty until your gone and buried into the dirt and by then it’s already too late. “How Long Will You Mourn Me?” is asking one simple question; how long will you grieve or care for me after I’m gone?

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.
 
Jorge A. Rodriguez
Teacher Sabir
13, September 2012
English201A
Tupac is a very deep and expressive person he says what’s on his mind and doesn’t sensor himself because he is known for saying the truth on everything he speaks on. Tupac has many records and songs/poems that speak of his own life experiences and what is going on in the world he is like the peoples advocate. He, I believe prides himself in being able to talk for the people who are considered to have no voice.
The particular song we listened to “How Long Will They Mourn Me” is very deep and no surprise because like I’ve stated before that’s just Tupac being Tupac. He talks about his friends dying and just how death effects people’s emotion and make them act in very bad ways. “”ill get them suckas back before your buried (shit) retaliate and pull a 187”. People in right state of mind would not just go and kill someone but someone who is “Mourning” and have the opportunity to kill someone I believe will do it if that person they lost someone real close to them and it sounds like he did so his feelings are pretty much understandable.
Overall Tupac is as real as it gets and is not only one of the best rappers in history but also one of the best poets of all time. People love Tupac all around the world and he really has touched people and gave them strength in his brief lifetime

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.


 
Jack Chang
Professor Sabir
English 201B
13 september 2012


In the song,”How Long Will You Mourn Me?“ Tupac mourns his friend Kato who died from getting shot. In the song they mourn their friend Kato and also talks about what will happen when they die. They asked the question, “How long will they mourn me?” often and that is also the name of the song. Throughout the song, they mainly talk about how they feel about the death of a friend and death of themselves. Tupac says, “It’s kinda hard to be optimistic, when your homies lying dead on the pavement twisted.” It’s difficult for him to not be sad when his friends are dead. They talk about how this guy “Kato” was a good friend. One of the rappers in the song, “Syke” said, “You stayed down when the other niggas didn’t know me.” That tells me that Kato was a guy that had his friend’s back.

 
Andrew Adel

Professor Sabir

English 201A

13 September 2012

“Free Write"

So basically what I thought about the song was talking about how life isn’t always far you loose people that are close to you. When you lose a friend or a home boy you tend to want to take revenge or you think that you will not be apart of the game. It leads people to make a decision based on how you feel about the death some people do retaliate or some people mourn and let things pass through. The thought of losing of losing a friend, a loved one, or a brother or sister is hard on everyone. “All my homies drinking liquor tears in everybody’s eyes. Niggas cried to mourn a homies homicide.” I mean I understand that Tupac tends to talk about a lot of the life of a thug or a gangster but you know when you lose a homie it’s like losing a brother or a sister or a son or a daughter to the game.
The fact that Tupac was able to tell a story about how he lost one of his homie. It leads him to think about how he should retaliate like the way of the hood where you take revenge by killing someone that killed your friend or to not kill that person as a way of repaying for the lose of your bother or friend etc. it just the fact that you have to be welling to remember the name and honor him in the way that you will be able to not use revenge to give peace to yourself but to slowly relieve yourself of the pain.

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out
Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru,1994.

 
Sarrak Seun
Professor Sabir
English 201A/B
09/13/12

"Free Write" of one of Tupac’s songs

Tupac made a song with collaborations of many other artists. Those artists are Nate Dogg, Syke, and Rated R and the song is basically about mourning someone close. Which the title could already clarify and states a question, “How Long Will They Mourn Me?” which relates to everybody not just the artist or the main person this song was for. When someone has an untimely coming, how long will they be remembered? People may be mourned for so long and until long enough within a decade or more people will start to forget. Some people will still remember although the pain of losing the certain loved one that has passed may not hurt as much as it did in the past.

This certain individual that inspired Tupac, Nate Dogg, Syke, and Rated R to work on this song was their friend Kato, who unfortunately passed away. They had commemorated Kato as a show of remembrance and mourning, and also sending out a message. That not only did a loved one of Pac was lost but the song also asks, like the song’s title “How Long Will They Mourn Me?” which was also the first line of the verse. 1st verse, 1st line “How long will they mourn me?” states the question of not only being sad for but also how long will they remember a loved ones passing.

Shakur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

 
Misheelt Purvee
Professor – WandaSabir
13, September 2012
English 201A

I am reflecting on the song called “How Long Will They Mourn Me?” This song was officially for Kato. Losing Kato made them do song for him, and they wanted retaliation. I believe they already got it. If they take one of mine, we will take one of them. “187 is the code for the street, it is like a death sentence. I have seen it on the song couple times. Friends die everyday in these cold street and how long will they mourn the once who died. Probably forever long as they alive. Tupac’s lyrics are hard and it goes out to every bodies ear. Tupac is real, he always talks about the truth, and that is how people respect him. Also, He is known as a good poetry writer. He read it lot of books as well.

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

 
Elijah Benton
Professor Sabir
English 201b
13 Sept. 2012
Mourning

When you die, what does family and friends do? They grieve and feel the pain of loss, they mourn. Like said in How Long Will They Mourn Me?, stanza two, line three: “n***** cry to mourn a homies homicide”. When those tears start to fall, loved ones of all sorts become shoulders to lean on. But crying is not the only way to mourn. In most cases, mourning consists of celebrating the death with food and family gatherings. In other cases drinking, doing drugs, and partying hard are ways to mourn. But the one question that is always asked is in stanza one, line six: “why they take another soldier”.

Works cited:
Shakur, Tupac Amaru. “How Long Will They Mourn Me?” Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/ Interscope/ Amaru, 1994

 
Shuluo Fu
Sabir
English 201A
09/13/2012
Response to The Song ” How long will they Mourn Me”
To be honest, this is a such sad song for me because I think that the situation of singer is cruel for himself. He just expresses his feeling by repeating these words ”How long will they mourn me, how long will they mourn our brother”. He knows that nobody is going to give him the sympathy even though he die away from this earth. Meanwhile, something even is going to drive him crazy. However, the singer does not let himself down. As he says in his song ” But I can’t cry. Instead I’m just a shoulder. I load my clip before my eyes blurry, don’t worry”. He tries to show his “enemy” that he is so strong and he will not be beat by everyone. Although “he is tired of crying while watching his homies leave the earth”, I hopefully believe that he is able to keep doing what he need to do, like fighting for his dream, for peace.
The thesis of the song I think is that he is trying to run away an such crazy life and rest in peace. “How long will they mourn me” is ironical for him.

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

 
Melisa-Dna S. Love
Professor Sabir
English 201A
13, September 2012

Show Some Love To The Ones Above

Tupac mourns for all his homies that have died throughout his life, especially his homie Kato. He states in his song “How Long Will They Mourn Me,” “Niggas cried to mourn a homies homicide but I can’t cry instead I’m just a shoulder Damn, why they take another soldier.” (Lines 10 to 13) Tupac tells us that all of his homies are getting killed; many of them shot dead. Tupac exclaims that he can’t think and that he is confused; confused because he’s losing more and more friends in the streets and he can’t do anything about it but mourn and mourn some more. He and his homies drink with tears in their eyes and thoughts of their dead homie Kato. Tupac states “Ya know life’s a fuckin’ trip And everybody gotta go…” He embraces the thought that everyone in the world ends up passing, but he wishes that it would have been someone else. Someone that wasn’t as close as Kato.You only have one life to live so why not live it to the fullest.

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.
 
Ping Johnson
Professor Sabir
English 201 A
Sept 13, 2012

Response to the poem” how long will they mourn me”

Tupac Shakur expressed his sadness feelings toward the lost of his friends who died of murder cases. In this poem he showed his pessimistic attitude by saying “They should’ve shot me when I was born” . He felt like that the black people were not treated right from the day they were born. And he also said “Now I’m trapped in the muthafuckin’ storm”. He described his life experience as “storm” which to me seems like that he was struggling with his daily life. But he felt relieved at the end because he realized that it is the life process that we all have to die one day.

Works cited:
Tupac Shakur "How long will they mourn me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/ Interscope/ Amaru, 1994
 
Aden Hagos
Professor Sabir
English 201A
13 September 2012


In Tupac's song "How Long Will They Mourn Me" he states "Niggas cried to mourn a homies homicide/But i can't cry/instead I'm just a shoulder/Damn, why they take another soldier" (line 10-13). Tupac's see's death as common now and he can't mourn because he looses a lot of his "soldiers". For Tupac it's just the messed up world he's in.The importance of this song is to say how crazy life can get when you lose a close ones life and how it can damage your brain. Tupac asked the repetitive question "How long will they mourn me?" to tell about all these lives lost by the gun and to show people they are not remembered forever. Tupac also states "Another nigga fell victim to the chrome/It's enough to make you crazy (line 88-89). Tupac is saying how this is just another case of a black man falling to his death by a gun. He is also saying how these type of situations is whats neccesary to leave a person messed up in the head.


WORK CITED:

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

Tupac

 
Jamon Barfield
Professor Sabir
English 201B
September 13, 2012

Free Write:
"How Long Will They Mourn Me"

Tupac in this song expresses how he feels when one of his close homies got killed. After listening to the song and then reading the lyrics Tupac gets deep and just raps how he’s feeling and what he’s going through. In (lines 7-10) it’s said, “ I load my clip before my eyes blurry, don’t worry I’ll get them sucks back before your buried (shit) retaliate and pull a 187 do real niggas go to heaven.” This is really how some people feel after one of their close homies just got killed they turn to their gun and try to kill whoever did this to make them suffer the way there homie did. At times you don’t think about what can happen and the consequence that come with your actions you let your anger and sadness take over and at the end he asks if real niggas go to heaven. I think he’s talking about his friend, he knew he wasn’t walking a straight line but he always kept it real is he going to be in heaven? (line 16-19) it said, “y’all don’t hear me doe, I’m trying hard to make amends but I’m losing all my muthafuckin friends (damn) they should’ve shot me when I was born now I’m trapped in the muthafuckin’ storm.” It’s like he’s really screaming out to make people understand that he’s trying to be cool and make amends but they keep taking his homies and he has no choice but to get back at the people that did it, because if he doesn’t it just won’t be right. He said they should have shot him when he was born because if he was never alive he wouldn’t feel the pain of lost ones or do wrong by others but now that he is alive he has no choice now he’s trapped in a storm. Sad to admit but I’ve buried many homies of mine and sometimes a lost can make you do shit you can regret for the rest of your live. You have to think ahead and trust pray they get into heaven ok.

WORK CITED:

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

 
Stephanie Hopkins
Prof Sabir
English 201A
14 September 2012

Reflection: " How Long Will They Mourn Me"

This song is dedicated to Tupac's friend Kato. Who we learn from the lyrics, that he was shot and killed. In each verse, they all talk about the way they mourned for him. Tupac talks about how its hard for him to cry. He os there as a shoulder to cry on. How he can only think about what happen to his friend and retaliating against the person who did it. He talks about how he has lost too many friends this way. He thinking, this kind of thing happens so much in the streets, you don't have enough time to mourn for one person before you have to mourn for another.
Tupac then talks about what if it was him. He says it should have been him. It should have been him a long time ago. Might be better to have died a long time ago then live through what he is going through. " They should've shot me when I was born Now I'm trapped in the muthafuckin' storm". So now if it was him. How will they mourn him? How long will they mourn him?

Work Cited: Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.
 
  Shuluo Fu
  Professor Sabir
  English 201A
  September 15, 2012
  
  The Announcement of Bid Farewell
  I think this is a poem for saying goodbye to say goodbye to somebody when I am at the beginning of this poem. Maybe it is a goodbye for his family, friend, lover, or something else. What is the reason, however, for leaving and saying goodbye. The poet does not give me the answer but a decision that his thoughts have been discarded and the hearth of poem will be his guidance. Even worst is that he even dose not know the answer by himself at all. Therefore, I just realize that the main emotion in this poem is reluctant and sorrowful.
  
  However, there is only one belief leave in the poet's hearth. That is:" it is better 2 have loved and lost than 2 not love at all". At least he sought for his love in his life, and ever got the lose from what he did. At least he had completely enjoyed his journey in his life before he say goodbye to everyone.
  
  Meanwhile, I just confused what enables the poet to smile and cry when he woke up in each morning. What are he trying to tell us? Fortunately, I think I have found the answer from some words he says at the end of this poem. He deems that he had having a new beginning when he woke up in each morning so that he must "say goodbye" to his past. Actually, I think this is the primarily theme what he want to tell us: he ought to say goodbye to his past everyday before he left this world.
Work Cited
Shakur, Tupac. “So I Say GOODBYE” The Rose that Grew From Concrete New York: MTV/pocket Hardcover printing. 1999.89 Print.
  
 
John Pham
Professor Sabir
English 201A
September 17, 2012

Tupac is stating how crazy life is and how it can get to you, he is stating how so many lives are lost by the gun and how many people don't even realize it, mourn them or forget. Also when he states "Niggas cried to mourn a homies homicide/But I can't cry/ instead I'm just a shoulder/Damn, why they take another soldier" this states how Tupac can't mourn anymore because this is what he is use to in his crazy life and he is a shoulder for others.
 
Caroline Lee
Professor Sabir
English 201A
17 September 2012

Response to "How Long will they Mourn Me"

In this song, Tupac says,"I wish it would been another" it seems a bit disappoint to his life. In my view of point, his life is different to others. I understand that different people has different life, but to me he is an amazing guy. He dead early, but he has a really wonderful life. He can always express his emotion in the songs he sing; he can always sing his feeling out and we can feel it in his song. When he says, "how long will they mourn me", he is like saying the truth in the reality. It is because no matter how famous you are or how impressive in people's mind, people will forget you one day. Tupac has gone for couple of years, but from now how many of them still remember him,or his song.

Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.
 
Elijah Benton Benton 1
Professor Sabir
English 201b
16 September 2012
A Positive Demise
Some people feel as if Tupacs death was staged. Some feel that he is still alive. Others believe he knew he was going to die, and that’s why he wrote the poem In the Event of my Demise. Line three and for says; “I will die before my time because I feel the shadow’s of depth”. But what does this poem truly say?

Line three says, “I hope I die for a principle”. I believe this line is saying everyone dies, but when Tupac dies he hopes its for a reason such as his mind being put to use, and his lyrics speaking the truth. Not to die because of a drug over dose or by rotting in prison, but to die because of and for positivity.

Lines eleven and twelve states, “I loved all who were positive in the event of my Demise”. What I believe Tupac is saying is don’t use his death as an excuse to act out. Don’t use his death for negativity, violence, and rage. Use it as an excuse to fight against all of those things. Use his death as an example to get ahead in life.

Works cited:
Shakur, Tupac. "In the Event of my Demise". The Rose That Grew from Concrete. New York. MTV/ Pocket Hand Cover. Print. 1999.
 
Free Writing: of "How long will they mourn me"

Kovida U
Prof: Wanda Sabir
English 1A
Sep, 13, 2012

"How long will they mourn me" it refers to the lost of close friends, homies. When loosing somebody close the grief is great but he wonders for how long this grief will last and he asks himself when this will happen to himself for how long people will mourn him. In this song it is express the sentiment of loosing somebody that is consider as a brother as it is expressed in the verse "Tell me Lord, why you take big Kato?”, loosing a friend is like going crazy as he says "I can't take it, I'm losin' my fuckin' mind". Tupac in this songs recognizes that what happen to his friend will also happen to him in fact in the following verse he says:
"See you in the crossroads real soon
For now let me pour out some brew
I'll be always thinkin' of ya homie
Rest in peace"
In fact at the end Tupac dies after living a life that was successful but as well turbulent. I believe that Tupac choose to live the life that he wanted to be.


Work cited:
Shukur, Tupac Amaru. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" Thug Life: Volume 1. Out Da Gutta/Interscope/Amaru, 1994.

Dyson, Michael E. "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" in Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur. New York: Basic Civitas Books, 2001. Print.
 
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