Rhetorical analysis can not only be found in literature, but it can also be applied to music. In music, the artist will use various methods such as rhetorical appeals and rhetorical canons to really draw the audience in closer. An artist who shows a great example of rhetorical strategy is Tupac Shakur.
"Changes" is a song by Tupac Shakur. Shakur, also known as 2Pac, was an American rapper and actor. He is considered by many to be one of the greatest hip hop artists of all time. "Changes" was originally recorded in 1992 and was later re-mixed in 1998 after Tupac's death in 1996 as part of the album Greatest Hits. The song is one of his major successes and topped the charts in several countries.
Tupac starts the song with a strong with the use of pathos. "Changes" bears a message that calls for justice. With impressive verses and great rhythm, the song represents various challenges and injustices that African-Americans have to endure on a daily basis.
"I'm tired of being poor, and even worse I'm black. My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch." These first few lines spoken by Tupac illustrate how many black people in America live in poverty and are not given as many opportunities to do right, so instead they divert to being criminals just to get by. To better prove this is an act of pathos, Tupac also says, "Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare."
"It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes. Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live, and let's change the way we treat each other. You see, the old way wasn't working, so it's on us to do what we gotta do to survive." This line is 2Pac's closing statement. He died 20 years ago, but the topics he preached are still relevant today. He can be compared to MLK or any other major black activist trying to unite the people. 2Pac's goal in his life was to rise up and inspire his people.
Tupac uses rhetorical appeals and rhetorical canons to show and display to the world the complexity of social issues and how hard it is for things to get better and for equality and justice to be achieved for blacks and other minorities. It is not an easy conflict that can be won by only one person, but by a collective fight.
