Anticipatory Entry

Above: Tupac Shakur shown in his early 20's.

Admittedly, Amare Tupac Shakur is not one of my favorite rappers.  Both of my parents listen to New York based artists such as Nas, Kurtis Blow, and Jay Z, thus causing me to be biased towards these kinds of rappers.  Because of my favoritism, I am a bit hesitant to engage in The Rose that Grew from Concrete, written by Tupac Shakur.  However I have decided to read it to gain a new perspective on hip-hop music, a perspective from Los Angeles.

         I know a small amount of background information on Tupac Shakur.  For instance, I know that he was born in Harlem, moved to Maryland and studied at a musical arts school, and finally resided in Marlin City, California.  Even though he was born in New York, Tupac considers himself a Los Angeles based rapper.  He is so enamored of LA that he stirred up a huge rivalry between the East Coast (California) and West Coast (New York and Philadelphia).  Tupac Shakur was shot for an unknown reason.  Some people think he had gotten into a scuffle with a rival gang member in Las Vegas, but many concur that he foresaw his own death because he was slowly rebelling against a secret Satanist music and media society known as the Illuminati.