The song Changes, by Tu Pac is all about justice. This song represents the various injustices and challenges that African-Americans have to go through on a daily basis. He skillfully writes impressive verses that highlight the main issues faced by African-Americans such as skin colour, poverty, racism, and crime, and how they are all interlinked. This song touches on the complexity of social issues and about much of a struggle it is for things to get better and for equality and justice to be achieved.
Even in the very first line of the song, Tupac says “I see no changes”. This refers to now and makes me think that even after the Civil Rights Movement that happened in the 1950’s and 1960’s that nothings changed. The monumental changes that were meant to occur in the USA such as equality, social justice, and the abolishment of poverty and racism did not occur as expected. Many problems that affected the African-American population before the movement were still present when he recorded the song back in 1992. He relates poverty to the colour of his skin when he says “I’m tired of being poor and, even worse, I’m black”. This suggests that he believes these issues are related to each other where the colour of his skin has effects on his and all of the African-Americas financial situations, and limits them from jobs and privileges a white person would receive. This causes a domino effect where then poverty affects crime when he says- “My stomach hurts, so I’m looking for a purse to snatch”. Because of a lack in money and just basic human rights, he highlights that this leads to turning to crime. This chain reaction starts from the racism and inferiority received because of skin colour in America in the 1900’s. “Cops give a damn about a negro. Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he’s a hero”- this highlights to me the fact about racism and that police violence is a racial issue. In the USA today it is still three times more likely for the police to kill an African American than a white American. All of the lyrics in this song hold very powerful messages that are all too real things African-Americas have grown up with and experienced. Hearing this makes me sad that this is what goes on in our world still today. This makes me realise that still even today, the world is far from equality.
The song suggests and shows me that he wants justice for himself and all of the African-Americans who are seen as inferior because of their ethnicity and skin colour. “I got love for my brother, But we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other. We gotta start making changes”- He is determined to change this cycle of racism and hate by ‘making changes’. This change starts with the people, where if they plan to resolve the hatred, then there must be ‘changes’ first. This need for justice comes from an inequality between the people and a drive to make these things right. At one point Tupac and the African-American people believed and had hope that the Civil rights movement would bring about change and better their lives. It ended the violence of segregation but failed to diminish the violence of poverty, leaving them in disappointment. After hearing this song and how African-Americans were and still are treated this made me realise that from living in Wanaka, quite a privileged town, I have been trapped inside this bubble of a perfect world. From living here, I am not exposed to the harsh reality and cruel things that go on in our world. Even though I live in a very safe part of the world, this is not the same as everywhere else, and I am gifted many privileges that others don’t have. This makes me feel very grateful for what I have and where I live, where I know I should not take advantage of these things. After listening to this song it made me question if things like this went on in New Zealand and why things like this happen. I believe in the equality of all people no matter their race, skin colour, ethnicity and sexuality.
This song is still very relevant today as 27 years onwards, these issues are still faced by African-Americans in many aspects of their lives. This change can not occur unless they band together, in order to change these labels that have been wrongly given to them.
HIGH ACHIEVED