Changes
Music by: D. Evans
Written by: Tupac Shakur & Bruce Hornsby
Performed by: Tupac Shakur

We gotta make a change. 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.

Back in the early '90s, hip hop was beginning to spread like wildfire from one city to the next throughout the United States. Whether it was Notorious B.I.G. and LL Cool J representing the East Coast or their rivals, Snoop Dogg and Tupac, throwin' it down for the West Coast, the cultural movement had kids, teens and adults alike blasting a boom box with these artists' poetic rhymes in their tape deck. These rappers generally targeted African-American and Hispanic audiences, but anyone who had been discriminated against, caught up in gang violence, grew up poor and hungry or had sunk into the position of making a living illegally could relate to the lyrics of most hip hop songs. These issues were all too familiar for, arguably, one of the greatest rappers of our time, the late Tupac Shakur.

Mainstream rap today is primarily about money and sex. The 21st century rapper wants you drapped in the latest fashion, blowing money on expensive cars and cribs. They want you to go out and drink, dance and have a one night stand. At least, that's what they enjoy sharing with fans through the mic or in a music video. Most rappers today aren't as driven on reaching their audience through a personal testimony or offering advice from experience; instead, it's become a money-grubbing, power trip. But back when hip hop was making it's debut, artists didn't hold back. They rapped about their lives in the ghetto and how they prayed for change.

Around 1995-1996, Tupac rewrote and remixed Bruce Hornsby and the Range's 1986 hit, The Way It Is, in order for the song to better relate to Tupac's lifestyle and his fans'. It was titled, Changes, and released posthumously on his Greatest Hits album.

Tupac used the song to explain what it was like living as a Black man. He discussed the struggles Blacks faced and continue to face: oppression because of their skin color, police brutality, racism, drugs and growing up as a hustler. He knew what it was like to see friends and family members fall in the street from gang violence. I commend Tupac on writing his own lyrics. He's a storyteller. You can feel the passion behind each line he raps. His words are powerful. It was almost as if he was attempting to create a movement with his song, Changes. He rapped to express his anger and hatred toward evil. He had grown weary of it. Tupac wanted something different for himself and his people--for everyone.

I see no changes. Wake up in the morning and I ask myself, "Is life worth living, should I blast myself?" I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse, I'm Black. My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch. Cops give a damn about a Negro, pull a trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero. Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare.

I'm not condoning the actions Tupac raps about, but he had a way of putting himself out there--raw and real--and that's admirable. He was trying to change and help others in the process. He didn't fear opening up through his music. He wasn't scared of what people thought; he spoke the truth. He rapped about what he knew from past and current experiences. He taught other races what it was like being Black. He encouraged Blacks to dismiss the stereotypes they had always been belittled to and make something of themselves. But in the song, a recurring phrase is argued that "That's just the way it is." Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you. You gotta operate the easy way. "I made a G today." But you made it in a sleazy way, sellin' crack to the kid. "I gotta get paid." Well hey, well that's the way it is. Just as many adults wish they could revisit their childhood with old friends they have lost touch with, Tupac, on the other hand, raps about the death of fallen "brothers" or now opposing gang members he once grew up with, and how he would "love to go back to when [they] played as kids, but things change, and that's the way it is."

He explains to the hypocrites how Blacks aren't the only ones out smoking dope and that it takes patience and devotion to better yourself. People need to listen to each other instead of acting on their anger by pulling out a gun to kill someone. Take the evil out the people, they'll be acting right. 'Cause both Black and White is smokin' crack tonight. And only time we chill is when we kill each other. It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other. He makes statements about the Black's present, as the listener translates Tupac's hope for the future. We ain't ready, to see a Black president. It ain't a secret, don't conceal the fact the penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with Blacks. From Tupac's perspective, he sees all of his fellow Blacks filling up prisons, dealing drugs and living the life of gang members. He knows that's not going to get anyone anywhere except one step closer to sleeping six feet under, much less a presidency. He wants Blacks viewed equally to Whites and the only way that will happen is if they start making some changes.

The lyrics still apply to many young African-Americans involved in gangs today. And as long as I stay Black, I gotta stay strapped and I never get to lay back. 'Cause I always gotta worry 'bout the pay backs. The same questions people ask in our nation nowadays, Tupac asked in the past. Can't a brother get a little peace? It's war on the streets and war in the Middle East. Instead of war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me. He tells us that misplaced hate makes disgrace to races.

The theme Tupac created within the song is obvious. Your present situation will remain the same unless you take action and make a change. Share with others. View strangers as friends, not foes. Don't be afraid to trust others. Take the time to listen. Don't judge people because of what you were taught; take initiative to learn the truth. Don't give up on yourself if you're unable to see change; stick it out and help others make changes for good as well.

Because rebuking change only leaves us with the excuse, "Well, that's just the way it is."

Somewhere Over the Rainbow
Music by: Harold Arlen
Written by: E.Y. Harburg
Performed by: Judy Garland

Someday I'll wish upon a star
And wake up where the clouds are far behind me.
Where troubles melt like lemon drops
Away above the chimney tops
That's where you'll find me.

Without question, one of the most popular songs that is world-renowned. It debuted in The Wizard of Oz in 1939 sung by Judy Garland's character, Dorthy. But it was first released by MGM on the movie's soundtrack in 1956. It is still heard to this day on commercials, television shows and in movies. There have been countless remakes of the classic from Ray Charles to Jewel; each putting another unique voice with Harburg's famous lyrics. There have even been instrumental versions, as in Jimi Hendrix's guitar rendition. Or Israel Kamakawiwo'ole's performance using a ukulele medley with Louis Armstrong's What a Wonderful World. Originals are almost always the best take of a song, especially in the case of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

The entire song wasn't used in The Wizard of Oz; it was shortened. The introduction was cut along with the second verse. But did Judy Garland still find a way to make it her own at the mere age of 16! She played the character of Dorthy so well that her audience was drawn to the screen with open hearts while she sang Somewhere Over the Rainbow. Where was the land Dorthy once heard of in a lullaby? The answer is what everyone searches for in life. So Dorthy sang because her aunt and uncle wouldn't listen to her troubles with Miss Gulch regarding her dog Toto. The theme of the song is universal. Everyone has felt what Dorthy was feeling. Alone. Sad. Dismissed. No one to pay her mind. Almost hopeless but not entirely. Garland's charater made us feel like we weren't alone and that's comforting. Not only that but she inspired us.

What better time to sing about a far away land over a rainbow where skies are blue and dreams come true than while living in the Great Depression? When The Wizard of Oz was publicized, The Great Depression was nearing an end but society was still dealing with difficult times--the world was dealing with difficult times. People needed something or someone to give them hope for a brighter future and Judy Garland did just that through her performance of Somewhere Over the Rainbow.

Today, the song still relates to the dreamers of our youth, to adults who haven't given up hope for what they want and even to the elderly, who flash back to a time when nothing was taken for granted and hope was all they owned. I opened this blog with this song first because it's extremely special. There are only a selection of songs known world-wide that are passed along decade after decade, generation to generation, still accepted and enriched with the meaning and power from the day it was first performed. Somewhere Over the Rainbow is one of them.

Here's to acknowledging the creation and performance of a song that continues to keep us looking up and asking, "If happy little blue birds fly beyond the rainbow, why, oh why can't I?"

My Opinions on Music

I've created this Web site to explore the depth of songs from an array of genres. To choose a song and pick it apart. To give my opinion on whether it's good or bad by judging it in a variety of ways. To attempt to explain what the artist wanted to portray through the words, if in fact, he or she actually wrote the song. If not, how the musician makes it their own. I'll get creative with some of my posts, changing the structure of my entries every now and then instead of writing about one song in particular. But I can guarantee to keep my readers intrigued, provoked and entertained. I'm welcoming you to follow my expedition of constructively criticizing lyrical bliss and blunder. After all, I've found that music has a unique way of opening our hearts in the harshest of times. So for a moment, I invite you to forget your "to do" list and get lost in a song or two with me. Music has a way of loosening our tensions and revealing an escape. Music offers us a world of exploration that has the power of enticing our emotions while touching our souls. It's truly majestic.