Index IntroductionAnalysis of "Dear Mama"ConclusionWorks CitedIntroductionHip-hop was founded in the 1970s by DJ Kool Herc. Hip-hop is the heart and soul of poetry because the rhythm and sound have power over classic written poems. Additionally, hip-hop lyrics evoke emotions through its meanings and purpose. Hi teachers and students, I'm a fan of the Hip-Hop genre. I'm a fan of it because I love its beats, rhythm and lyrics. I really think hip-hop should be accepted into the Western literary canon, because of its lyrics, rhythm, and linguistic characteristics. Poetry from the original Canon, literature such as O Captain! My Captain! He is outdated and old in contrast to the new and popular hip-hop artists like Tupac Shakur and Jay-Z. The song I chose is “Dear Mama”, by Tupac Shakur. I believe it should be included in the Western literary canon due to the relevant social themes and profound meaning of the lyrics. This is due to the reverent social themes and the use of figurative language and deep meaning within the lyric poem. I believe that Dear Mama should be accepted into the literary canon because it has the same linguistic characteristics and literary devices as poems in the devices of the Western Literary Canon. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original Essay “Dear Mama” Analysis Tupac Shakur engages the audience through his songs like “Dear Mama” and “Changes.” Tupac is rapping about how his mother raised him and how much he struggled. This song is a tribute to his mother Afeni Shakur. This song is about his life. In the lyrics he says “When I was young me and my mama had beef, seventeen year old kicked out on the street,” he is reflecting on the fights he and his mother had when he was seventeen. In the middle of verse 1 it says “And who would think of elementary school? HEY! Someday I'll see the penitentiary,” meaning Tupac never thought he would end up in prison when he was young. The social message in this song is that Tupac and his mother (Afeni Shakur) didn't get along, when he was kicked out on the streets, he hung out with thugs who sold drugs. Tupac even sold drugs so he could repay his mother for raising him and his family on welfare. In the song he raps "I needed my own money, so I started saying, I'm not guilty 'cause even if I sell rocks, it's good to put money in your mailbox," Tupac sold cocaine because he says "I'm not guilty." cause even if I sell rocks.The main linguistic characteristics of this song are: rhetorical questions, alliteration, assonance, repetition and rhyme. Tupac uses the rhetorical question only twice in his song Dear Mama, in the line "And who would think in elementary school?", which leads to "Who would think in elementary school about going to prison?" Tupac never thought he would be locked up when he was younger, but he was wrong. The other rhetorical question is "Don't you know that I love you?", which is a question directed at his mother, since even though he was kicked out of home when he was 17, he still wants the audience to know that he does. I love his mom. The second language feature that Tupac uses in his song is alliteration in many lines of the song, a couple of lines in the song are "Suspended from school, and scared to go home, I was a fool" with the older kids, who break all the rules." Tupac uses alliteration in this song to draw attention to this certain part of the song. The third linguistic feature of this song is assonance. The most repeated sound in this sound is "S" . Tupac uses this in most of his verses.