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Summary: I WILL TREASURE TUPAC'S BOOK OF POETRY FOR LIFE! I LOVE IT
Review: First of all, I must say that I am the biggest Tupac Shakur fan of all time. I have all of his stuff; from his music, posters, and books; but this book, "The Rose that Grew From Concrete" was so superb. It really touched my heart to be able to actually have the poetry that Tupac wrote during his life. It's just a treasurable thing for me, because it's like I feel even closer to him now. Tupac's poetry is so fulfilling, and all of his poetry says a lot; it inspires me deeply. I love Tupac. I just want to say to anyone that is reading this that you won't be disappointed if you purchase this book; it's a masterpiece, and regardless of how anyone feels about him, his skills and talents have no choice but to be appreciated and acknowledged for its perfection and brilliance. This book,along with him period, really has given me so much inspiration. Tupac really surprises me so much with all of his excellence. I strongly give this book, his music,his movies,and HIM five stars and I urge you to buy this book of poetry by Tupac Shakur. It will change your life. (R.I.P Tupac LOVE YOU! )
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Summary: A moving poetic legacy
Review: "The Rose that Grew from Concrete" is a posthumous collection of poetry by rapper Tupac Shakur, whose career in both the recording and motion picture industries was cut short when he was murdered at the age of 25. The book includes a preface by Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur; a foreword by poet Nikki Giovanni; and an introduction by Leila Steinberg, who acted as Tupac's manager. Afeni Shakur notes that the poems in this book were written from 1989-91. Steinberg recalls how Tupac shared poems in a writing circle that she hosted.The poems appear in this book as photos of handwritten text, with the typed transcriptions on facing pages. This format, combined with some photos of the author, adds to the visual appeal of the book. Tupac's poems are about love, friendship, loss, social protest, personal goals, and disappointment. His poems touch on many moods: sadness, ecstasy, anger, pride, and hope. Along the way he cites Nelson Mandela, Huey P. Newton, and other figures. I was particularly struck by "Only 4 the Righteous," a witty and funny poem about rapping; this piece has a great rhyme and rhythm. "The Shining Star Within!," dedicated to Marilyn Monroe, and "Starry Night," dedicated to Vincent Van Gogh, are intriguing tributes to artists whom Tupac describes as ill-treated by society. "God" is a moving profession of faith. I was also moved by "Nothing Can Come Between us," a free verse poem on friendship. "Jada" is one of his best love poems ("u R my Heart in Human Form"). Overall, these poems seem to reveal many facets of the author. In "For Mrs. Hawkins," he writes "I'm a Panther / with the blood of Malcolm in my veins." Other poems look at racism and poverty. But he also writes about things like "First Date Jitters" (in "1st Impressions"). In "What Can I Offer Her?" his voice is full of longing and self-doubt; it is one of many poems that show an emotional vulnerability. I'm not familiar with Tupac's rap and film work, so I may have approached these poems with fewer preconceptions than some readers. Overall, I think this is a valuable volume. Steinberg notes in her intro that she's used Tupac's writings as teaching tools; I believe that "The Rose That Grew from Concrete" could stimulate some solid classroom work.
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Summary: tupac shakur in the hearts of his fans
Review: This book is full of feelings towards love and full of anger towards the government and against politics. His best poetry was written through his expressions and feelings. This book could relate to the way you feel about something during that period of time. The right words are put together to express what you feel within. Tupac was a great poet who was with respect by the society he wrote what he felt, not what people wanted to hear.
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Summary: all eyes on him
Review: The Rose that Grew from Concrete by Tupac Amaru Shakur, is made up of 100 poems written by Tupac at the age of 19 before his fame, before getting shot five times and before going to jail for a crime many believe he never commited. This book shows the true Tupac. The sweet Tupac that was pure and never did anything but simply tell the truth. His poems show his honesty. They reveal his true intentions and the beliefs held so stronly in his passionate heart. A preface written by Afeni Shakur, Tupac's mother, starts off the book followed by Nikki Giovanni's foreword and Leila Steinburg's heart-breaking introduction. Steinburg, Tupac's first professional manager and adult friend, shares her treasured experience of meeting Tupac. She is responsible for releasing these poems to the public. Her introduction alone, is sure to leave readers drowning in tears and, if not already, in awe of Tupac. The first poem in the book, "The Rose that Grew from Concrete," is about how Tupac learned to strive for his goals against all of the obstacles in his life that tried bringing him down. "Sometimes I Cry" and "Life Through my Eyes" explain how alone Tupac felt and show his struggles through poverty. In other poems he talks about love, racism, liberty, heartaches and goals. Readers will be able to identify with at least one poem in this book if not all of them. The book is almost like a guide that can make a person feel better and be referred to whenever someone feels alone, lost or confused. It is as though Tupac reached into his hear and brought all his feelings out onto paper. Only great writers are able to express how they really feel and are not scared to speak the truth. But as Giovanni says in her foreword, "I guess it will always be the case that when someone brings a new idea or, mosre accuratley, a truthful idea there will alway be those people who are wrong, who try to shut the truth and daring down." In his poems he talks about real issues and the ultimate truth of life. But since so many do not want to admit Tupac, the young black rapper who rose above poverty and the streets, is actually right, they make up ignorant excuses such as "they are always cursing" and "profane language is bad." Since this book is free of any profane language, maybe now people who were ready with excuses before, will realize that they have no reasons to hide from the truth Tupac shows. They will realize they have no reason to make Tupac seem low just to put him down. Readers who always thought Tupac was deep, will be shocked to see how deep he really was and still is. Tupac's 12 recorded landmark albums and six major motion pictures are still here to remember him by, and now his collection of poems have been released to the public to remember Tupac's beautiful face and precious thoughts as well. Hopefully, readers will realize that the point of reading this book is to understand Tupac and see that was not just another rapper. Tupac writes about Vincent van Gogh's life and accomplishments in his poem "starry Night." He writes about Nelson Mandela, Newton and his mother in some of the other poems. There is a poem called "For Mrs. Hawkins" where Tupac adresses his sorrow for a mother who lost her son, Yusef, to a racist society. He covers subjects ranging from adultery to God. He dedicated and wrote poems about Marilyn Monroe all the way to a girl named April. Anyone who claims to adore Tupac Shakur needs to read this book which is compressed with his deepest thoughts and truest feelings about love, life and even the government. Especially those that are so quick to judge Tupac never giving him a fair chance need to read this book and see Tupac is special. Teachers, counselors, kids everywhere should read The Rose that Grew from Concrete. Steinburg says in the book that Tupac's poems can teach us about universal needs that textbooks rearely adress. Poems such as "and 2morrow" and "Still I Wait for Dawn" explain the need to survive for a better day. "They also teach us that humanity as a whole suffers if anoyone starves. Unfortunatly it took his [Tupac's] death to teach us that when one man dies we all bleed," Steinburg said. If after reading this book, people still think of Tupac as just another gangsta rapper trying to be poetic, then all that can be said is who cares. Besides, Tupac always said "Only God can judge me." Good for him.
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Summary: The rose the grew.. another side of Tupac Shakur
Review: The rose that grew from concrete is collection of Tupac Shakur's poetry. I originally heard some of his poetry being on the radio just after his death. I heard in the even of my demise and was immediately hooked. I was estatic when i saw that his poems were collected in a book. The rose... shows you a much different side of Tupac Shakur. One that you don't often see in the movies or on his records. Tupac was definetely like the James Dean of rap because he personified the thug persona although with this collection of poems I'd also compare him to Jim Morrison. What clearly evedent is that there was so much more to him than simply the thugisms. It's odd because his poems are so personal and touching it's hard to reconcile the image of him as this rebel when your reading it. What's also great about this collection is that there are two version of his poems his handwritten version are alongside the typed ones. While his poems are not as polished and refined as other more widely known poets what struck me profoundly is the sentimens and feeling that is expressed in his words. This book showed me the complexities of Tupac Shakur, that not only was he an accomplished raptor (rapper -actor) and hip hop icon he was a very good poet. The one poem that stands out in my mind at this moment is the almost prophetic in the event of my demise but there are many others that are equally as touching and sincere. Tupac Shakur was a complex man. It's a shame that Tupac was taken away before he could fuly relize his full potential. But fortunately he left with us a body of work that not only is complex and passionate but also sincere.
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Summary: The man was a GENIUS!
Review: Anyone who has read this book certainly knows that Tupac was certainly a genius! The man wrote with such raw talent & his poems were so real & beautiful. Some of them made me cry. He was probably the best poet/rapper of our time. The man was human & if you read this book, you'll know that he love, cryed, wanted, needed, & hurt like any human. People didn't know how creative & trouble Tupac was. People think because he was in the rap game that he doesn't have a positive message or talent. The man was a GREAT writer & he wrote about his life as a Thug, & he WAS a thug & he knows the life. But Tupac wanted to rid the world of violence & racism, & if you read his work & listen to his music, you'll notice this. He was true & kept it all real! Unlike most rappers these days. He & Kurt Cobain were the only REAL, RAW talents in the 90's & it's sad they're not with us anymore. They were hear to spread a message, & I hope everyone understands it. RIP Tupac, I LUV you, you were 1 in a 1,000,000!
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Summary: Thru this he speaks again...
Review: 2pac was a man that has truely changed my life, through his rap, through his acting, thru his words. He tells it as it is, always has and it is nice to see that he was able to sit down and express these TRUE feelings- feelings like the rest of us have- many "celebs" would be afraid to do something like this, much respect. I sat and read the book from front to cover at on sitting, its diffifult to close it unread. Its hard to believe that he was only 19 when he wrote these mature poems, very deep. Its hard to believe that he has been "out of our lives" for 3 yrs now. Much respect for this man who has done so much with his life- more than I could even hope for. His words break through to a special part of me, whether this be in his rap, his movies, or his book--IT'S ALL POETRY. Many poems brought tears to my eyes and many others opened them even farther. Cry, Fame, etc. This a MUST HAVE BOOK FOR ANYONE true fan of 2Pac or true fan of life.
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Summary: Wonderful teaching tool!!!
Review: I am a middle school English teacher who uses this collection when teaching a poetry unit. While most of Tupac's writing is rough and unedited, it shows students that poetry is a beautiful way to express ideas and emotions. Young people are so full of passion and idealism. Someone as famous as Tupac started off similar to them... Small with bigs dreams and a hunger for growing up and changing the world. It's not so much about rap but about the art of lyrical poetry. My students find it fascinating and inspiring.
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Summary: sorry to say this
Review: all the stuff from this book is from when he wasn't famous yet. he didn't have anything to say back then. he was a very profound person but i wasn't compelled with anything he said until he started looking at political issues and crimes and society in his raps. When he was in his late teens and early 20's and had to deal with the corruptions of society, that was when he had interesting, even brilliant things to say. But, not before. I'm a big Tupac fan, but this wasn't worth it. He just talks about love and it's cheesy and the rhymes aren't very well done. Get stuff from his more recent times to really understand his character.
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Summary: greatest of them all
Review: i would recomend this book to anybody who truly cares about tupac and is inspired just like me. i bought this book because it inspires me about how much love and courage he had in him. all of my friends like this book including my homegirl(Thalia Alvarado). i like his music and everything, i dont care about wut other people think just worry about wut u think
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