Record Review
2Pac – Changes
Due to his ‘street cred’, Tupac had the ability to reach out to a large audience; dominantly black people, creating a positive impact on their lives and their communities. His track ‘Changes’ is a prime example of how he strived to send a positive message to his listeners, despite his ‘thug life’ image.
Within his lyrics he comments on the main issues in the black community, expressing his opinion on police, drugs and gangs. During this 4minutes and 30 seconds he attempts to grasp his audience by using his poetic ability to portray his life in such a way that his listeners are able to relate to his story and almost feel his emotions. The main issue which he speaks about is racism. "Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a n****, he's a hero", these 2 bars alone show how he believes the world is against him, that even the police are racist and care little for the life of an African-American. “It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact...the penitentiary's packed, and it’s filled with blacks", this particular part of the song conveys several messages. For example, he could be saying that due to the racial situation of the time, black people have to resort to crime in order to make a living which results in them being locked up. He could also be saying that they need to make a change, so that they are not behind bars.
The song consists of the typical Hip-Hop layout; A looped drum pattern with kick, hats and a snare. There is also a triangle instrument which appears at the end of every bar in order to fill in any emptiness and is panned hard right. Unlike the majority of hip-hop music of our generation where the melody is a simple looped synthesised bell, ‘changes’ uses a complex piano melody throughout the verses and differs in the chorus, using both high and low chords. The sound of the vocal and instrumental recordings