Former hip-hop singer Tupac Shakur is still alive at UW.
The African American Studies department will offer a new upper-division course during the spring semester, 1998. The class will discuss Tupac Shakur's life. Shakur was the leader of the west coast rap movement up until his untimely death in 1996 in Las Vegas, Nev.
The new course, "Tupac Shakur: A seminar," will cover Shakur's life, films, music and poetry. Studying Shakur's life is not only a study of a hip-hop gangsta rap star, but also a look into serious and controversial issues, course instructor Omawale Akintunde said. These issues will include topics such as poverty, institutional racism, the contemporary African American experience and the role of white supremacy in these issues.
The University of California at Berkeley has also introduced a course focusing on Shakur's poetry. A sample, from "Wonda Why They Call U Bytch": "You wonda why they call U bytch / You wonda why they call U bytch, I betcha / You wonda why they call U bytch / You wonda why they call U bytch, I betcha."
