Tupac Analysis

TUPAC: MAMA The piece of music I chose to analyze is a rap/hip hop song called Mama by the rapper Tupac. This song is so different from his many other songs because it isn’t his usual graphic and vulgar type of music. This is one song that really gets to me and make me really understand what he is talking about, because I truly love and appreciate my mom also. Mama is a somber song because he is telling his mom how much he appreciates her and cherishes her. The instrumentation in his song isn’t really music instruments per say, because he composes his music in a studio. When music is produced in studios with rappers they produce their music “beats” with studio equipment; they don’t really have someone in there playing instruments while they rap or sing; although, I do hear imitations of instruments. The music texture in this song is amazing. They made the beat prominent while also having a somber type of music instruments to downplay the beat into blending it. This is called a counterpoint, because the melodic lines are set against one another blending them in. It really fits his song because since it is a different piece, thanking his mom, I guess he was trying for something sweet; because he never does somber in his song, well not the one’s he is known for. The repetition is the melody because it is constant and the chorus is also repetitive because he says the same words. Variation also occurs throughout the song because the beat is a unity while also having variety. It’s a two-part form if you do not count the imitation of the instrument throughout the entire song besides the chorus it becomes difficult for me to tell what form it is. The dynamics in the song is mezzo piano, meaning it is slightly soft. The tempo is Andante, meaning it is smooth and medium. The chorus is the climax of the song because the tempo changes. This song brings a personal reaction out of me because of the love I feel for my momma. I really appreciate all the sacrifices my mom