Introduction
Wallace Thurman, an author in the Harlem Renaissance, undoubtedly wrote one of the greatest novel of his time, The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life, written in 1929, discussing feminism and colourism of Harlem in the 1920s-30s.
Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry has not been forgotten, as nearly 100 years after its release, it is the core of two of influential hip-hop artist songs, Tupac Shakur’s Keep Ya Head Up and Kendrick Lamar’s The Blacker the Berry. Lamar and Shakur are two of the most influential and greatest hip-hop artists since the outbreak of hip-hop in the 80’s. Shakur’s hip-hop career ran from 1991 to 1996 (as he died in September 1996), and Lamar’s career running from 2010 until today. Regardless of the massive …show more content…
This essay aims to discuss “To what extent is Wallace Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life relevant to Tupac Shakur’s Keep Ya Head Up and Kendrick Lamar’s The Blacker the Berry?” regarding the relevance in themes, ideologies, the writers’ relevance to the characters, writers’ relevance to the writers. These three texts were chosen as the research conducted suggested that all three texts had relevance to one another, as well as the fact that “the blacker the berry” phrase was in all three …show more content…
This is a reason why Thurman stated that “she (Emma Lou) should have been born a boy, then color of skin wouldn't have mattered so much”. Emma Lou believes that if only she would have been born a man, her life would have been easier socially, economically, and liberally. For instance, applying for a job, finding friends and socializing with others, would have been much easier if only she was a male. Being a male, your complexion was irrelevant in society, “but she (Emma Lou) wasn't a boy; she was a girl, and color did matter”. In the 1930s, being African American was a disadvantage, but being African American AND a woman was the worst it could get, which was the core reason causing Emma Lou’s depression, as she wasn’t just a black woman, but she additionally had a very dark complexion. Emma Lou believed she had it the worst. Shakur’s ideologies and lyrics discussed throughout Keep Ya Head Up link to the life of Emma Lou. She is a victim of men mistreating her, for example, her short-time boyfriend Weldon Taylor used her for sexual purposes
Wallace Thurman, an author in the Harlem Renaissance, undoubtedly wrote one of the greatest novel of his time, The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life, written in 1929, discussing feminism and colourism of Harlem in the 1920s-30s.
Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry has not been forgotten, as nearly 100 years after its release, it is the core of two of influential hip-hop artist songs, Tupac Shakur’s Keep Ya Head Up and Kendrick Lamar’s The Blacker the Berry. Lamar and Shakur are two of the most influential and greatest hip-hop artists since the outbreak of hip-hop in the 80’s. Shakur’s hip-hop career ran from 1991 to 1996 (as he died in September 1996), and Lamar’s career running from 2010 until today. Regardless of the massive …show more content…
This essay aims to discuss “To what extent is Wallace Thurman’s The Blacker the Berry: A Novel of Negro Life relevant to Tupac Shakur’s Keep Ya Head Up and Kendrick Lamar’s The Blacker the Berry?” regarding the relevance in themes, ideologies, the writers’ relevance to the characters, writers’ relevance to the writers. These three texts were chosen as the research conducted suggested that all three texts had relevance to one another, as well as the fact that “the blacker the berry” phrase was in all three …show more content…
This is a reason why Thurman stated that “she (Emma Lou) should have been born a boy, then color of skin wouldn't have mattered so much”. Emma Lou believes that if only she would have been born a man, her life would have been easier socially, economically, and liberally. For instance, applying for a job, finding friends and socializing with others, would have been much easier if only she was a male. Being a male, your complexion was irrelevant in society, “but she (Emma Lou) wasn't a boy; she was a girl, and color did matter”. In the 1930s, being African American was a disadvantage, but being African American AND a woman was the worst it could get, which was the core reason causing Emma Lou’s depression, as she wasn’t just a black woman, but she additionally had a very dark complexion. Emma Lou believed she had it the worst. Shakur’s ideologies and lyrics discussed throughout Keep Ya Head Up link to the life of Emma Lou. She is a victim of men mistreating her, for example, her short-time boyfriend Weldon Taylor used her for sexual purposes