Tupac Amaru Shakur is considered a Hip Hop saint and theologian. Though he is dead (September 13, 1996), his words, lyrics, and life still live on as a symbol of hope for many in the urban community. Tupac was the irreverent Reverend for many, in the inner city as well as the suburbs. This book deals with the gospel and theological message of Tupac Amaru Shakur from a missiological perspective. The book investigates the lyrical, poetic, and spiritual message of Tupac in relation to understanding and engaging with Hip Hop youth. This book is not an ethnomusicological study, rather an urban cultural study with a stress on the ethnomusicological aspects of Tupac s music. Narrative is central to the book; the narrative Tupac wove connects his audience not only to life and the issues it brings in general, but also to the story of Christ and the struggles Christ faced. Ethnolifehistory is used to analyze Tupac s life. In addition to this, ethnohistory aids in dissecting Tupac s life into five major eras. Hip Hop and urban popular culture provide the context for the study, and urban postmodernism is discussed as a platform in which Tupac rose and preached from.
