Tupac was a famous hip hop artist/activist who was well known for using strong language to get his message across. However, in his quote "Rose from concrete" he uses very sophisticated techniques to appeal to his audience. Tupac portrays the struggles of being stereotyped for having originated from poverty with the use of connotation, imagery and metaphors.
In "Rose from concrete", Tupac tells us about a rose that grows from the street and although flawed, is still marvelous and special. Then he chooses to compare this rose to a "ghetto kid". He attempts to showcase the virtues of this ghetto kid but as Tupac states, "all you can talk about is my dirty rose". Tupac does this to show that although a person may be good, people only concentrate on their origins.
Throughout the quote Tupac uses many literary devises that not only helps him get his point through, but also aid in adding depth and meaning to his words. A way that he does this is through the use of connotation and metaphors. The title itself is an example of Tupac's use of connotation; "Rose from the ground", if taken metaphorically, means a Rose growing from concrete, which is a metaphor for beauty from the harshest conditions. On the other hand, if the title is taken literally, Tupac is talking about someone who comes from nothing and tries to achieve more.
Another literary tool used extremely well by this artist was imagery. At the start of the quote Tupac tell us to imagine a rose growing on concrete. This gives you a very obvious mental image. But then he describes set rose in order to add depth and reality to the image. Tupac says the rose is "crooked", and is overall "dirty". This allows us to create a clear picture of what he's trying to portray, he is trying to show us "tainted beauty".
In "Rose from the ground" Tupac uses complex literary devises and simple syntax to show his idea of "tainted beauty" and stereotypes of origins and try to appeal to the audience that these stereotypes are wrong. Through the use of imagery and connotation, Tupac shows us that beauty and talent can come from anywhere. Tupac tells the audience that it is not your origin that makes you who you are, but it is you whom decides who you want to be.
