Who Wrote It - Shakespeare or Tupac?
Take The Quiz
William Shakespeare is the unofficial national poet of England, often considered the greatest playwright of all time. He wrote poetry and plays for the English theater until his death in 1616. He was 52 years old.
Tupac Shakur is considered one of the greatest rap artists of all time, whose lyrics, poetry, musical style, and social activism made him a modern folk hero; he suffered an untimely death in 1996. He was 25 years old.
If I hadn’t been born and raised in Baltimore, I might not have known about the similarities between these two wizards of wordplay. Tupac was born in New York but moved to Baltimore when he was thirteen. His childhood home in Baltimore’s Pen Lucy neighborhood is less than a mile from where my parents were raised.
Baltimore offers a perspective on duality that seems fitting for a comparison between Shakespeare and Tupac. The city is full of stark contrasts (historical elegance, urban decay, distinctive cultural richness, systemic struggle) that have resulted in extraordinary art and literature.
Think John Waters and Edgar Allen Poe, Billie Holiday and Ta-Nehisi Coates.
Artists from Baltimore have long honored the darker, more introspective corners of the creative mind; rather than looking away from the pain, dysfunction, and decay, they stare it down and turn it into art.
That’s exactly what Tupac and Shakespeare did.
Shakespeare coined over 1,700 English words and phrases that are still in use today, such as bedazzled, brave new world, wild goose chase, good riddance, and love is blind.
Tupac developed a unique lyrical style that incorporated raw and gritty realism with poetic rhythm, metaphor, and philosophical musings.
The Thug Angel and the Bard of Avon are role models for anyone pursuing a calling based on creative expression.
Tupac studied Shakespeare, jazz, and ballet at the Baltimore School for the Arts. He was a pioneer, blending intellectualism and raw emotion with poetic sublimity. He is infinitely more than a rapper who was killed in drive-by gang shooting.
Similarly, Shakespeare’s work is unfairly characterized as the inaccessible or elitist work of an aristocratic scholar, when in truth he was the son of a glove maker raised in a farming village 100 miles west of London.
Both were undeniably gifted philosophers and poets, and both wrestled with the dualities that characterized their lives.
Shakespeare was bullied by the Oxbridge writing crowd (Ben Jonson, Christopher Marlowe, Robert Greene, etc.), Robert Greene going so far as to publish a pamphlet criticizing Shakespeare for defying convention with his unorthodox plays. The publication famously dubbed Shakespeare the “upstart crow,” lambasting him for becoming successful without proper credentials. As a result, Shakespeare’s works are chock full of wise fools and jesters outwitting the snobby aristocrats. It’s no surprise that the fools are some of Shakespeare’s most beloved characters.
Falstaff anyone?
Similarly, Tupac was the self-identified rose that grew from concrete; a poetic, delicate, deep-thinking soul born into a harsh reality. He used his artistic talents to explore the polarities present in his life, his voice a symbol of resistance and hope to those marginalized by a systemic lack of opportunity.
Both artists drew from classic sources, Shakespeare crafting Julius Caesar and Antony and Cleopatra from the writings of Greek philosopher Plutarch and Tupac composing The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory based on the writings of Italian political historian Niccolò Machiavelli.
Take this quiz and test your knowledge of these two exceptional creatives.
Answers are at the end of this post.
1. “You are the omega of my heart, the foundation of my conception of love.”
2. “I’ll teach you how to flow.”
3. “The tears I cry are bitter and warm.
They flow with life but take no form.”
4. “Cowards die many times before their deaths.”
5. “Fear is stronger than love.”
6. “Trip no further, pretty sweeting.”
7. “We must remember that tomorrow comes after the dark.”
8. “The first thing we do, let’s kill all the lawyers.”
9. “To lead the wild into the ways of man, follow me, eat my flesh, flesh, and my flesh.”
10. “With bated breath and whispering humbleness, say this . . . .”
Answers to the Quiz:
1. Tupac, Jada
2. Shakespeare, The Tempest
3. Tupac, I Cry
4. Shakespeare, Julius Caesar
5. Tupac, Fickle Mind$
6. Shakespeare, Twelfth Night
7. Tupac, Unconditional Love
8. Shakespeare, Henry VI, Part II
9. Tupac, Hail Mary
10. Shakespeare, The Merchant of Venice
How many did you get right? I included the original sources; if you’re interested in further reading, feel free to check them out. Are you a fan of Shakespeare? Tupac? Or, like me, both of them? Drop a comment on my Substack and let me know.