YA-A collection of poetry written by the rapper between 1989 and 1991, before he became famous. The poems are passionate, sometimes angry, and often compelling. Selections are reproduced from the originals in Shakur's handwriting, personalized by distinctive spelling and the use of ideographs (a drawing of an eye for I, etc.), and complete with scratch outs and corrections. With the exception of "In the Event of My Demise," all of the pieces are accompanied by typed text, which leaves his spelling intact. Some poems are also accompanied by his drawings. A few black-and-white photographs appear throughout. A preface by Shakur's mother, a foreword by Nikki Giovanni, and an introduction by his manager, Leila Steinburg, in whose writing group the poems were written, complete this unique volume.
I LOVE this book. It is a collection of poems by the famous rapper. In this book you get to see how he actually wrote the poems and then on the following page see the typed poem. If you are a Tupac fan you NEED this book of his poems! This is by far a haunting look into his life, heart and even his soul. For example, there is a poem in the collection where he talks about how he knows he is going to die young. He talks about his struggles with trusting women and others with his heart. He even has poems dedicated to other famous people like Marilyn Monroe. I got this book over six months ago and I have read the poems over and over. It is one book I do not think I will get ever tired of. If you have ever had your heartbroken, struggled with feelings that you are unloved and unwanted, or had to struggle through hardships of life you will find at least one poem in this book to connect to.
I love that this book was released not just because it is a great collection of poems but because it shows the real side of a legend. It shows that he was just like everyone else. I have read many books of poems by famous people from Alicia Keys to Jewel and I have yet to find a book of poems by a famous person that is better than this one. Hell its been a really long time since I have found a book of poems that has moved like this one has period!
So PLEASE check this book out!