Brenda’s Got a Baby by 2 Pac

Kayla Garrett

Professor Dixie Kootz-Eades

English 1020

13 March 2018

Rhetorical Analysis^[a]

        My music video selection for the Rhetorical Analysis is “Brenda’s Got a Baby” by 2 Pac. The ^[b]music video was released in 1991 where, during this time, ^[c]there were many social issues occurring within the African-American community that still plague the African-American community to this day. The music video speaks to everyone within Brenda’s community, 2 Pac’s delivery of the picture he’s painting with his words, the many themes and messages within the music video 2 Pac displayed through his lyricism: the most powerful message being to be there for each other.^[d]

        In the beginning of the video, Brenda is seen holding a newborn child walking down a residential sidewalk, and in another scene 2 Pac, the narrator, is walking with a large entourage. 2 Pac raps to one of his friends about Brenda having a baby. The friend told 2 Pac, “That’s not our problem, that’s up to Brenda’s family.” 2 Pac replies, “Well let me show you how it affects the whole community.” In this sequence, the audience is identified through the dialogue. Further analysis of music video shows the audience is teenage women, the African-American community, low-income communities, and others that were interested in social issues during 1991.^[e] This record is one-of-a-kind because he was the only artist during that time that spoke deeply about social issues that needed to be addressed but were not addressed directly, but ^[f][g]swept under the rug.

        The delivery of the music video is very unique as well; the music starts by two uncredited artists simultaneously singing the hook: Brenda’s Got a Baby. Then 2 Pac begins his rap; which is more like a poem because the song is structured into one long verse with a more specific approach as opposed to generalized blabber. A major element of this song is that it does not contain any profanity;^[h] a contrast from 2 Pac’s other work. The video accompanying the song is just as important as the lyrics. The video, which was shot in black-and-white, usually shows that time has elapsed; the music video was based on a true story. The song’s production is also a contrast from the genre: “Gangster Rap” because there contains no profanity and 2 Pac is delivering the rap in spoken word. This genre of hip-hop is called “Conscious Hip-Hop” which paints a vivid picture that makes the audience think about what is being said. The artist’s overall tone was that he understood what Brenda what was going on in ^[i]her position because of the social ill and the environment she is in. The artist simply doesn’t^[j] judge Brenda, but he is bringing awareness about teenage pregnancy, social ills, poverty, bad environments and the reality of living in the Ghetto.

        The message of the music video is sad and thought provoking. You^[k] can’t listen to the song without the video because it would not vividly paint the picture of the messages and themes within the music video. The artist speaks about statutory rape, drug use, sexual assault, incest, child neglect, single parenting, lack of employment opportunities, lack of education, poverty, runaway teens, and prostitution. The artist simply was interested in the story because of the lack of attention it received; the story was an editorial buried within a newspaper. The artist shows these themes and messages because of the attitude of 2 Pac’s friend in the beginning of music video. ^[l]“That’s not our problem, that’s up to Brenda’s family.”