|
Exploring the Lives of Marvin Gaye and Tupac Shakur
 As the first guest in the new authors' series, Writing Black Lives, biographer and scholar Michael Eric Dyson gave an inspiring lecture about the lives of two pivotal African-American musicians on Monday night (September 13), Marvin Gaye and Tupac Shakur, in a program that moved from discussion to song and rap.
In his hour-long speech, which ended in a standing ovation, Dyson himself broke into song or a rap and encouraged the audience of 200-plus to join him and sing the missing lyrics. He spoke about the genius of several iconic African-American figures, including Martin Luther King, Jr. and Malcolm X, along with Gaye and Shakur, and discussed how their talent and message were similar, despite distant years and styles. He urged the audience to look beyond Gaye's troubled life, plagued by abuse and drug addiction and the street thug image of Tupac Shakur, to find their inner genius, which both men exhibited in their music, lyrics, and performances.
The new series was introduced by President Judith Shapiro, who spoke about its natural fit at a College with so many exceptional writing talents among its faculty and alumnae, and thanked Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina, the new Barnard chair of the Africa and African Diaspora Studies, for organizing the series, which explores memoir and biography among authors and figures of African descent.
 Dyson opened his remarks with a wry comment about his obsession with writing about black men who experienced violent deaths. Then his thoughts turned serious as he argued that his critics were wrong when they claim that some lives, such as Shakur's, are not "worthy" of examination. He reminded the audience that, despite his thug-like appearance and mannerisms, Shakur was the son of a Black Panther mother, highly influenced by her cause; a talented actor and a performer, who often interjected political messages in his lyrics; and a student of the performing arts, who could also discuss politics thoughtfully.
He discussed Gaye in the context of the influence that abuse and violence at home had on his music. Dyson noted that although Gaye did not read music, he created his politically-charged masterpiece album, "What's Going On," in 10 days, selling 100,000 copies on the first day it was released. Gaye, if somewhat accidentally, also created a new singing technique, by layering different vocals, all his own voice. This technique has since been copied by many, including another musical genius, Prince.
Barnard President Judith Shapiro, Michael Eric Dyson and Gretchen Holbrook Gerzina
|
Dyson urged the audience to look beyond the "bling-bling" and fancy cars, the lyrics and images embraced by pop culture, to find true talent among the new generation, such as Shakur and Biggie Smalls. The next guest of the Writing Black Lives will be Jean Fagan Yellin, author of Tracking A Fugitive: Harriet Jacobs, on October 26. The series is free and open to the public. For future events, please visit www.barnard.edu.
For more information, please contact Petra Tuomi in the Barnard Office of Public Affairs, 212-854-7907, ptuomi@barnard.edu
|
