“Definition Of A Thug Nigga” http://m.youtube.com/watch?v=AJ60jOFpM60 #2pac #tupacshakur #Rap #music #hiphop 
I’ll start out by making it exceptionally clear that I-just little old me-is NOT the authority on the answer to this question. After all, its YOU. 

That’s right. Indulge me for just a moment. Is it possible that two people can look at the same painting and walk away taking something away that is completely different? Different experience. Different meaning. In other words, viewing the same masterpiece, and somehow materializing a totally different version of the image beamed to their eyes from the combustible interaction of their synapses and neurons zigzagging the highway of their enigmatic minds? 

Since we don’t even completely understand how the human mind functions, although we know a lot, we can’t rule out the possibility that the answer is “yes”. In fact, amongst our everyday communication, this is no uncommon occurence. It reappears out of nowhere every time we take one’s meaning to mean something else entirely. Being misunderstood. 

Misunderstanding one another seems to, unfortunately, be in fashion today. Fox News takes what this person says, twists it up,and  flings it out at the rabid animals tearing each other apart for the first bite. MSNBC takes another one and launches it past the bleachers. One person speaks. Says something about the Oscars. Does a dance in the endzone. Performs a dance in black leather at the Super Bowl. World explodes. Twitter’s tweeters tweet sharply pinned barbs and aim for the throat. Useless and unneccsary blood is spilt. Still no understanding. 

Take the word “nigga” for example. A favorite artist, poet, and musician of mine-Tupac Shakur-comes to mind as someone who was unashamed in his use of the word and convinction in expressing his art. One of his songs particularly struck me, with respect to the ability of words, often in the form of art, to strike two dispartate conclusions as to their meaning. This is why I put this song at the beginning of this post.

So, a little bit of history on this song. It was first featured on the “Poetic Justice” soundtrack back in 1993. It was produced by Warren G and Pac. Later on, it was released on “R U Still Down”- Pac’s first posthumous release-courtesy of his mother, Afeni Shakur. More on this later. The album would go on to sell over 4 million copies (4X platinum). This release would follow with 4 more releases.

If you heard the song, it starts out with a voice sample of a young lady saying defiantly, “No one is closing me out of my business.” The song’s composer and lyrcist goes on to open the song, “I play the cards I was given. Thank God I’m still living.” Then he says he has to arm himself with a 9 millimeter pistol in his own neighborhood, in case some of the young criminals in the neighborhood attempt to accost him. The song continues with the tale of someone in a rough neighborhood, trying to survive, and overcoming the obstacles to this survival. Something that we all know is a human right. The right to pursue life, happiness, and sustain oneself. What really struck me was the statement, “I put that on my moms! Word to the motherfuc***g trigger. Before I go broke, I’ll be a drug dealer. My definition of a thug nigga.” 

Often people hear that word, and they cringe. They might argue over whether people have a right to say it. Some say its profane. Or it should be banned. Or it is tacky. Lowclass. Ghetto. Offensive. 

What the artist meant with this term-definition of a thug nigga-was misunderstood by a lot of people. These people all had one thing in common. They had never actually been in the situation described in the song. But to the people who knew, they could feel in their hearts what he meant. It is something every man and woman has a built-in drive and desire for; and that is to do whatever it takes to survive with the best resources available to him. This same imagery, of the “hand I was dealt” that he refers to, is a universal image. The definition universal along with it. Someone who is impoverished, who climbs out from under that poverty, dodging the snapping claws of the hostile crabs they are surrounded by…THAT is a person who personifies the strength of the human spirit. Bravery. Courage. That person deserves respect. That person came from nothing to something. That person is the definition. 
The story ends with this. The artist of this song would be tragically murdered-gunned down on the Las Vegas strip. Due to his forethought and prudence, his mother would be taken care of, financially speaking, for LIFE. Don’t we all want to do that for our loved ones? It’s touching that he was able to accomplish this-coming from poverty-and left his mother, who was the dearest person in the world to him, with an unforgettable reminder of his love for her. That’s what he meant. That is the meaning of the defi tion of a thug nigga.