Teenage Pregnancy
Essay Preview: Teenage Pregnancy
Report this essay
The opening consists of a duet singing the songs title repeatedly. Much of the rest of the song is one long verse performed by Tupac. The verse begins with him telling a group that he has heard about Brendas pregnancy. He also notes that the girl has had virtually no education in her life, having only barely obtained minimal skills in writing, and calls this a “damn shame”, criticizing the lack of scholarship support. He also seemingly feels a connection between this and Brendas current motherhood crisis, which can be viewed as an encouragement for sex education. At this point, Tupac is interrupted by another member of the group, who feels that this matter does not concern them and is the responsibility of the girls parents. But Tupac insists that it does indeed effect the entire community, and begins to reveal the entire story.
Brenda is a young girl who lives in a ghetto and obviously has little hope in life, thus suffering from clinical depression. Her family is very poor, and her father is a heroin addict. Brenda is impregnated by her unnamed boyfriend, who is her cousin, but she is successfully able to hide her pregnancy. Tupac explains that it wouldnt matter to her family if she gave birth, as long as they had first dibs on the government assistance.
Although she believes that her boyfriend will stay with her and help her raise the child, he is merely a molester, and abandons her before she gives birth to her baby on the bathroom floor of her house. Brenda tries to dispose of it by throwing it in a trash bin, but the babys bawling leads to her retrieving it. Her mother scolds her severely, and Brenda becomes so ashamed of herself that she runs away from home.
Brenda now begins a life on her own, and unsuccessfully seeks employment. Her attempt to illegally sell crack cocaine results in robbery, and eventually she views prostitution as her only way to make money. This lifestyle finally leads to her being murdered, but the lyrics never explain how (the music video reveals that she was shot in an alley by a mugger). What becomes of other characters, such as her family, her boyfriend, and the baby itself, is uncertain. The final minute or so of the song consists of a chorus singing “dont you know shes got a baby” repeatedly.
The video of the song is black-and-white. It was made to visualise what Tupac narrates. The first part shows