Under Krip-Hop Nation’s Microscope: 2Pac Song, Brenda Got A Baby
2Pac’s song, Brenda Got A Baby came out on 2Pacalypse Now and was the debut solo studio album by American rapper 2Pac, released on November 12, 1991, by Interscope Records and Jive Records. Brenda Got A Baby is the tenth song out of fourteen tracks so right in the middle of the album,mmmm!
Let’s get deeper into the song/ music video of Brenda Got A Baby by putting it under Krip-Hop microscope . First what is Krip-Hop Nation? Krip-Hop Nation is an international network of Hip-Hop & other musicians with disabilities with a few chapters around the world in Germany, UK & Africa & more. Krip-Hop is a community as well as style of music, an artistic space where people with disabilities can speak out and speak back to the social structures that ex- clude people based on disability, race, sexuality, and a host of other marginalized identities. Musicians with disabilities have always been here however there has been a lack of cultural activism especially in Hip-Hop with a disability justice to not only advo- cate but to continue to display the talents of musicians with disabilities & at the same time advo- cate & celebrate our history, intersectional cultures & to politically educate ourselves & our communities locally, nationally & internationally and non-disabled musicians sang about issues that touched people with disabilities. 2Pac 1991 song, Brenda Got A Baby has put disability front and center with the main character, Brenda, when he raps:
I hear Brenda’s got a baby
But Brenda’s barely got a brain
A damn shame, the girl can hardly spell her name
From the beginning of the song, 2Pac let the listener know that Brenda has a developmental disability then he goes on with the story about how she got pregnant and the abused by her family and her action of throwing her baby into the garbage can. Let’s slow it down and put it under Krip-Hop Nation’s microscope aka Krip-Hop politics/Disability Justice. Why did 2Pac bring up Brenda’s disability? This song was based on the true story. Here is some of the true story in the article entitled: THE TRUE STORY OF THE GIRL WHO INSPIRED 2PAC’S “BRENDA’S GOT A BABY”
by ALEC BANKS
“After coming into the world, the 6-pound, 10-ounce baby was wrapped in a shopping bag and fed through a 12-inch-square trash chute. The mother then proceeded to go to her 6th grade special education classes at Thelma J. Hamilton Junior High School on Rockaway Avenue. School hadn’t come easy for her; she had flunked the 4th grade, and preferred to play jump rope and cocolevio (a form of tag) with younger children because they were more intellectually on par with her.’
To continue this Krip-Hop microscopic of 2Pac song, Brenda Got A Baby it also tells the harsh truths of disabled women and sexual abuse. Many statistics reports that disabled women have the highest rates of sexual abuse thus Brenda being Black and developmental disabled and poor puts her in that high risk. Like the movie starring Mo’Nique in Precious 2Pac deals with Black family and the hush hush sexual and physical violence coming from family and we hear that Brenda might be on SSI or other government assistance by the lyrics in middle of the song as follows:
Brenda got herself a boyfriend
Her boyfriend was her cousin, now let’s watch the joy end
She tried to hide her pregnancy, from her family
Who didn’t really care to see, or give a damn if she
Went out and had a church of kids
As long as when the check came they got first dibs
In the song and video Brenda after trying to sell drugs she turns to prostitution to make money and we see the real Brenda by a picture of a young Black woman. Krip-Hop sees 2Pac song, Brenda Got A Baby, a tiny view into Black poor families who has disabled children especially Black disabled girls back in the early nineties. As we know that no one looked at Brenda Got A Baby, through a Black disabled viewpoint. In the song the word, disability never comes up but other phrases let us know about her disability but it only comes up only in the beginning of the song. In the articles of this true story it only says Brenda was in special education like Alec Banks’ article above. YouTuber, Demand MOExhilarated, the video is titled The New York Verifies Brendas Got A Baby Story went in deep of the true story by reading the 1991 New York Times article.
In 2015 a Krip-Hop artist, George TraGic Doman remade 2Pac song but krip it out even more with his song, Brenda’s Got A Baby With C.P. (Disability) with music production with the late Rob DA Noize Temple who was one of the co-founder of Krip-Hop founder. Here are the lyrics.
“Yea… Lets do it! What Chu Know? What Chu Know? GT Yeah!
They saying Brenda Got A Baby but Brenda Got A Baby With C.P., Cerebral Palsy. Probably wont walk right all his life! But all she could do is trust in Christ. She like please Christ! Don’t let my baby walk like this through life. Don’t let my baby talk like this through life! Let him be alright!! But I cant see the light! Ugh! My baby cant grow, my baby can’t learn, my baby wont learn, my baby won’t earn, a true pay check, a cool scholarship! Brenda go to school but she wanna quiet! Cause she feels that life isn’t fair! All she see’s is the weird stares that people give her baby (and it’s driving her craaaahzy)
Now Brenda’s baby’s getting bigger he’s learning pretty quick, he’s learning pretty quicker go figure!? Check the figures he’s a cool little kid in class. (He’s getting all the ass) Yeah! Go ahead and laugh he’s a little pimp with a limp but she never knew this that, that could be her prince. If she loves him! She never knew (she never knew)
that he would reach his goals, she never knew that he would reach his dreams! He would become a politician, the Dr. would make incision, now listen, pay attention!
This baby would grow old! This baby would grow wise cause he got a cool soul, cool life, and a cool wife, and a few kids, listen to this! ( clears throat audible ) He picked up a 2pac tape wait. Now that’s where it stop’s Hip-Hop made his heart drop. And cause he learned to rhyme, and cause he learned to spit, and cause he learned lyricism (lyricist). He was so sick! He wouldn’t quite! Now Brenda’s baby with C.P. You never really knew his name it’s a shame. (::singing:: They saying Brenda’s Got A Baby, They saying Brenda’s Got A Baby…And Brenda Got A Baby With C.P.)”
So 2Pac song, Brenda Got A Baby, is only one reality Hip-Hop song that had a disability small part in it that can be put under the Krip-Hop political microscope to pull out Krip-Hop politics and disability Justice this kind of research, writing and Black disability viewpoint must continue to happen in Hip- Hop/Black studies!
Resources
https://genius.com/2pac-brendas-got-a-baby-lyrics
Songwriters: Deon Evans / Tupac Amaru Shakur
Brenda’s Got a Baby lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group
https://rockthebells.com/articles/brendas-got-a-baby-tupac-true-story
THE TRUE STORY OF THE GIRL WHO INSPIRED 2PAC’S “BRENDA’S GOT A BABY”
By Alec Banks
YouTuber, Demand MOExhilarated, the video is titled The New York Verifies
New York Times article about the real Brenda
https://www.nytimes.com/1991/03/29/nyregion/a-child-mother-in-the-jaws-of-new-york.html
George TraGic Doman
Brenda’s Got A Baby With C.P. (Disability) with music production with the late Rob DA Noize Temple who was one of the co-founder of Krip-Hop founder
