From Olatunji to Mos Def: Tupac's Poems Set to Music

Tupac’s poems were meant not only to be read, but to be heard. MTV News reported on June 13, 2000, on a spoken-word album for which musicians, actors and companions would record the texts from the volume The Rose That Grew from Concrete. The volume with 72 poems had appeared in late 1999.

A Drummer Leads the Way

According to Leila Steinberg, Tupac’s former manager and mentor, the first to record was drummer Babatunde Olatunji: “Please Wake Me When I’m Free”, in English and in Yoruba, over Nigerian rhythms. K-Ci & JoJo planned to track “Wife for Life” that same week in Los Angeles. Also named were Run of Run-DMC, Mos Def, Quincy Jones, the Outlawz, Danny Glover, Jasmine Guy, Russell Simmons, poet Sonia Sanchez and former Black Panther Geronimo Pratt.

The poems remained unchanged, with only the music underneath shifting: jazz, blues, classical, African sounds, rock, reggae and rap. Steinberg planned two parts, the first for September.

The Mother Has the Last Word

Executive producers were Steinberg, Afeni Shakur, Jamal Joseph and Molly Monjauze. Afeni, who recorded a poem herself alongside Danny Glover, was to decide on the final selection. The proceeds were intended for charitable purposes. The album was not released until the fall: The Rose That Grew from Concrete.