Tupac’s “Dear Mama” To Enter US Archive

Tupac‘s “Dear Mama” is the third ever rap song to be immortalised by the USA’s Library of Congress, the country’s official federal reference library for American arts and culture. The inclusion of “Dear Mama” to the library means the song will be recognised as a part of American history by the state and the audio will be preserved for future generations.

Recordings by late rapper Tupac Shakur, comedian Bill Cosby and rock band REM are among the latest to be preserved by the US Library of Congress.

Shakur song Dear Mama, Cosby’s comedy album I Started Out As A Child and REM’s 1981 song Radio Free Europe will enter the National Recording Registry.

Records by Little Richard, Patti Smith and Willie Nelson are also included.

Each year, 25 works nominated by the public and a panel of experts are preserved for future generations.

Shakur’s 1995 song Dear Mama was cited as a “moving and eloquent homage to both his own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference”.

Shakur, who was shot dead in 1996, becomes the third rap act to be inducted into the registry, following Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy.

via BBC