How hip-hop artists pay homage to their mothers

+ how abuse got baked into restaurant kitchens US Edition - Today's top story: Tupac's 'Dear Mama' endures as rap artists detail complex relationships with their mothers, street life and the pursuit of success [View in browser]( US Edition | 13 May 2023 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Of all the rap songs in my digital library, there are two that just about bring me to tears whenever I hear them. One of those songs is “Sing About Me, I’m Dying of Thirst,” by Kendrick Lamar. The other song is one that countless people will undoubtedly be listening to this Mother’s Day weekend as we celebrate and honor the women who gave us life. That song is “Dear Mama,” by Tupac Shakur. The song – released in 1995 – has generated more than 257 million streams on just one popular music streaming service. The main video for the song on YouTube has been viewed more than 395 million times. I always knew “Dear Mama” was one of Tupac’s greatest hits. But I hadn’t known precisely how popular the song was until I edited an article in which A.D. Carson, a scholar of hip-hop at the University of Virginia, [examines some of its complexities and nuances](. He also looks at several of the many other songs that various rap artists – from Kanye West to Jay Z – have written as lyrical odes to their mothers. “In hip-hop music,” Carson writes, “it sometimes seems as if songs to and about mothers are common enough that audiences might take them for granted.” Carson notes that “Dear Mama” will inevitably gain more popularity thanks to a new documentary of the same name, which takes a look at Tupac’s relationship with his mother, Afeni Shakur, and the role that her revolutionary politics and her own life struggles played in shaping Tupac’s life and musical career. It’s a refreshing reminder that no matter what kind of music we enjoy, we’d have none of it – and really nothing at all – were it not for our mothers. This week we also liked stories about [TV shows about diplomats](, [abuse in restaurant kitchens]( and an [ode to clothing moths](. Jamaal Abdul-Alim Education Editor Afenia Shakur (left). mother of Tupac Shakur (right). Getty Images [Tupac’s ‘Dear Mama’ endures as rap artists detail complex relationships with their mothers, street life and the pursuit of success]( A.D. Carson, University of Virginia From Tupac to Jay-Z, many a rap artist has set pen to paper to pay homage to the women who gave them birth. Keri Russell plays a a nonpolitical straight shooter in a political role that she grudgingly accepts. Brian van der Brug / Contributor/Getty Images [‘The Diplomat’ negotiates expectations – and myths – about gender, power and politics]( Karrin Vasby Anderson, Colorado State University Although the series perpetuates the stereotype that politically ambitious women can’t be trusted in high office, it thoughtfully portrays the ubiquity of everyday sexism in political culture. A JetBlue employee poses next to a Boston replica of London’s Big Ben before the launch of nonstop flights between Boston and London in 2022. David L. Ryan/The Boston Globe via Getty Images [Passport bottleneck is holding up international travel by Americans eager to see the world as COVID-19 eases]( Jay L. Zagorsky, Boston University Precautions taken in response to COVID-19 explain some but not all of the recent long delays in getting a passport. - [Meditative mothering? How Buddhism honors both compassionate caregiving and celibate monks and nuns]( Liz Wilson, Miami University The lines between family life and Buddhist monasticism are not so ‘either/or’ as they might seem. - [From Kali to Mary to Neopagan goddesses, religions revere motherhood in sometimes unexpected ways]( Alyssa Beall, West Virginia University Mother figures from faith traditions around the world reflect many different ways of thinking about the divine. - [Clothes moths: Why I admire these persistent, destructive, difficult-to-eradicate and dull-looking pests]( Isabel Novick, Boston University An appreciation for the moths that chomp holes in your clothes. They eat the inedible, occupy the uninhabitable and overcome every evolutionary obstacle in their way. - [How did abuse get baked into the restaurant industry?]( - [Biden’s strategy for cutting carbon emissions from electricity generation could extend the lives of fossil fuel power plants]( - [Gain-of-function research is more than just tweaking risky viruses – it’s a routine and essential tool in all biology research]( - [Flooding from California to Florida shows cracks in America’s aging infrastructure – help is coming, but fixes too often fail to anticipate future disasters]( - [People of color get so used to discrimination in stores they don’t always notice bad customer service]( The Conversation Quiz 🧠- Here’s the first question of [this week’s edition:]( A jury has found that former President Donald Trump sexually abused journalist E. Jean Carroll in 1996. Where did the abuse happen? - A. On Trump's private plane - B. In a department store dressing room - C. 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