Tupac Shakur, also known as 2Pac, one of the most popular and influential rappers of his time, produced a video in 1995 for his single "Dear Mama". Shakur, being raised in a poor family on the streets of East Harlem in New York, was familiar with crime and struggle from a young age. Many members of his family were actively apart of the Black Panther Party and consequently were in and out of jail constantly throughout Shakur's childhood. In fact, Tupac's mother was in jail while she was pregnant with him due to charges involving the Black Panther conspiracy. It did not take long for Shakur to follow, getting entangled with the law frequently, as seen in his video, which was only one of Shakur's many troubles that he faced as a kid.

Watching the video one will come to find that the purpose of it is to tell a story. The story the video elicits is one that mirrors the lyrics, which describe the appreciation he has for his mother because of the support she gave him while he was growing up. In this video, Shakur tells his life story and the struggles he lived through. While doing so, Shakur stresses his mother's importance in helping him survive. Even though she had battles of her own, such as drug addiction and the hardships of being a single mother, she always bolstered him remaining by his side whether Shakur was sick from a cold or he was skipping school and selling drugs. The intent of his music video is to portray this message; to tell the story of his life and how his mother got him through it.

The concept of the video is Shakur's mother is having multiple flashbacks for she is viewing some kind of photo book that contain pictures from Shakur's childhood. The majority of the video is during these flashbacks, which are little previews or excerpts corresponding to what Shakur is rapping about at that time. For example at one point the video depicts apparently a young Shakur and his mother sitting at the kitchen table. His mom appears to be helping him with his homework. They laugh together and his mother picks him up and hugs him tightly. While this is going on, 2pac's lyrics "you was always committed, a poor single mother on welfare tell me how you did it. There's no way I can pay you back but the plan is to show you I understand, you are appreciated" are being rapped. Homework is a matter that, like Shakur, many kids struggle with and so at this moment Shakur is recognizing his mother. He recognizes for her devotion to supporting him in every way possible, even if she was helping him through something as simple as homework. Another example is the part of the video that shows Shakur's family around a table preparing what seems to be peanut butter sandwiches. Shakur, his half sister, and mother are all giggling together enjoying each other. The lyrics that go along with it are "and I can see ya coming home from work late, ya in the kitchen trying to fix us a hot plate. You were just workin' with the scraps you were given...". Clearly this is a demonstration of the poverty Shakur and his family struggled with if a "hot plate" was considered peanut butter sandwiches. Nevertheless Shakur's mother was giving her children the best she had and he is thankful for that. Instead of nothing at all, Shakur had food in his stomach and that was due to his mother which shows how much value his mother possessed.

The appreciation and love Shakur has for his mother due to her sacrifice and hardwork she committed throughout his life is what he captures in this video. The story Shakur tells explains he is grateful that the battles he fought were not fought alone because that had made all the difference.