2Pac

Released: October 13, 1998

Featuring: Talent

Songwriter: Bruce Hornsby Big D The Impossible 2Pac

Producer: Big D The Impossible

[Intro: Talent]
Ooh, yeah (Ooh)
(Come on, come on)

[Verse 1: 2Pac]
I see no changes, wake up in the morning and I ask myself
Is life worth livin'? Should I blast myself?
I'm tired of bein' poor and, even worse, I'm black
My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch
Cops give a damn about a negro
Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero
"Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares?
One less hungry mouth on the welfare"
First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers
Give 'em guns, step back, watch 'em kill each other
"It's time to fight back," that's what Huey said
Two shots in the dark, now Huey's dead
I got love for my brother
But we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other
We gotta start makin' changes
Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers
And that's how it's supposed to be
How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me? Uh
I'd love to go back to when we played as kids
But things change, and that's the way it is

[Chorus: Talent]
(Come on, come on)
That's just the way it is (Changes)
Things'll never be the same
That's just the way it is (That's the way it is, what?)
Aww, yeah-yeah (Hear me)
(Oh my, oh my, come on, come on)
That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is, the way it is)
Things'll never be the same
(Never be the same, yeah, yeah, yeah, aww, yeah)
That's just the way it is (Way it is)
Aww, yeah (Come on, come on)

[Verse 2: 2Pac & Talent]
I see no changes, all I see is racist faces
Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races
We under, I wonder what it takes to make this
One better place, let's erase the wasted
Take the evil out the people, they'll be actin' right
'Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight
And the only time we chill is when we kill each other (Kill each other)
It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other
And although it seems heaven-sent
We ain't ready to see a black president, uh (Oh-ooh)
It ain't a secret, don't conceal the fact
The penitentiary's packed and it's filled with blacks
But some things will never change (Never change)
Try to show another way, but you stayin' in the dope game (Ooh)
Now tell me, what's a mother to do?
Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you (Yeah)
You gotta operate the easy way
"I made a G today," but you made it in a sleazy way
Sellin' crack to the kids (Oh-oh), "I gotta get paid" (Oh)
Well hey, well that's the way it is

[Chorus: Talent]
(Come on, come on)
That's just the way it is (Changes)
Things'll never be the same
That's just the way it is (That's the way it is, what?)
Aww, yeah (Hear me)
(Oh my, oh my, come on, come on)
That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is, the way it is)
Things'll never be the same
(Never be the same, yeah, yeah, yeah, aww, yeah)
That's just the way it is (Way it is)
Aww, yeah (Aww, yeah, aww, yeah)

[Interlude: 2Pac]
We gotta make a change
It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes
Let's change the way we eat
Let's change the way we live
And let's change the way we treat each other
You see, the old way wasn't workin'
So it's on us to do what we gotta do to survive

[Verse 3: 2Pac & Talent]
And still I see no changes, can't a brother get a little peace?
It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East (Ooh, yeah)
Instead of war on poverty
They got a war on drugs so the police can bother me
And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do
But now I'm back with the facts, givin' it back to you (Ooh)
Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up
Crack you up and pimp-smack you up
You gotta learn to hold your own
They get jealous when they see you with your mobile phone
But tell the cops they can't touch this
I don't trust this, when they try to rush, I bust this
That's the sound of my tool, you say it ain't cool
My mama didn't raise no fool (Oh)
And as long as I stay black, I gotta stay strapped
And I never get to lay back
'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the payback
Some buck that I roughed up way back
Comin' back after all these years
"Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat," that's the way it is

[Chorus: Talent & 2Pac]
(Uh)
That's just the way it is (Just the way it is, yeah, yeah, yeah)
Things'll never be the same (Yeah)
That's just the way it is (The way it is)
Aww, yeah (Some things will never change, oh my)
(I'm tryna make a change)
(You're my brother, you're my sister, yeah)
That's just the way it is (The way it is, the way it is)
Things'll never be the same (You're my brother, you're my sister)
That's just the way it is, aww, yeah
Some things'll never change

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an actor and a highly influential rapper who is considered by many to be the greatest of all-time due to the revolutionary spirit and thug passion he mixed into his music. During his music career, he made appearances in movies such as his acclaimed debut in Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), and Above the Rim (1994).

Born in Harlem, New York City to Black Panther Party members Billy Garland and Afeni Shakur, Tupac would later move to Baltimore before settling in the Bay Area cities of Oakland and Marin City in the late 1980s. There, he joined his first rap group Strictly Dope with Ray Luv before connecting with Shock G and Digital Underground. He was a roadie and backup dancer for the group before his breakthrough performance on their 1991 song “Same Song.”

2Pac released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, which featured intense storytelling on singles such as “Trapped” and “Brenda’s Got a Baby.” His sophomore album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z featured one of his signature songs, the Digital Underground-assisted “I Get Around.” After working on the Thug Life group album in 1994, 2Pac released Me Against the World the following year, which is considered by many to be his best album, peaking at #1 on the Billboard 200 and receiving a Grammy nomination—all while he sat in prison.

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