2Pac

Released: February 13, 1996

Songwriter: 2Pac Johnny J

Producer: Johnny J

[Chorus]
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's gonna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug!
Said he wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug

[Verse 1]
Was a nice middle-class nigga
But no one knew the evil he'd do when he got a little bigger
You'd often find him blazed, for puffing on a Newport
Plotting on another way to catch a case
Was only 16, yet convicted as a felon
With a bunch of old niggas, but you the only one ain't tellin'
I tell you it's a cold world, stay in school
You tell me it's a man's world, play the rules
And fade fools, break rules until we major
Blaze up, getting with hoes through my pager
Was raised up, commence to money-makin' tactics, uh
It's getting drastic, niggas got automatics
My finger's on the trigger
Tell the Lord to make way for another straight thug nigga
I'm sitting, getting buzzed, looking for some love
From the homies, ‘cause shorty wanna be a thug

[Chorus]
Said he's gonna be, said he's gonna be
One day he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's wanna be, said he's wanna be
One day he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's gonna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug

[Verse 2]
Straight from the hall to the pen'
An adolescent nigga standing way higher than six feet ten
He carried weight, like a Mack truck
Gonna bust on playa haters, if them mothafuckas act tuff
Then that's when, a lethal weapon with the razor
This little nigga smoking weed and getting blazed up
No one could figure, when the guns blast, pull the trigger
Could take the life of a young nigga, guns bigger
No mother and father, you see, the nigga's all alone
Old timers my role model, the war zone
Been laced with this game 'til it's a part of me
My heart don't beat no fear, and that ain't hard to see
The future is looking dim
I'm tryin' to make a profit out of living in this sin
I'm in the dark, getting buzzed, looking for some love
Out with the homies, ‘cause shorty wanna be a thug

[Chorus]
Said he's gonna be, said he's gonna be
One day he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he's gonna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he's wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug
Said he wanna be, one day he's gonna be
Said he wanna be, shorty's gonna be a thug

[Outro]
Shorty's gonna be a thug
Little bad ass nigga, to the young niggas
Gotta stay sharp, nigga, play your part!
Got plenty of time (you bad mothafuckas)
You only get three mistakes, and then it's life, big baby
(Niggas craaazy) Watch the signs!
Damn, nigga! Sixteen, nigga?
Sixteen?! Too bad, mothafuckers

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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