Released: November 26, 2002

Featuring: Outlawz

Songwriter: 2Pac Johnny J Young Noble Napoleon (Outlawz) Kastro E.D.I. Mean Yaki Kadafi

Producer: Johnny J

[Intro: 2Pac]
Y'all ain't never just tripped and pictured
And just looked at the whole situation
‘Cause once you look at it
You know, (really do)

[Hook: 2Pac]
They don't give a fuck about us
They don't give a fuck about us
They don't give a fuck about us
If I choose to ride, thuggin' 'til the day I die
Nobody gives a fuck about us
But when I start to rise
A hero in they children's eyes
Now they give a fuck about us

[Verse 1: 2Pac]
Some say niggas is hard-headed ‘cause we love to trip
Equipped with game so we bang with this thuggish shit
I see you tryin' to hide, hopin' that nobody don't notice
You must always remember: you're still a member of the hopeless
See, you're black like me, so you snap like me
When these devils try to plot, trap our young black seeds
Look it, cops are just as crooked as the niggas they chasin'
Lookin' for role models, our father figures is basers
Some say expect Illuminati take my body to sleep
Niggas at the party with they shotties just as rowdy as me
Before I fear computer chips, I gotta deal with brothers flippin'
I don't see no devils bleedin', only black blood drippin'
We can change — what your mouth say?
I'm watchin' niggas work their lives out without pay
Whatever it takes to switch places with the busters on top
I'm bustin' shots, make the world stop
They don't give a fuck about us

[Hook: 2Pac]
Now If I choose to ride, thuggin' 'til the day I die
Nobody gives a fuck about us
But when I start to rise
A hero in they children's eyes
Now they give a fuck about us
If I choose to ride, thuggin' 'til the day I die
Nobody gives a fuck about us
But when I start to rise
A hero in they children's eyes
Now they give a fuck about us

[Verse 2: E.D.I. Mean]
It's the morning after and now all the laughter is gone
Time to reflect on what you did, ‘cause they sayin' you wrong
I'm sure you had your reasons, dawg, I don't doubt you
See, the simple fact of the matter is they don't give a fuck about you
Or them five mouths you forced to feed, not includin' yourself
All you want is wealth, they perceive it as greed
So as you loaded up that MAC and continue to bust
Your mind was on paper, thinkin' they don't give a fuck about us

[Verse 3: 2Pac]
I'm seein' it clearer, hatin' the picture in the mirror
They claim we inferior, so why the fuck these devils fear ya?
I'm watchin' my nation die, genocide the cause
Expect a blood bath, the aftermath is y'alls
I told you, last album, we need help 'cause we dyin'
Give us a chance, help us advance, ‘cause we tryin'
Ignored my whole plea, watchin' us in disgust
And then they beg when my guns bust
They don't give a fuck about us

[Hook: 2Pac]
Now If I choose to ride, thuggin' 'til the day I die
Nobody gives a fuck about us
But when I start to rise
A hero in they children's eyes
Now they give a fuck about us
If I choose to ride, thuggin' 'til the day I die
Nobody gives a fuck about us
But when I start to rise
A hero in they children's eyes
Now they give a fuck about us

[Verse 4: Kastro]
Now, all the homies got love for me
Down to catch a slug for me
Guaranteed to bleed deeply, now that's love
Shit, nobody else would give a fuck
If I'm tore down, from the floor down, six-feet deep in the cut
What the fuck done went wrong?
How long will I be mourned?
When I'm gone, same song, ain't give a fuck all along
And who am I to blame 'em?
Just do or die through the rainin'
Since they don't give a fuck, I don't; feel what I'm sayin'?

[Verse 5: Kadafi]
Now, thug niggas die but multiply in doubles
Wrapped in plastic or closed casket for our troubles
Pressed in times, we busted, like bubbles
With the police, this nation's peace sent here to run you
Now look at what this crooked world has come to
I grew up on the other side of perfect, a life of hurtin'
Man, I still hustle, so I'm dyin' certain
So why spent your time poor and workin', I see no reason
So I stay ballin' season to season
Why you stuck thinkin' that they give a fuck?

[Verse 6: Napoleon]
You tell me my world is in peace, but nigga, you're lyin'
‘Cause half of my niggas long gone
Buried in the dirt just for tryin'
Sometime I think my block is dyin' and that is awful
To wake up to another day, shit ain't changed that's awful
I wake up sweatin', dreamin', coughin'
Seein' me upside down backwards head twisted
While I'm layin' in the coffin
The shit comes around so often; so tell me somethin'
Before I take it out on the world, and get to dumpin'
Nigga, I'd be soft if I ain't go through the struggle
I'm doin' the same thing you did at my age, and that's hustlin'
On the edge of straight bustin'
Well, since you don't give a fuck, I be frontin'
I'ma drink my Hennessy like it ain't nothin'

[Hook: 2Pac]
If I choose to ride, thuggin' 'til the day I die
They don't gives a fuck about us
But while I'm kickin' rhymes
Kick it to they children's minds
Now they give a fuck about us
They wanna see us die
They kick us every time we try
‘Cause they don't give a fuck about us
So while I'm gettin' high
I'm watchin' as the world goes by
‘Cause they don't give a fuck about us
If I choose to ride, thuggin' 'til the day I die
They don't gives a fuck about us
But while I'm kickin' rhymes
Kick it to they children's minds
Now they give a fuck about us
They wanna see us die
They kick us every time we try
‘Cause they don't give a fuck about us
So while I'm gettin' high
I'm watchin' as the world goes by
‘Cause they don't give a fuck about us
Riiise… riiise!

2Pac

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.