2Pac

Released: November 25, 1997

Featuring: Stretch

Songwriter: 2Pac Choo Philip Bailey Steve Beckmeier Al McKay

Producer: Choo

[Produced by Choo]

[Intro]
Hold on... *lighter flicks up*
Yeah, it's gonna be alright
Don't trip, baby *inhales*
It'll get better... *coughing*
Aye, do this thug style, man, thug style
When this whole beat drop
We just gon' run it to 'em
Bet, it's all good, uhh

[Verse 1]
I never had much, ran with a bad bunch
Little skinny kid sneakin' weed in my bag lunch
And all through Junior High, we was just gettin' by
And drive-by's robbed my homies of their young lives
I never did cry, and even though I had pain in my heart
I was hopeless from the start
They couldn't tell me nothin', they all tried to help me
The marijuana had my mind gone, it wasn't healthy
I traveled places, caught cases, what a ill year
I felt the pain and the rain, but I'm still here
Never did like the police
Let the whole world know, now I gets no peace
‘Cause they chasin' me down
And facin' me now, what do I do?
These things that a thug goes through
And still I rise, so keep your head up
And make your mind strong
It's a struggle every day, but you gotta hold on

[Hook]
Hold on, be strong!
Hold on, be strong!
Hold on, be strong!
When it's on, it's on

[Verse 2]
There's never a good day, ‘cause in my hood they
Let they AK's pump strays where the kids play
And every Halloween, check out the murder scene
Can't help but duplicate the violence seen on the screen
My homies dyin' before they get to see they birthdays
These is the worst days, sometimes it hurts to pray
And even God turned his back on the ghetto youth
I know that ain't the truth, sometimes I look for proof
I wonder if Heaven got a ghetto, and if it does
Does it matter if you Blood or you Cuz?
Remember how it was?
The picnics and the parties in the projects
Small time drinkin', gettin' high with them armies
Just another knucklehead kid from the gutter
I'm dealin' with the madness, raised by a single mother
I'm tryin' to tell you when it's on
You gotta keep your head to the sky
And be strong, most of all, hold on

[Hook]
Hold on, be strong!
Hold on, be strong!
Hold on, be strong!
When it's on, it's on

[Outro]
(Hold on, be strong *repeats in background*)
I know them ain't tears comin' down your face
Wipe your eyes
In this world, only the strong survive, you know?
Hehe, I know it's hard out there
Welfare, AIDS, earthquakes, muggings, car-jackings
Yeah, we got problems
But believe me when I tell you things always get better
God don't like ugly, and God don't like no quitters
You know what Billie Holiday said?
Bay-bee, God bless the child that can hold his own
You know? You got to stand strong
And when these bustas try to knock you out your place
You stand there to they face
Tell 'em "Hold on!", and be strong
The game don't stop, huh
This here is black, man
If you don't never learn nothin', learn one thing
It don't stop, 'til the casket drop
Thug for life... feel me?
All my homeboys and my homegirls, stay strong
When things get bad
Especially come the first and the fifteenth
Stay strong, and stay ballin', hold on
I'll catch y'all at the next life, we in traffic

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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