2Pac

Released: November 25, 1997

Featuring: Y?N-Vee

Songwriter: 2Pac Stretch The D.O.C. Ice Cube Sir Jinx MC Ren George Clinton Bootsy Collins Bernie Worrell

Producer: Live Squad 2Pac

[Verse 1]
The only way to change me is maybe blow my brains out
Stuck in the middle of the game to get the pain out
Pray to my God everyday, but he don't listen
The poverty bothers me, but mama's working wonders in the kitchen
Listen! I can hear her crying in the bedroom
Praying for money but never think would she be dead soon
Am I wrong for wishing I was somewhere else
I'm thirteen, can't feed myself
Can I blame daddy 'cause he left me?
Wish he would've hugged me
Too much like him, so my mama don't love me
On my own at a early age, I'm getting paid
And I'm strapped, so I'll never be afraid
Where did I go astray?
I'm hanging in the back streets
Running with G's and dope fiends, will they jack me?
Can't turn back, my eyes on the prize
I got nothing to lose, everybody gotta die
Say good-bye to the bad guy
That one, you fucked, when you passed by
Buck-buck from a Glock let the glass fly
Do or die walk a mile in my shoes
Then you'd be crazy too

[Hook]
With nothing to lose
[The D.O.C] I got raw when I came to Cali
Got nothing to lose
[Ice Cube] That’s why I got gang-related rhymes

Got nothing to lose
[The D.O.C] I got raw when I came to Cali
Got nothing to lose
[Ice Cube] That’s why I got gang-related rhymes
(x3)

[Verse 2]
I thank the Lord for my many blessings
Though I'm stressing keep a vest for protection
From the barrel of a Smith & Wesson
And all my niggas in the pen', here we go again
Ain't nothing separating us from a MAC-10
Born in the ghetto as a hustler, older
Straight soldier, bucking at them bustas
No matter how you try, niggas never die
We just retaliate with hate, then we multiply
See me striking down the block hitting corners
Mobbing like a motherfucker, living like I wanna
Ain't no stopping at the red lights, I'm sideways
THUG LIFE, motherfucker, crime pays
Let the cops put they lights on, chase me, nigga
Zig-zagging through the freeway, race me, nigga
In a high speed chase with the law
The realest motherfucker that you ever saw
I'm living raw, til they bury me, don't worry me, I'm high
Living like I ain't afraid to die
And if you could walk a mile in my shoes
Then you'd be crazy too

[Hook]
With nothing to lose
[The D.O.C] I got raw when I came to Cali
Got nothing to lose
[Ice Cube] That’s why I got gang-related rhymes

Got nothing to lose
[The D.O.C] I got raw when I came to Cali
Got nothing to lose
[Ice Cube] That’s why I got gang-related rhymes
(x3)

[Verse 3]
Ain't no escape from a deadly fate
And every day there's a million black bodies put away
I'm starting to lose hope, it seems everybody's on dope
Mama told me to leave, 'cause she was broke
Sometimes I choke on the indo, creeping out the window
Alone, on my own, I'm a criminal
Got no love from the household
I'm out cold, on the streets screaming 'Motherfuck peace!'
I got nothing to lose, and something to prove, what do I do?
Live the THUG LIFE, nigga, stay true
I wonder when they kill me, is there a heaven for a real G?
Lord forgive me, if you feel me
'Cause all my life I was dirt broke with no hope
Little skinny motherfucker wanting dough
I hated cutting suckers with my razor blade
But everyday it's a struggle to get major paid
Anyway, it's so hard on a nigga in this city, no pity
And ain't no love for the scrubs that be buying dime
If you could walk a mile in my shoes
Then you'd be crazy too

[Hook]

[Outro]
They wonder what type nigga be a THUG LIFE nigga
We be the craziest, motherfucker!
You know!
They wonder what type nigga be a THUG LIFE nigga
We be the craziest!

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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