Released: September 26, 1996

Featuring: Outlawz

Songwriter: 2Pac Darryl Harper Kastro E.D.I. Mean Napoleon (Outlawz) Young Noble

Producer: Darryl Harper 2Pac

[Chorus: Outlawz]
In the life we live as thugs
Everybody fuckin' with us so can't you see
It's hard to be a man
Ridin' with my guns in hand

[Verse 1: 2Pac]
Why explain the game?
Niggas ain't listenin', stuck in positions if victims can't stand the heat, then stay the fuck out the kitchen
Half these busters switchin', lookin' at me mean, itchin'
Givin' suckers plenty space, have these bitch niggas snitchin'
Where are we now, guns found daily
The Feds trail me in hoax that they could finally nail me
For sellin' dope, they backwards make the track burst
Whenever I rap, attack
Words been known to explode on contact
Extreme at times, blinded by my passion and fury
Look at me laugh at my competition's flashin' my jewelry
You'd stay silent if you niggas knew me, truly effective
The shit you heard ain't do me justice, got a death wish, bitch
Run, but face being traced, by the infrared beam
It seems niggas ain't recognize my team
Ain't nobody holdin' you back
Explode the track to confetti
Unload it, 'cause niggas ain't ready
The life of an outlaw

[Chorus: Outlawz]
In the life we live as thugs
Everybody fuckin' with us so can't you see
It's hard to be a man
Ridin' with my guns in hand

[Verse 2: 2Pac]
Code 3: attack formation, pull out your pistols
Keep an eye out for the devils 'cause they itchin' to get you
Merciless madman, screamin' kamikaze in tongue
Automatic gunfire, makin' all my enemies run
Who should I call when I'm shot and bleedin'?
Indeed a possibility that's part of chasin' cream
Dope got me hatin' fiends
Scheme with my team, just a chosen few
My foes victim of explosives, come closer exhale the fumes
We got memories, fadin' fast
A slave for cash accelerate, mash, blast, then dash
Don't look now! How you like it, raw?
Niggas ain't ready for the wrath of the Outlawz
Never surrender, death before dishonor, stay free
I'm thugged out, fuck the world 'cause this is how they made me
Scarred but still breathin' believe in me
And you could see the victory, a warrior in jewels, will you picture me?
Life of an outlaw

[Chorus: Outlawz]
In the life we live as thugs (No doubt)
Everybody fuckin' with us (Yes!), so can't you see (life of an outlaw)
It's hard to be a man (Soldiers in position, attack formation)
Ridin' with my guns in hand
(No retreat, no surrender)

[Verse 3: Young Noble]
City under siege, it's like I can't even breathe
I'm from the state of car thieves G.E.D. from the streets
Plenty beef I play for keeps, arrange the whole crime scene
Mobb peep! They sneak up from behind tryin' to creep
No halfs with no straps, jack, it's on to bounce back
An ounce of wrath so bad, it snatched my style on death
Tell the gripper I was sent to get ya, snip with clippers
Get the picture, I wrote my life down as a scripture

[Verse 4: E.D.I. Mean]
And still I'm lost in the land of the lonely where ain't nobody holy
A matter of a fact, we unholy Everybody livin' soley
For themselves, too high strung to lend help
To somebody who be needin' it
You know we lost hope and he needin' it
But the evil it's forever
But I'm rappin' low down, scandalous like a tramp is
All for the street fame on how to be managed
To plan shit 6 months in advanced to what we plotted
Approached the goal on swole and now I got it

[Verse 5: Kastro]
Uh, I crack my window, knowin' they'd love to catch Kastro sleepin'
Attach a strap under my pillow, hand to hand like we freakin'
Creepin' deep into the mornin'
Peepin' out the weak while they yawnin'
And let my clout speak for itself
No doubt, outlaw, outta my mind outta time you're all blind
Some kind of life of mine if K-Dog don't mind
Findin' it funny, matter of fact, 'cause it is perhaps
Finally I'll adapt to it, over the years as an outlaw

[Bridge: 2Pac & Napoleon]
Ayy Napoleon
What's up, nigga?
Would you die for me, nigga?
Hell yeah
Would you kill for me, nigga?
On my grandmother, nigga
Ayy, yo
What's up
Let's ride on them stupid bitches right now
Watch out

[Verse 6: Napolean]
Well, now they all say that vultures and parasites
Snakes are all alike, thug life break night
Drink 'til we fist fight, life or death
But you can't win with a vest
Won't be no breathin' for the reason, punk bitch on your breath
I see day is dark, and I admit it's dark
So chase on the ave., hide your stash, beware from them marks
Ayy yo, Makaveli, give me them bullets that was left up in your belly
And let me bust back to them niggas 'til they all cold and sweaty

[Chorus: Outlawz]
In the life we live as thugs
Everybody fuckin' with us so can't you see
It's hard to be a man
Ridin' with my guns in hand
In the life we live as thugs
Everybody fuckin' with us so can't you see
It's hard to be a man
Ridin' with my guns in hand
In the life we live as thugs
Everybody fuckin' with us so can't you see
It's hard to be a man
Ridin' with my guns in hand
In the life we live as thugs
Everybody fuckin' with us so can't you see
It's hard to be a man
Ridin' with my guns in hand

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.