Released: September 26, 1996

Songwriter: Darryl Harper 2Pac

Producer: Darryl Harper

[Intro: Malcolm X (Movie) & Danny Boy]
"You go bustin' your fist against a stone wall. You're not usin' your brain. That's what the white man wants you to do. Look at you! What makes you ashamed of bein' black?"

[Intro: 2Pac]
Nothin' but love for you, my sister
Might even know how hard it is, no doubt
Bein' a woman, a black woman at that, no doubt
Shit, in this white man's world
Sometimes we overlook the fact
That we be ridin' hard on our sisters
We don't be knowin' the pain we be causin'
In this white man's world
In this white man's world
I ain't sayin I'm innocent in all this
I'm just sayin', in this white man's world
This song is for y'all
For all those times that I messed up, or we messed up

[Verse 1: 2Pac]
Dear sister, got me twisted up in prison, I miss ya
Cryin', lookin' at my niece's and my nephew picture
They say don't let this cruel world get ya
Kinda suspicious, swearin' one day you might leave me
For somebody that's richer
Twist the cap off the bottle, I take a sip and see tomorrow
Gotta make it if I have to beg or borrow
Readin' love letters; late night, locked down and quiet
If brothers don't receive they mail, best believe we riot
Eatin' Jack-Mack, starin' at the walls of silence
Inside this cage where they capture all my rage and violence
In time I learned a few lessons, never fall for riches
Apologies to my true sisters, far from bitches
Help me raise my Black nation, reparations are due
It's true, caught up in this world I took advantage of you
So tell the babies how I love them, precious boys and girls
Born black in this white man's world—and all I heard was

[Chorus: Danny Boy]
Who knows what tomorrow brings
In this world where everyone's blind?
And where to go, no matter how far, I'll find
To let you know that you're not alone

[Bridge: 2Pac]
Only thing they ever did wrong (yes!, yes!) was bein' born black (no doubt), in this white man’s world. All my ghetto motherfuckers, be proud to be black if you proud to have this shit like this, 'cause ain't nobody got it like this (all my little black seeds, born black in the white man's world). All these motherfuckers wanna be like us. They all wanna be like us, to be the have-nots: all hail. God bless the child that can hold his own, no motherfuckin' doubt.

[Verse 2: 2Pac]
Bein' born with less, I must confess, only adds on to the stress
Two gunshots to my homie's head, died in his vest
Shot him to death and left him bleedin' for his family to see
I pass his casket, gently askin', is there a heaven for G's?
My homeboy's doin' life, his baby mama be stressin'
Sheddin' tears when her son finally ask that questions
Where my daddy at? Mama, why we live so poor?
Why you cryin'? Heard you late night through my bedroom door
Now, do you love me, mama? Why they keep on callin' me nigga?
Get my weight up with my hate and pay 'em back when I'm bigger
And still thuggin' in this jail cell, missin' my block
Hearin' brothers screamin' all night, wishin' they'd stop
Proud to be black, but why we act like we don't love ourselves?
Don't look around, busta, (you sucka!) check yourselves
Know what it means to be black, whether a man or girl
We still strugglin' in this white man's world

[Chorus 2: 2Pac]
Who knows what tomorrow brings
(Born black in this white man's world)
In this world where everyone's blind?
(In this white man's world)
And where to go, no matter how far, I'll find
(In this white man's world)
To let you know that you're not alone

[Collision]
We must fight for brother Mumia
We must fight for brother Mutulu
And we must fight for brother Ruchell Magee
We must fight for brother Geronimo Pratt
We must fight for [?], Zulu, [?]
We must fight for the countless political prisoners
Who are locked up falsely by this white man

[Verse 3: 2Pac]
So, tell me why you changed to choose a new direction
In the blink of an eye?
My time away just made perfection
Did you think I'd die?
Not gon' cry, why should I care?
Like we holdin' onto lost love that's no longer there
Can you please help me?
God bless me, please keep my seeds healthy
Makin' all my enemies bleed while my G's wealthy
Hopin' they bury me with ammunitions, weed and shells
Just in case they trip in Heaven—ain't no G's in Hell
Sister, sorry for the pain that I caused your heart
I know I'll change if you help me, but don't fall apart
Rest in peace to Latasha, Lil' Yummy, and Kato
Too much for this cold world to take, ended up bein' fatal
Every woman in America, especially black
Bear with me, can't you see that we under attack?
I never meant to cause drama to my sister and mama
Hope we make it to better times, in this white man's world

[Chorus: 2Pac]
Who knows what tomorrow brings
In this world where everyone's blind?
And where to go, no matter how far, I'll find
To let you know that you're not alone

[Collision: Khalid Abdul Muhammad]
"You're out of touch with reality! There are a few of you in a few smoke-filled rooms calling that the mainstream, while the masses of the people—white and black, red, yellow and brown, poor and vulnerable—are suffering in this nation."

[Collision: 2Pac]
Never that, in this white man's world, they can't stop us
We've been here all this time
They ain't took us out, they can never take us out
No matter what they say, about us bein' extinct
About us bein' endangered species
We ain't never gon' leave this
We ain't never gon' walk off this planet
Unless y'all choose to
Use your brain, use your brain
It ain't them that's killin' us, it's us that's killin' us
It ain't them that's knockin' us off
It's us that's knockin' us off
I'm tellin' you better watch it, or be a victim
Be a victim, in this white man's world
Born black, in this white man's world, no doubt
And it's dedicated to my motherfuckin' teachers
Mutulu Shakur, Geronimo Pratt, Mumia Abu Jamal
Sekou Odinga, all the real OG's, we out

[Outro: Minister Farrakhan]
"The seal, and the constitution, reflect the thinking of the founding fathers, that this was to be a nation by white people; and for white people, Native Americans, Blacks, and all other non-white people were to be the burden bearers, for the real citizens of this nation."

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.