2Pac

Released: September 20, 2005

Featuring: Black Ice

Songwriter: 2Pac

Producer: Jukebox

What's in ya hand nigga, y'all listenin'
Do you understand nigga revolution, what's ya plan nigga {*gunshot*}
Since my transition I've been misquoted, disrespected, turnin' over in my grave
Watchin' y'all behave as if I should be proud or something
The I hear you speak my name like I had a devine strides or something
But relgions are seldom followed and all those sould back slide easy
My life is tarnished so the whole world sees me as a menace
But I implement that hate for me with love for y'all
I look from above for y'all but I can't find my soldiers
Who's holdin' the weight of the world on they shoulders since I left
Who caught my last breath as I exhaled
Derailed from the tracks, who's ridin'
Make sure they don't destroy the art form
If they can stop me they can stop thirty more emcees before they even born
So I sacrifice the longevity in life
To make sure you got the message the way you needed it
Existence turns into a lesson to be taught
Told, confessed, to be heard and heeded this
Kids walkin' these dirty roads and it's your job to pave it
You see niggas dyin' cuz of what you sayin'
Don't matter if you ain't kill 'em
If you ain't do shit to save 'em you in the way nigga
Save the day nigga or stopy playin' with 'em
I been yellin' and screamin' from my grave for ten years now
But y'all don't hear me though
Which one of you niggas is gonna step up and say, Pac I got you
GOD DAMN IT WHO SHOT YOU!?

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.

more tracks from the album

The Rose, Vol. 2: Music Inspired by Tupac’s Poetry

From the album

The Rose, Vol. 2: Music Inspired by Tupac’s Poetry (2005)

2Pac popular songs

Intro (The Rose Vol. 2)2Pac

2Pac

The Rose, Vol. 2: Music Inspired by Tupac’s Poetry