2Pac

Released: November 25, 1997

Songwriter: 2Pac

Producer: We Got Kidz 2Pac

[Intro]
Death Row
That's where mothafuckas is endin' up

[Verse 1]
Dear Mama, I'm caught up in this sickness
I robbed my adversaries but slipped and left a witness
Wonder if they'll catch me or will this nigga snitch?
Should I shoot his bitch or make the nigga rich?
Don't wanna commit murder, but damn, they got me trapped
Hawkin' while I'm walkin' and talkin' behind my back
I'm kind of schizophrenic, I'm in this shit to win it
‘Cause life's a Wheel of Fortune, here's my chance to spin it
Got no time for cops who trip and try to catch me
Too fuckin' trigger-happy to let them suckers snatch me
Niggas gettin' jealous, tryin' to find my stash
Whip out the 9, now imma dime off yo' ass
Peter picked a pepper, but I can pick a punk
Snatched him like a bitch and threw him in the trunk
The punk thought I was bluffin', but swear I'm nothin' nice
Before I take your life, first wrestle with these mites
I listened to his screams until he went insane
I guess the little mites had finally found his brain
New Rovers pull me over, I'm sentenced to the pen
Remember that little bird? He snitched and told a friend
It's trouble on my mind, I'm with the old-timers
And fuck five-0! Blaow, blaow! Turn 'em into forty-niners

[Hook]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can't be positive when the ghetto's where you live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin' like a thief, runnin' through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go
Where they find me; 16 on Death Row

[Verse 2]
Dear Mama, these cops don't understand me
I turned to a life of crime ‘cause I came from a broken family
My uncle used to touch me, I never told you that
Scared what you might do, I couldn't hold you back
I kept it deep inside, I done let it fuel my anger
I'm down for all my homies, no mercy for a stranger
The brother in my cell is 16 as well
It's hard to adapt when you're black
And you're trapped in a living hell
I shouldn't have let him catch me
Instead of livin' sad in jail I coulda died free and happy
And my cellmate's raped on the norm
And passed around the dorm
You can hear his asshole gettin' torn
They made me an animal
Can't sleep, instead of countin' sheep, niggas countin' cannibals
And that's how it is in the pen
Turn old and cold and your soul is your best friend
My mama, pray for me
Tell the Lord to make way for me, prepare any day for me
(Why?) ‘Cause when they come for me they find a struggler
To the death I take the breath from your jugular
The trick is to never lose hope
I found my buddy hangin' dead from a rope; 16 on Death Row

[Hook]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can't be positive when the ghetto's where you live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin' like a thief, runnin' through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go
Where they find me; 16 on Death Row

[Verse 3]
Dear Mama, they sentenced me to death
Today's my final day, I'm countin' every breath
I'm bitter ‘cause I'm dyin', so much I haven't seen
I know you never dreamed your baby would be dead at 16
I got beef with a sick society
That doesn't give a shit and they too quick to say goodbye to me
They tell me the preacher's there for me
He's a crook with a book, that mothafucka never cared for me
He's only here to be sure I don't drop a dime to God
About the crimes he's committin' on the poor
And how can these people judge me?
They ain't my peers, and in all these years they ain't never love me
I never got to be a man
Must be part of some big plan to keep a nigga in the state pen
And to my homies out buryin' mothafuckas
Steer clear of these Aryan mothafuckas
‘Cause once they got you locked up
They got you trapped, you're better off gettin' shot up
I'm convinced, self-defense is the way
Please stay strapped, pack a gat every day
I wish I woulda known while I was out there
Now I'm straight headin' for the chair

[Hook]
Bye bye, I was never meant to live
Can't be positive when the ghetto's where you live
Bye bye, I was never meant to be
Livin' like a thief, runnin' through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go
Where they find me; 16 on Death Row

[Outro]
16 on Death Row, Death Row
Death Row, Death Row
16 on Death Row, Death Row, Death Row
It's to all my partners
In the penitentiaries; 16 on Death Row

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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