Released: November 26, 2002

Featuring: Ronald Isley

Songwriter: 2Pac Johnny J Ronald Isley Ernie Isley Marvin Isley O’Kelly Isley Rudolph Isley Chris Jasper The Isley Brothers

Producer: Johnny J

[Intro]
Lookin' for these better days

[Chorus]
Better days, hey!
Better days
Got me thinkin' 'bout better days
Better days, better days, better days
Hey!
Better days
Got me thinkin' 'bout better days

[Verse 1]
Time to question our lifestyle, look how we live
Smokin' weed like it ain't no thing, so even kids
Wanna try now, then lie down and get ran through
Nobody watches 'em, clockin' the evil man do
Faced with the demons, addicted to hearin' victims screamin'
Guess we was evil since birth, product of cursed semens
'Cause even our birthdays is cursed days
A born thug in the first place, the worst ways
I'd love to see the block in peace
With no more dealers and crooked cops, the only way to stop the beast
And only we can change
It's up to us to clean up the streets, it ain't the same, too many murders
Too many funerals, and too many tears
Just seen another brother buried, plus I knew him for years
Passed by his family, but what could I say?
Keep yo' head up and try to keep the faith
And pray for better days

[Chorus]
Better days, better days
Hey! Better days
Got me thinkin' 'bout better days
Better days, better days, better days
Hey!
Better days
Got me thinkin' 'bout better days

[Verse 2]
Thinkin' back as an adolescent
Who would've guessed that in my future years I'd be stressin'?
Some say the ghetto's sick and corrupted
Plus my P.O. won't let me hang with the brothers I grew up with
Tryna keep my head up and stay strong
All my homies slangin' yayo all day long
But they wrong, so I'm solo and so broke
Savin' up for some Jordan's, ‘cause they dope
I got a girl and I love her, but she broke too
And so am I — I can't take her to the place she wanna go to
So, we argue and play fight, all day and night
Makin' passionate love 'til the daylight
Plus we about to get evicted, can't pay the rent
Guess it's time to see who really is your friend
Tell me you pregnant and I'm amazed
So many blessings while we stressin', lookin' for them better days (For better days)

[Chorus]
Better days, better days
Hey! Better days
Thinkin' 'bout better days
Better days, better days, better days
Hey!
Better days
Got me thinkin' 'bout better days

[Verse 3]
Now, me and you was real cool, hell on them square fools
Since back in high school, we was true, me and you
Hardly parted or separated, we stayed faded
Affiliated with gang-bangers and still made it
Up in the gym, mess with me, gotta mess with him
Still dressin' like grown men when rollin'
Out in the dark, smokin' Newports, gamin' marks
Got a place in my heart, homie, stay smart
Locked you up in the pen', and gave you three to ten
I send you letters with naked flicks of old friends
Hopin' you well, I know it's hell
Doin' time in the cells, you need mail when you in jail
And me, I'm doin' cool
I settled down, had a family, workin' a night school
Every once in a while, I reminisce
And I wonder how we ever came to this; I miss the better days

[Chorus]
Better days, better days
Hey! Better days
Thinkin' 'bout better days
Better days, better days, better days
Hey!
Better days
Got me thinkin' 'bout better days

[Outro]
I send this one out to all the homeboys down in, uh
Clinton lockdown, Rikers Island
All them dudes I was, uh, locked up with, hehe
E Block, F Block, lower H
N-I-C in Rikers Island, downstate
All the peoples I met along the way
Better days is comin', homeboy, keep your head up!

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.