2Pac

Released: January 1, 2003

Featuring: Ryan D.

Songwriter: 2Pac

Producer: Strictly Dope Chopmaster J

[Verse 1] As real as it seems the American Dream/
Ain't nothing but another calculated scheme/
To get us locked up shot up back in chains/
To deny us of the future rob our names/
Kept my history a mystery but now I see/
The American Dream wasn't meant for me/
Cause lady liberty is a hypocrite she lied to me/
Promised me freedom, education, equality/
Never gave me nothing but slavery/
And now look at how dangerous you made me/
Calling me a mad man cause I'm strong and bold/
With this dump full of knowledge of the lies you told/
Promise me emancipation in this new nation/
All you ever gave my people was starvation/
Fathers of this country never cared for me/
They kept my ancestors shackled up in slavery/
And Uncle Sam never did a damn thing for me/
Except lie about the facts in my history/
So now I'm sitting hear mad cause I'm unemployed/
But the government's glad cause they enjoyed/
When my people are down so they can screw us around/
Time to change the government now panther power//

[Chorus]

[Verse 2] Coming straight that resides within/
Go toe to toe with a panther and you just can't win/
Self proclaimed best suppressed the rest/
The rich get richer and the poor take less/
The American Dream was an American nightmare/
You kept my people down and refuse to fight fair/
The Ku Klux Klan tried to keep us out/
Besides drew they know no blacks allowed/
With intimidation and segregation was a way for our freedom/
But now we’re impatient/
Blacks the other skin: dead or sell outs/
Freedom, equality, then I'll yell out/
"Don't you ever be ashamed of what you are/
It's ya panther power that makes you a star”/
Panther power//

[Chorus]

[Verse 3] My Mother never let me forget my history/
Hoping I was set free chains never put on me/
Wanted to be more than just free/
Had to know the true facts about my history/
I couldn't settle for being a statistic/
Couldn't survive in this capitalistic/
Government cause it was meant to hold us back/
Using ignorance, drugs, and sneak attack/
In my community think of a unity/
But when I charged them, tried to claim immunity/
I strike America like a case of heart disease/
Panther power is running through my arteries/
Try to stop me oh boy you'll be clawed to death/
Cause I'll be fighting for my freedom with my dying breath/
Do you remember that is what I'm asking you?/
You think you're living free don't make me laugh at you/
Open your eyes realize you've been locked in chains/
Said you wasn't civilized and stole your name/
Cause some time has passed seem to all forget/
There is no liberty for you and me we ain't free yet/
Panther power//

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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2Pac