Released: March 1, 2014

Songwriter: 2Pac

Producer: Bigpimpin91

Straight motherfuckin' ballin', part two
Still ballin', Westside!
Now, ever since a nigga was a seed
Only thing promised to me was the penitentiary
Still ballin', ridin' on these niggas ‘cause they lame
In a '61 Chevy, still heavy in this game
Can you feel me? Blame it on my mama, I'm a thug nigga
Up before the sun rise, quicker than the drug dealers
Tell me if it's on, nigga, then we first to bomb
Bust on these bitch-made niggas, hit 'em up, Westside!
Ain't nobody loved me as a broke nigga
Finger on the trigger, Lord forgive me if I smoke niggas
I love my females strapped, then fuck her from the back
I get my currency in stacks, California is where I'm at ridin'
Passed by while these niggas wondered why
I got shot but didn't die, let 'em see who's next to try
Did I cry? Hell nah, nigga, tears shed, for all my homies in the pen
Many peers dead; a nigga still ballin'
Still ballin' until I die (until I die)
You can bring your crew, but we remain true
Motherfucker, still ballin' (I be ballin')
Niggas wonder why (they wonder why)
You can bring your crew, but we remain true
Motherfucker, still ballin'
Now, as I kneel and pray I hope the Lord understand
When he's gone, devolve, I become a dangerous man
Ain't crazy or deranged, I'm sayin'
But when these kids go to spray 'em, boy, won't be playin'
With clientele, any rhyme sales
Question is: Will you fuck-niggas ride for real, huh?
Bitch nigga, this is G-rated
Plus your homeboy won't make it, street game Fugazi
I'm elevated to the top of this shit
Done fucked around and put me and 2Pac on the bitch
And you can tell 'em "Thug Life" was the reason for this
And I ride for any nigga who believe in the shit; still ballin'
Until the day I die
You can bring your crew, but we remain true
Motherfucker, still ballin'
Niggas wonder why
You can bring your crew, but we remain true
Motherfucker, still ballin'
Now everybody wanna see us dead
Two murdered on the front page
Shot to death, bullets to the head
Niggas holla out my name and it's similar to rape
Motherfuckers know I'm comin', so they runnin' to they graves
Watch! Swoop down with my nigga from the Pound
‘Cause Trick don't give a fuck
Where you coward niggas now?
Blast, keep pumpin', ain't worried about nothin'
Busters thought we was frontin'
So reload and keep dumpin'; still ballin'
You can bring your crew, but we remain true
Motherfucker, still ballin' (I be ballin')
Niggas wonder why (they wonder why)
You can bring your crew, but we remain true
Motherfucker, still ballin'
'Til the day I die (still ballin')
You can bring your crew, but we remain true
Motherfucker, still ballin'
Niggas wonder why (tell 'em!)
You can bring your crew, but we remain true
Motherfucker, still ballin', until the day I die
(Thug life), still ballin'
Motherfucker, still ballin'
Straight motherfuckin' ballin'

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.