2Pac

Released: November 21, 2000

Songwriter: 2Pac

Producer: 2Pac

* Poems written by Shakur as ~ interpreted by other artists

[2Pac Shakur]
Right now, it is it is almost.. it is almost... uhh...
IMPOSSIBLE for you not to see how strong rap has gotten
You know what I'm sayin'! t's it's like umm..
Our our brothers and sisters, our youths, and some of our adults
Their ear is PINNED to rap music right now
And if you really wanna get our message out
And really wanna start teaching, we need to start doing that
We we really need to start using, our methods
You know what I'm sayin'!
The Last Poets did it with poetry
And uhh, and and.. even in our history
From a ancient Afl- African civilization
Poets went from village to village
And that's how, stories and messages and lessons were taught
You know what I'm sayin'! And... so, like you say, history repeats itself!
And so.. it... it was, it was... at it was, you know, obvious!
It was, pick it up, you know?
Bein' the race that we are, bein' the strong race that we are!
We picked it up, we picked up those positive, those positive vibes
And we started rappin' and... so I think it is, it's a very good medium too!

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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The Rose That Grew From Concrete, Vol. 1 (2000)

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