Tupac.
Tupac Amaru Shakur,
also known as 2pac,
was one of the greatest and most
well-known gangsta-rap artists before his
fatal shooting in Las Vegas on
September 6, 1996. In many ways his life
was too short, he was only 25 and had
most of his life in front of him. Many people think he is still alive and there
is a lot of evidence to
support this, but there is only one person who really
knows; Suge Knight,
the man in the car with Tupac on that fateful night.
Tupac was born on
Wednesday, June 16, 1971 in Brooklyn, NY. He was born
without a father and
his mother, Afeni Shakur, a founding member of the Black
Panther Party,
was being charged with conspiring to bomb several public areas
in New York
City. Tupac was named after an Inca chief named Tupac Amaru, which
means
"shining serpent" and Shakur is arabic for "thankful to God".
The first
few years of his life Tupac's family moved between the Bronx and
Harlem.
Many times they would end up in a homeless shelter because his mom
couldn't pay the rent. Growing up, Tupac was a well rounded boy. His elementary
school teachers said that he was a delightful student. In September, 1983,
the
12-year-old Tupac joined a Harlem theater group and in hs first
performance he
played Travis in "A Raisin in the Sun". Tupac enjoyed
acting and became very
good at it.
In 1986, at the age of 15,
Tupac's family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Tupac
attended The Baltimore
School for the Performing Arts. Here he showed great
talent and potential
while making a lasting impression on his teachers. In
Baltimore Tupac also
started writing his first rap lyrics and performed under
the name MC New
York.
Unfortunately for Tupac he had to quit the school at
Baltimore and move
along with his family to Marin City, California, in
June, 1988. He had just
finished his junior year at the Baltimore School
for the Performing Arts. After
moving to California, Tupac started hanging
with "the wrong crowd." Soon he got
involved with criminals and started
selling drugs; this is the path which later
led to his shooting. In
September of that same year, Tupac's stepfather, Mutulu
Shakur was
sentenced to 60 years in prison for his involvement in a 1981
armored-car
robbery.
In 1990 Tupac started his way up the top of today's rap music
industry. He
joined the rap group Digital Underground as a dancer and
rapper. On Thursday,
January 3, 1991 he made his recording debut by
appearing on Same Song from
Digital Underground's This is an EP Release.
On Tuesday, November 12, 1991, Tupac's first solo album, 2Pacalypse
Now, was
released. This album contained the successful singles Trapped and
Brenda's Got
A Baby, which launched his career like a rocket. Shortly
after the release of
Tupac's solo album, he filed a $10 million lawsuit
against the Oakland police
for alleged brutality following an arrest for
jaywalking. This lawsuit gave him
much popularity and caught the eye of
the Earnest Dickerson and landed him a
spot in the movie Juice. On
January17, 1992 he made his big screen debut in the
film Juice, earning
him praise for his portrayal of Bishop.
In April 1992, Ronald Ray
Howard, 19, shot a Texas State Trooper. When asked
for his plead at the
trial, Howard's attorney claimed that Ronald was incited
by 2Pacalypse
Now, which contained lyrics about killing police. During a search
of the
car in which Howard was driving, 2Pacalypse Now was found in the tape
deck.
Later that year, on August 22, Tupac had an altercation with some
old
acquaintances in Marin City. The fighting turned to shooting and
resulted in
the death of a 6-year-old bystander and the arrest of Tupac's
half brother,
Maurice Harding. Harding was later released due to lack of
evidence. The bad
times for Tupac just kept coming. One month later, in
September of 1992,
Vice-President, Dan Quayle denounced 2Pacalypse Now by
saying "This album has
no place in our society".
In February,
1993, Tupac released his second album, Strictly 4 My
N.I.G.G.A.Z., which
was an even bigger success than his first, and eventually
sold platinum.
On this ablum were the hit songs, I Get Around and Keep Ya Head
Up.
The following month, on March 13, 1993, Tupac got into an fight with
a limo
driver in Hollywood. The driver accused Tupac of smoking marijuana
in the car.
Tupac was arrested but the charges were dropped. Just weeks
after being
arrested for drugs, Tupac is arrested again. This time for
taking a swing with
a baseball bat at a local rapper during a concert.
This time the charges
weren't dropped and Tupac was sentenced to 10 days
in prison.
A few monthes later, on July 23, 1993, John Singleton's
Poetic Justice was
released. In this film, Tupac appeared along with Janet
Jackson. This role
showed the world that music was not Tupac's only
attribute; that in fact he was
an exceptional actor as well.
Later that year, on October 31, Tupac was arrested again, this time for
allegedly shooting 2 off-duty Atlanta police officers who were harassing a
black motorist. Once again the charges against Tupac were eventually dropped.
Two weeks later, on November 18, a 19-year-old woman accused Tupac of
sexual
harassment and filed charges against him. Tupac was released on
bail while the
trial was in progress.
On March 10, 1994; while on
trail for sexual harassment, Tupac was arrested
once more for punching out
director Allen Hughes. The motive for the assault
was that Hughes had
dropped Tupac from the motion picture Menace II Society.
Shakur was
sentenced to 15 days in prison.
At the same time as the trail and doing
time, Shakur was working on another
movie, Above the Rim. On March 23, the
movie was released. Tupac played a
troubled drug dealer who eventually
gets shot three times in the chest. The
soundtrack to this movie featured
the song Pour Out a Little Liquor, which was
recorded by Tupac's group,
Thug Life and sold over 2 million copies.
On September 7 of that same
year, two Milwaukee teens murdered a police
officer and once again,
Tupac's lyrics were cited as their inspiration. This
time it was the song
Souljah's Story that had supposedly inticed these teens to
murder. Just
two monthes later, on November 30, Tupac was shot 5 times and
robbed of
jewels for about $40,000 in the lobby of Times Square Recording
Studio. He
was rushed to a nearby hospital and emergency surgery was performed
on him
to remove the bullets. Tupac checked himself out of the hospital less
than
3 hours after surgery. Although Tupac thinks that some member of Bad Boy
Entertainment ( a New York based record label ) is responsible for the
shooting, the case still officially remains unsolved. All of this happened
while he was on trial for sex and weapon charges. The shooting happened just
hours before he was scheduled to appear in court for the verdict. The
verdict
came back guilty on the sexual abuse charges but the day after he
was acquitted
of the weapons charges.
On February 14, 1995, Tupac
was sentenced up to 4 and a half years and
immediately began serving his
time in New York's Rikers Island Penitentiary.
While in prison, Tupac
still wrote lyrics. On April 1, 1995, Tupac's third
album, Me against the
World, debuted at No.1 on Billboard's pop chart. This
album was fueled by
the single Dear Mama and went double platinum in 7 months.
In
October of 1995 Death Row Record's CEO and co-founder, Marion "Suge"
Knight posted $1.4 million in bail to get Tupac out of jail while waiting for
his appeal on sexual abuse charges. Once released, Tupac immediately flied
to
L.A to sign with Death Row and start recording his fourth solo album,
All Eyez
On Me.
Five monthes later, in February of 1996 the fact
that Tupac had been sleeping
with Faith Evans went public. Evans is the
wife of The Notorious B.I.G., also
known as Biggie Smalls or just Biggie.
He is a New York based rapper who was
under the Bad Boy label. Evans
denied that she ever had slept with Tupac. This
enfuriated Biggie and he
made threats on Tupac's life.
After the affair controversy, on February
13, 1996, Tupac's Death Row debut,
All Eyez On Me was released. It was rap
music's first double CD and was an
instant hit. Next month, on March 29,
1996, Death Row employees and Bad Boy
employees faced off at the Soul
Train Music Awards in Los Angeles. Words were
exchanged, tempers got out
of hand and a gun was pulled.
On April 25, 1996, All Eyez On Me went
quintuple platinum. Just a few weeks
later in May, Tupac and Snoop Doggy
Dogg ( another Death Row rapper ) released
a video for the song 2 of
Americaz Most Wanted, which was from All Eyez On Me.
In this video,
caricatures of Biggie and Sean "Puffy" Combs ( Bad Boy Ent.'s
CEO ) were
punished for setting up Tupac's shooting in February of 1995.
Later, on
June 4, 1996, Death Row released the single by Tupac called Hit 'Em
Up.
This song condemns Biggie, Bad Boy, Mobb Deep, and others. In this song,
Tupac raps about his affair with Faith Evans, makes fun of Biggie's fatness,
makes fun of a member of Mobb Deep who has sickle cell disease and
threatens to
kill them all.
By this time, emotions between Death
Row and Bad Boy are running high. On
September 4, 1996, Tupac returned to
New York for the MTV Music Video Awards.
Tupac took many precautions to
preserve his life. He had an entire entourage
surrounding him, an unmarked
bodyguard at every exit to the arena, a
walkie-talkie in his hand the
whole night, and a bullet proof vest. Still he
got into a scuffle with
some members of Bad Boy, but nothing serious broke out.
Just days
later, on September 7, Tupac and Suge Knight attended the Mike
Tyson -
Bruce Seldon fight at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. During the fight,
Shakur got into a scuffle with a man whose identity is unknown but police have
ruled him out as a suspect in the murder. Tupac and Suge left the fight in
Knight's BMW. While on the strip, a white Cadillac with four black people
pulled up alongside of them at an intersection. One person got out of the
car,
walked up to their BMW and opened fire. While trying to jump in the
back seat,
Tupac's chest was exposed and he was hit 5 times out of a total
13 shots. One
bullet grazed Suge's head. After the shooting, Suge turned
the car around and
headed the other way. They were both put in an
ambulance and taken to the
University of Las Vegas Medical Center. Suge
was stitched up and released the
next day, but Tupac underwent three
surgeries. During the first of these
surguries, his left lung and the
bullets were removed. The second and third
surguries were performed to
stop the internal bleeding but the site of the
bleeding was never found. On
Friday, September 13, 1996, Tupac died at 4:03 PM.
On November 7, Tupac
released another album under the alius Makaveli. The album
was entitled
The Don Killuminati The 7 Day Theory. After his death he still had
3
unreleased movies and two unreleased albums.
There is much controversy
surrounding the death of Tupac. There is a lot of
evidence to support the
notion that he faked his death. On the cover of his
album, Makaveli, The
Don Killuminati The 7 Day Theory he is being crucified
like Jesus. Could
he be planning a resurrection? The name of that album in
itself is a
mystery. How come no one saw the shooting, after all, the shooting
took
place on the Las Vegas strip after a huge heavyweight fight. If there was
a shooting there had to have been some witnesses. There is a lot more evidence
to support the "still alive" theory. Weather you believe him to be alive
or
not, there is no doubting that he had a major impact on the music
industry
today. May his legacy always live on!
http://tupac-shakur.freeservers.com/biography.html.
also known as 2pac,
was one of the greatest and most
well-known gangsta-rap artists before his
fatal shooting in Las Vegas on
September 6, 1996. In many ways his life
was too short, he was only 25 and had
most of his life in front of him. Many people think he is still alive and there
is a lot of evidence to
support this, but there is only one person who really
knows; Suge Knight,
the man in the car with Tupac on that fateful night.
Tupac was born on
Wednesday, June 16, 1971 in Brooklyn, NY. He was born
without a father and
his mother, Afeni Shakur, a founding member of the Black
Panther Party,
was being charged with conspiring to bomb several public areas
in New York
City. Tupac was named after an Inca chief named Tupac Amaru, which
means
"shining serpent" and Shakur is arabic for "thankful to God".
The first
few years of his life Tupac's family moved between the Bronx and
Harlem.
Many times they would end up in a homeless shelter because his mom
couldn't pay the rent. Growing up, Tupac was a well rounded boy. His elementary
school teachers said that he was a delightful student. In September, 1983,
the
12-year-old Tupac joined a Harlem theater group and in hs first
performance he
played Travis in "A Raisin in the Sun". Tupac enjoyed
acting and became very
good at it.
In 1986, at the age of 15,
Tupac's family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. Tupac
attended The Baltimore
School for the Performing Arts. Here he showed great
talent and potential
while making a lasting impression on his teachers. In
Baltimore Tupac also
started writing his first rap lyrics and performed under
the name MC New
York.
Unfortunately for Tupac he had to quit the school at
Baltimore and move
along with his family to Marin City, California, in
June, 1988. He had just
finished his junior year at the Baltimore School
for the Performing Arts. After
moving to California, Tupac started hanging
with "the wrong crowd." Soon he got
involved with criminals and started
selling drugs; this is the path which later
led to his shooting. In
September of that same year, Tupac's stepfather, Mutulu
Shakur was
sentenced to 60 years in prison for his involvement in a 1981
armored-car
robbery.
In 1990 Tupac started his way up the top of today's rap music
industry. He
joined the rap group Digital Underground as a dancer and
rapper. On Thursday,
January 3, 1991 he made his recording debut by
appearing on Same Song from
Digital Underground's This is an EP Release.
On Tuesday, November 12, 1991, Tupac's first solo album, 2Pacalypse
Now, was
released. This album contained the successful singles Trapped and
Brenda's Got
A Baby, which launched his career like a rocket. Shortly
after the release of
Tupac's solo album, he filed a $10 million lawsuit
against the Oakland police
for alleged brutality following an arrest for
jaywalking. This lawsuit gave him
much popularity and caught the eye of
the Earnest Dickerson and landed him a
spot in the movie Juice. On
January17, 1992 he made his big screen debut in the
film Juice, earning
him praise for his portrayal of Bishop.
In April 1992, Ronald Ray
Howard, 19, shot a Texas State Trooper. When asked
for his plead at the
trial, Howard's attorney claimed that Ronald was incited
by 2Pacalypse
Now, which contained lyrics about killing police. During a search
of the
car in which Howard was driving, 2Pacalypse Now was found in the tape
deck.
Later that year, on August 22, Tupac had an altercation with some
old
acquaintances in Marin City. The fighting turned to shooting and
resulted in
the death of a 6-year-old bystander and the arrest of Tupac's
half brother,
Maurice Harding. Harding was later released due to lack of
evidence. The bad
times for Tupac just kept coming. One month later, in
September of 1992,
Vice-President, Dan Quayle denounced 2Pacalypse Now by
saying "This album has
no place in our society".
In February,
1993, Tupac released his second album, Strictly 4 My
N.I.G.G.A.Z., which
was an even bigger success than his first, and eventually
sold platinum.
On this ablum were the hit songs, I Get Around and Keep Ya Head
Up.
The following month, on March 13, 1993, Tupac got into an fight with
a limo
driver in Hollywood. The driver accused Tupac of smoking marijuana
in the car.
Tupac was arrested but the charges were dropped. Just weeks
after being
arrested for drugs, Tupac is arrested again. This time for
taking a swing with
a baseball bat at a local rapper during a concert.
This time the charges
weren't dropped and Tupac was sentenced to 10 days
in prison.
A few monthes later, on July 23, 1993, John Singleton's
Poetic Justice was
released. In this film, Tupac appeared along with Janet
Jackson. This role
showed the world that music was not Tupac's only
attribute; that in fact he was
an exceptional actor as well.
Later that year, on October 31, Tupac was arrested again, this time for
allegedly shooting 2 off-duty Atlanta police officers who were harassing a
black motorist. Once again the charges against Tupac were eventually dropped.
Two weeks later, on November 18, a 19-year-old woman accused Tupac of
sexual
harassment and filed charges against him. Tupac was released on
bail while the
trial was in progress.
On March 10, 1994; while on
trail for sexual harassment, Tupac was arrested
once more for punching out
director Allen Hughes. The motive for the assault
was that Hughes had
dropped Tupac from the motion picture Menace II Society.
Shakur was
sentenced to 15 days in prison.
At the same time as the trail and doing
time, Shakur was working on another
movie, Above the Rim. On March 23, the
movie was released. Tupac played a
troubled drug dealer who eventually
gets shot three times in the chest. The
soundtrack to this movie featured
the song Pour Out a Little Liquor, which was
recorded by Tupac's group,
Thug Life and sold over 2 million copies.
On September 7 of that same
year, two Milwaukee teens murdered a police
officer and once again,
Tupac's lyrics were cited as their inspiration. This
time it was the song
Souljah's Story that had supposedly inticed these teens to
murder. Just
two monthes later, on November 30, Tupac was shot 5 times and
robbed of
jewels for about $40,000 in the lobby of Times Square Recording
Studio. He
was rushed to a nearby hospital and emergency surgery was performed
on him
to remove the bullets. Tupac checked himself out of the hospital less
than
3 hours after surgery. Although Tupac thinks that some member of Bad Boy
Entertainment ( a New York based record label ) is responsible for the
shooting, the case still officially remains unsolved. All of this happened
while he was on trial for sex and weapon charges. The shooting happened just
hours before he was scheduled to appear in court for the verdict. The
verdict
came back guilty on the sexual abuse charges but the day after he
was acquitted
of the weapons charges.
On February 14, 1995, Tupac
was sentenced up to 4 and a half years and
immediately began serving his
time in New York's Rikers Island Penitentiary.
While in prison, Tupac
still wrote lyrics. On April 1, 1995, Tupac's third
album, Me against the
World, debuted at No.1 on Billboard's pop chart. This
album was fueled by
the single Dear Mama and went double platinum in 7 months.
In
October of 1995 Death Row Record's CEO and co-founder, Marion "Suge"
Knight posted $1.4 million in bail to get Tupac out of jail while waiting for
his appeal on sexual abuse charges. Once released, Tupac immediately flied
to
L.A to sign with Death Row and start recording his fourth solo album,
All Eyez
On Me.
Five monthes later, in February of 1996 the fact
that Tupac had been sleeping
with Faith Evans went public. Evans is the
wife of The Notorious B.I.G., also
known as Biggie Smalls or just Biggie.
He is a New York based rapper who was
under the Bad Boy label. Evans
denied that she ever had slept with Tupac. This
enfuriated Biggie and he
made threats on Tupac's life.
After the affair controversy, on February
13, 1996, Tupac's Death Row debut,
All Eyez On Me was released. It was rap
music's first double CD and was an
instant hit. Next month, on March 29,
1996, Death Row employees and Bad Boy
employees faced off at the Soul
Train Music Awards in Los Angeles. Words were
exchanged, tempers got out
of hand and a gun was pulled.
On April 25, 1996, All Eyez On Me went
quintuple platinum. Just a few weeks
later in May, Tupac and Snoop Doggy
Dogg ( another Death Row rapper ) released
a video for the song 2 of
Americaz Most Wanted, which was from All Eyez On Me.
In this video,
caricatures of Biggie and Sean "Puffy" Combs ( Bad Boy Ent.'s
CEO ) were
punished for setting up Tupac's shooting in February of 1995.
Later, on
June 4, 1996, Death Row released the single by Tupac called Hit 'Em
Up.
This song condemns Biggie, Bad Boy, Mobb Deep, and others. In this song,
Tupac raps about his affair with Faith Evans, makes fun of Biggie's fatness,
makes fun of a member of Mobb Deep who has sickle cell disease and
threatens to
kill them all.
By this time, emotions between Death
Row and Bad Boy are running high. On
September 4, 1996, Tupac returned to
New York for the MTV Music Video Awards.
Tupac took many precautions to
preserve his life. He had an entire entourage
surrounding him, an unmarked
bodyguard at every exit to the arena, a
walkie-talkie in his hand the
whole night, and a bullet proof vest. Still he
got into a scuffle with
some members of Bad Boy, but nothing serious broke out.
Just days
later, on September 7, Tupac and Suge Knight attended the Mike
Tyson -
Bruce Seldon fight at Caesar's Palace in Las Vegas. During the fight,
Shakur got into a scuffle with a man whose identity is unknown but police have
ruled him out as a suspect in the murder. Tupac and Suge left the fight in
Knight's BMW. While on the strip, a white Cadillac with four black people
pulled up alongside of them at an intersection. One person got out of the
car,
walked up to their BMW and opened fire. While trying to jump in the
back seat,
Tupac's chest was exposed and he was hit 5 times out of a total
13 shots. One
bullet grazed Suge's head. After the shooting, Suge turned
the car around and
headed the other way. They were both put in an
ambulance and taken to the
University of Las Vegas Medical Center. Suge
was stitched up and released the
next day, but Tupac underwent three
surgeries. During the first of these
surguries, his left lung and the
bullets were removed. The second and third
surguries were performed to
stop the internal bleeding but the site of the
bleeding was never found. On
Friday, September 13, 1996, Tupac died at 4:03 PM.
On November 7, Tupac
released another album under the alius Makaveli. The album
was entitled
The Don Killuminati The 7 Day Theory. After his death he still had
3
unreleased movies and two unreleased albums.
There is much controversy
surrounding the death of Tupac. There is a lot of
evidence to support the
notion that he faked his death. On the cover of his
album, Makaveli, The
Don Killuminati The 7 Day Theory he is being crucified
like Jesus. Could
he be planning a resurrection? The name of that album in
itself is a
mystery. How come no one saw the shooting, after all, the shooting
took
place on the Las Vegas strip after a huge heavyweight fight. If there was
a shooting there had to have been some witnesses. There is a lot more evidence
to support the "still alive" theory. Weather you believe him to be alive
or
not, there is no doubting that he had a major impact on the music
industry
today. May his legacy always live on!
http://tupac-shakur.freeservers.com/biography.html.
song lyrics.
Come on come on
I see no changes. Wake up in the morning and I ask myself, "Is life worth living? Should I blast myself?" I'm tired of bein' poor and even worse I'm black. My stomach hurts, so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch. Cops give a damn about a negro? Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero. Give the crack to the kids who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare. First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers. Give 'em guns, step back, and watch 'em kill each other. "It's time to fight back", that's what Huey said. 2 shots in the dark now Huey's dead. I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other. We gotta start makin' changes. Learn to see me as a brother 'stead of 2 distant strangers. And that's how it's supposed to be. How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me? I'd love to go back to when we played as kids but things changed, and that's the way it is [Bridge w/ changing ad libs] Come on come on That's just the way it is Things'll never be the same That's just the way it is aww yeah [Repeat] I see no changes. All I see is racist faces. Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races we under. I wonder what it takes to make this one better place... let's erase the wasted. Take the evil out the people, they'll be acting right. 'Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight. And only time we chill is when we kill each other. It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other. And although it seems heaven sent, we ain't ready to see a black President, uhh. It ain't a secret don't conceal the fact... the penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacks. But some things will never change. Try to show another way, but they stayin' in the dope game. Now tell me what's a mother to do? Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you. You gotta operate the easy way. "I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy way. Sellin' crack to the kids. "I gotta get paid," Well hey, well that's the way it is. [Bridge] [Talking:] We gotta make a change... It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes. Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we live and let's change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to do what we gotta do, to survive. And still I see no changes. Can't a brother get a little peace? There's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East. Instead of war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me. And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do. But now I'm back with the facts givin' 'em back to you. Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up, crack you up and pimp smack you up. You gotta learn to hold ya own. They get jealous when they see ya with ya mobile phone. But tell the cops they can't touch this. I don't trust this, when they try to rush I bust this. That's the sound of my tool. You say it ain't cool, but mama didn't raise no fool. And as long as I stay black, I gotta stay strapped and I never get to lay back. 'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the payback. Some buck that I roughed up way back... comin' back after all these years. Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat. That's the way it is. uhh |
When I was young me and my mama had beef
Seventeen years old kicked out on the streets Though back at the time, I never thought I'd see her face Ain't a woman alive that could take my mama's place Suspended from school; and scared to go home, I was a fool with the big boys, breakin all the rules I shed tears with my baby sister Over the years we was poorer than the other little kids And even though we had different daddy's, the same drama When things went wrong we'd blame mama I reminice on the stress I caused, it was hell Huggin on my mama from a jail cell And who'd think in elementary? Heeey! I see the penitentiary, one day And runnin from the police, that's right Mama catch me, put a whoopin to my backside And even as a crack fiend, mama You always was a black queen, mama I finally understand for a woman it ain't easy tryin to raise a man You always was committed A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how ya did it There's no way I can pay you back But the plan is to show you that I understand You are appreciated [Chorus: Reggie Green & "Sweet Franklin" w/ 2Pac] Lady... Don't cha know we love ya? Sweet lady Dear mama Place no one above ya, sweet lady You are appreciated Don't cha know we love ya? [second and third chorus, "And dear mama" instead of "Dear mama"] [Verse Two: 2Pac] Now ain't nobody tell us it was fair No love from my daddy cause the coward wasn't there He passed away and I didn't cry, cause my anger wouldn't let me feel for a stranger They say I'm wrong and I'm heartless, but all along I was lookin for a father he was gone I hung around with the Thugs, and even though they sold drugs They showed a young brother love I moved out and started really hangin I needed money of my own so I started slangin I ain't guilty cause, even though I sell rocks It feels good puttin money in your mailbox I love payin rent when the rent's due I hope ya got the diamond necklace that I sent to you Cause when I was low you was there for me And never left me alone because you cared for me And I could see you comin home after work late You're in the kitchen tryin to fix us a hot plate Ya just workin with the scraps you was given And mama made miracles every Thanksgivin But now the road got rough, you're alone You're tryin to raise two bad kids on your own And there's no way I can pay you back But my plan is to show you that I understand You are appreciated [Chorus] [Verse Three: 2Pac] Pour out some liquor and I reminsce, cause through the drama I can always depend on my mama And when it seems that I'm hopeless You say the words that can get me back in focus When I was sick as a little kid To keep me happy there's no limit to the things you did And all my childhood memories Are full of all the sweet things you did for me And even though I act craaazy I gotta thank the Lord that you made me There are no words that can express how I feel You never kept a secret, always stayed real And I appreciate, how you raised me And all the extra love that you gave me I wish I could take the pain away If you can make it through the night there's a brighter day Everything will be alright if ya hold on It's a struggle everyday, gotta roll on And there's no way I can pay you back But my plan is to show you that I understand You are appreciated [Chorus] Sweet lady And dear mama |
Shit, tired of gettin shot at
Tired of gettin chased by the police and arrested Niggaz need a spot where WE can kick it A spot where WE belong, that's just for us Niggaz ain't gotta get all dressed up and be Hollywood Y'knahmean? Where do niggaz go when we die? Ain't no heaven for a thug nigga That's why we go to thug mansion That's the only place where thugs get in free and you gotta be a G ... at thug mansion [Verse One] A place to spend my quiet nights, time to unwind So much pressure in this life of mine, I cry at times I once contemplated suicide, and woulda tried But when I held that 9, all I could see was my momma's eyes No one knows my struggle, they only see the trouble Not knowin it's hard to carry on when no one loves you Picture me inside the misery of poverty No man alive has ever witnessed struggles I survived Prayin hard for better days, promise to hold on Me and my dawgs ain't have a choice but to roll on We found a family spot to kick it Where we can drink liquor and no one bickers over trick shit A spot where we can smoke in peace, and even though we G's We still visualize places, that we can roll in peace And in my mind's eye I see this place, the players go in fast I got a spot for us all, so we can ball, at thug's mansion [Chorus: Anthony Hamilton] Ain't no place I'd rather be Chillin' with homies and family Sky high, iced out paradise In the skyyyyyyyyyy.. Ain't no place I'd rather be Only place that's right for me Chromed out mansion in paradise In the skyyyyyyyyyy.. [Verse Two] Will I survive all the fights and the darkness? Trouble sparks, they tell me home is where the heart is, dear departed I shed tattooed tears and couldn't sleep good for multiple years, witness peers catch gunshots Nobody cares, seen the politicians ban us They'd rather see us locked in chains, please explain why they can't stand us, is there a way for me to change? Or am I just a victim of things I did to maintain? I need a place to rest my head with the little bit of homeboys that remains, cause all the rest dead Is there a spot for us to roll, if you find it I'll be right behind ya, show me and I'll go How can I be peaceful? I'm comin from the bottom Watch my daddy scream peace while the other man shot him I need a house that's full of love when I need to escape the deadly places slingin drugs, in thug's mansion [Chorus w/ minor ad lib variations] [Verse Three] Dear momma don't cry, your baby boy's doin good Tell the homies I'm in heaven and they ain't got hoods Seen a show with Marvin Gaye last night, it had me shook Drippin peppermint Schnapps, with Jackie Wilson, and Sam Cooke Then some lady named Billie Holiday Sang sittin there kickin it with Malcolm, 'til the day came Little LaTasha sho' grown Tell the lady in the liquorstore that she's forgiven, so come home Maybe in time you'll understand only God can save us When Miles Davis cuttin lose with the band Just think of all the people that you knew in the past that passed on, they in heaven, found peace at last Picture a place that they exist, together There has to be a place better than this, in heaven So right before I sleep, dear God, what I'm askin Remember this face, save me a place, in thug's mansion |