Shakur was born in New York City to parents who were both political activists and Black Panther Party members. Raised by his mother, he relocated to Baltimore in 1984 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. With the release of his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip-hop for his conscious rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up albums Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993) and Me Against the World (1995). His Diamond certified album All Eyez on Me (1996), the first double-length album in hip-hop history, abandoned his introspective lyrics for volatile gangsta rap. In addition to his music career, Shakur also found considerable success as an actor, with his starring roles in Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), Above the Rim (1994), Bullet (1996), Gridlock'd (1997), and Gang Related (1997).
During the later part of his career, Shakur was shot five times in the lobby of a New York recording studio and experienced legal troubles, including incarceration. In 1995, Shakur served eight months in prison on sexual abuse charges, but was released pending an appeal of his conviction. Following his release, he signed to Marion "Suge" Knight's label Death Row Records and became heavily involved in the growing East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times by an unidentified assailant in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas; he died six days later. Following his murder, Shakur's friend-turned-rival, the Notorious B.I.G., was at first considered a suspect due to their public feud, but was also murdered in another drive-by shooting six months later in March 1997 while visiting Los Angeles.
Five more albums have been released since Shakur's death, all of which have been certified Platinum in the United States. In 2002, Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Shakur among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.
Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City. While born Lesane Parish Crooks, at age one he was renamed Tupac Amaru Shakur. He was named after Túpac Amaru II, the descendant of the last Incan ruler, Túpac Amaru, who was executed in Peru in 1781 after his failed revolt against Spanish rule. Shakur's mother explained, "I wanted him to have the name of revolutionary, indigenous people in the world. I wanted him to know he was part of a world culture and not just from a neighborhood."
Shakur had an older stepbrother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, and a half-sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, two years his junior.
New York
2Pac Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
I stay dressed in slick gear
Peace to my homies in the gangsta lean
I see you when I get there
And it's a fact I keep a gat in my arm reach
I charm freaks and bomb geeks
From here to Palm Beach
I'm puttin rappers in the wheelchair
Cause I be hangin in Harlem and
My shit is for real here
If you battle L you picked the wrong head
I smash mics like cornbread
You can't kill me I was born dead
And I'm known to pull steel
Trigs and kill pigs i run with ill kids and
Real nigs who peel wigs
My rap's steady slammin
I keep a heavy cannon
It's a new sherriff in town
And it ain't Reggie Hammond 2Pac:
Now shit's constantly hot, on my block
It never fails to be gunshots
Can't explain a mother's pain
When her son drops
Black male slipping in hail
When will we prevail
Fearing jail but crack sales
Got me living well
And the system's suicidal with
This Thug's Life
Staying strapped forever trapped in
This drug life
God help me, cause I'm starving
Can't get a job
So I resort to violent robberies
My life is hard
Can't sleep cause all the dirt
Make my heart hurt
Put in work and shed tears for my dead peers
Mislead from childhood where I went astray
Till this day I still pray for a better way
Can't help but feel hopeless and heartbroke
From the start I felt the
Racism cause I'm dark
Couldn't quit the bullshit make me represent
Hit the bar and played the star
Everywhere I went
In my heart, I felt alone out here on my own
I close my eyes and picture home
Aiyyo, you betta flee Hobbes
Or get your head flown three blocks
L keep rapper's hearts pumpin like Reeboks
And every year I gain clout
And my name sprouts
Some brothers'd still be vergins if
The crack never came out
I got the wild style
Always been a foul child
My guns go boom boom, and yo' guns go wow pow
I'm known to have a hottie open
I keep the shottie smokin
Front and get half the bones
In your body broken
And when it comes to gettin
Nookie I'm not a rookie
I got girls that make that chick
Toni Braxton look like Whoopie
I run with sturdy clicks I'm
Never hittin dirty chicks
Got thirty-five bodies
Buddy don't make it thirty-six
I know how it feel to wake up fucked up
Pockets broke as hell, another rock to sell
People look at you like youse the user
Selling drugs to all the losers
Mad buddha abuser but they don't know about
Your stress-filled day
Baby on the way mad bills to pay
That's why you drink Tanqueray
So you can reminisce
And wish, you wasn't livin so devilish
Ssshit i remember I was just like you
Smokin blunts with my crew, flippin over 62's
Cause G-E-D, wasn't B-IG
I got P-A-ID, that's why my moms hate me
She was forced to kick me out, no doubt
Then I figured out nicks went
For twenty down South
Packed up my tools for my raw power move
Glock nineteen for casket and flower moves
For chumps tryin to stop my flow
And what they don't know will
Show on the autopsy
Went to see Papi, to cop me a brick
Asked for some consignment and he
Wasn't tryin to hear it
Smoking mad Newports cause I'm due in court
For an assault, that I caught, in Bridgeport
New York
Catch me if you can like the Gingerbread Man
You better have your gat in hand, cause man
Jadakiss: Uh, I learnt the game
I know what I want and I'm in it
The time is now, it's gonna be up in a minute
You look a in the eye
You could tell if he tinted
These fake rappers gettin by with
These hell of a gimmicks
They act like it's all love
Only love is your money
So when it's over, are you a thug or a dummy
I'm neither, but I been hot so long
It feels like I got a lifetime fever
And I ain't gotta spit
I could cough and still eat ya
And f rap I make mills of reefer
I'm a man first, tired of punchin z
So I'mma shoot z cuz my hands hurt
And God is great, guard ya space
One hand wash the other, both wash the face
And I head crack so much, it's hard to ace
38 revolver flow, it's hard to trace, what!
Nigga I can see the coke in your nose
This ain't a movie
Even he got his head blown on the globe
And I was just about to find God
But now that Mase is back
I think I'd much rather find a menage
And everybody talkin crazy how
They're AK spit
But we know this investigatin
And they ain't spray shit
Not me, I'm the truth homie
Got the industry shook like
"Naw nigga, Joe gonna let em loose on me"
True Story, I'm bringin the T back
Even Roy Jones was forced to "Lean Back"
My nigga Dre said grind cook
Now we killin them hard niggas
Who said I must of found Pun's rhyme book
Got bitches on top of the Phantom
And the pinky got bling
Like the ring around Saturn
Cook coke, crack, niggas fiend for that
And you already know the x is
Where the team be at
The song "New York" by 2Pac featuring Snoop Dogg and Kurupt is a tribute to the city of New York. It starts with Snoop Dogg's catchy chorus, stating how New York is a big city of dreams, but not everything is always as it seems, and that you might get fooled if you come from out of town. Kurupt then takes over the first verse, bragging about his incredible, lyrical skills and how he can't be matched by anyone. He claims to be driving people hysterical with his stylistic mixture and to have enough knowledge to match that of Confucius. Kurupt considers his brainwaves to be dangerous and vital to his rivals, and he is willing to fight anyone who dares to challenge him. The second verse is a continuation of Kurupt's lyrical prowess, where he talks about how his invincibility is what makes him complete and how he can't be faded by anyone. The third verse, again by Kurupt, takes a more braggadocious tone, where he claims to be the deadliest MC on the streets and that no one can compete with him. The song ends with the chorus, repeating the idea that New York is a city of dreams, but not everything is as it seems.
Line by Line Meaning
Yo be (turn your speakers up man)
Increase the volume of your speakers
Turn your speakers up money!
Increase the volume of your speakers, my friend
Yo God! (Yo God?)
Hey there
Yo I got mad skills.
I possess exceptional talent
Isn't that money?
Am I correct?
New York New York big city of dreams
New York is a city full of opportunities and aspirations
And everything in New York ain't always what it seems
Not everything in New York is what it appears to be
You might get fooled if you come from out of town
If you are not from here, it is possible to be deceived
But I'm down by law, and I'm from the Dogg Pound
I am loyal and belong to the Dogg Pound
It's the incredible, the lyrical
I am stupendous and have remarkable skills in lyricism
You can't be me like Niece, to see me is gonna take a miracle
You cannot surpass me, it will take a divine intervention to see me
I'm driving motherfuckers hysterical, with a
I am causing people to be crazy with my talent
Touch of this twister, stylistic mixture
My style is unique and exceptional
What I create pulsates, there is no escape
My creations are overpowering and inevitable
Annihilate your mental mind state
I destroy your mental state
Dre labels my vocabulary abusive
Dr. Dre considers my language as offensive
I packs more knowledge than Confucius, I'm deadly
I have more wisdom than Confucius, and I am dangerous
Induce you like Medusa, with thoughts to shed
I can turn you to stone like Medusa with my thoughts
And niggaz throughout this hemisphere, far and near
People everywhere are paying attention to me
Prepare, catch me chillin' like the winter
Be ready, I am relaxed like the winter season
Up against the number one contender, as I enter
I am going against the best as I arrive
Cause I gets heated like friction
I become agitated like friction
Motherfuck your whole jurisdiction, react this fact not fiction
I disregard your authority, respond to the reality, not imaginary
Telepathic addiction, to this homicidal recital
I am emotionally tied to this deadly performance
Dangerous and vital to all my rivals
I pose a threat and am important to those against me
Suicidal, brainwaves conveys
I have suicidal thoughts that are communicated through my brainwaves
To the average motherfucker's minds these days
To the common person nowadays
I'm all ready to put work in
I am willing and able to put in the effort
Take ten steps and turn to shoot the first nigga smirkin'
I am ready and willing to attack whoever looks at me the wrong way
Give a fuck, what's your name, what you claim
I don't care what your name is or what you believe in
Or why you came, motherfucker don't explain
Don't tell me why you are here, it doesn't matter
Simply, don't tempt me, cause I'm simply
Don't challenge me, because I am just that good
Layin' hoes lifes empty, the invincible MC
I am the unstoppable rapper leaving behind empty lives
Too much, I serve too many people, too much
I am serving too many people, too frequently
And when I finish servin' ain't gon' be no sequel
There will be no continuation after I am done serving
Gimme a couple G's, for every MC, I knocked to his knees
Give me a few thousand dollars for every rapper I have defeated
Verbally useless, oh you got the juice? I squeeze you juiceless
You are worthless, do you think you have what it takes? I will make you powerless
The barbaric, versatile, you're no kin to me
I am a cruel, adaptable person, and you are not my family
So how the fuck you inherit my style?
How did you acquire my style?
Now, out the clear blue sky, I can't deny
Suddenly, I can't ignore
Not a day goes by, don't get high, don't ask why
I do not skip a day without getting high, and I don't question why
Tonight's the night for me to rip microphones
Tonight is the night for me to dominate in the music world
Into bits and pieces lyrical telekinesis
I will break down the microphone with non-physical power
Gets me into verbally vindictive
I become extremely cruel with my words
Violent vocabulary bobs to existence
Aggressive words are the foundation of my being
Catch me in the pitch black path
Find me in the dark path
I sit and let the sick thought pass through my mental
I allow twisted ideas to enter my mind
Till I hear an instrumental
Until I hear the beat
And detrimental verbals get to spittin'
Harmful words start coming out
The highest in intellect, try connectin' with the written
My intelligence is unmatched, try to understand my lyrics
Now they faced with the forbidden, vocally chosen
I challenge them with forbidden themes, and I was selected to be the voice
To explore new terrain, then remain unseen, throughout the war
To explore new areas, and then stay hidden throughout the conflict
Dips like a low-low, with my verbal fo'-fo'
I evade smoothly, like in a low-rider car with my proficient words
The cocoa complexion MC with the slow flow
I am a dark-skinned rapper with a relaxed rhythm
Fo sho', I takes it to you from the do'
Of course, I deliver it to you at your doorstep
Motherfucker, mentally I go hardco' (you know!)
I am tough mentally (you understand me!)
I disconnect ya, Kurupter, MC to vocally
I detach you, I am Kurupter, the rapper with the authority to speak out
Bore your whole molecular, structure
I exhaust your physical and chemical composition
Catastrophic, mystic as Mixelplix
Catastrophic and enigmatic like the cartoon character Mixelplix
Hittin MC's like picks the deadliest lyricist
I hit rappers like a pickaxe, I am the deadliest rapper
We live, tonight I serve two thousand MC's
We are alive, tonight I will defeat two thousand rappers
Cause can't none fuck with the DPG'z
No one can compete with the DPG'z
DPGC, ba-by
DPGC, baby
ABC the DPG'z
ABC, the DPG'z
Ba-by
Baby
Everyday, I bust rhymes and recite
Every day, I rap and perform
In ways that make MC's stop in daylight
In a way to make other rappers stop and take notice
I'm the deadlies MC you want to see on the streets
I am the most dangerous rapper you will encounter on the streets
Invincibility is what makes me complete, compete
My indestructibility is what defines me, enables me to compete
Nah you can't even fade me
You cannot compete with me
I fuck, you, your momma, your auntie, and your lady
I am sexually intimate with you, your mother, your aunt, and your wife
Lyrics © O/B/O APRA AMCOS
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
@baruchshaireturns6563
Changed my comment because I got tired of arguing for 7 months.
@gboogie360
He wasn't raised in ny.. difference between raised and lived
@baruchshaireturns6563
@@gboogie360 He was damn near 18 before he moved to the Bay Area. That's pretty much raised.
@ntf_midgyy1407
The REAL Mr. Gates i dont think this guy knows anything about 2pac😂 he was raised in new york
@2Pkb25
@@baruchshaireturns6563 HE MOVED TO BALTIMORE AT 12 DUMMY
😂😂😂
ALTHOUGH IM EASTCOAST BORN,IM WESTCOAST RAISED -
2PAC LYRICS
@juliusrandle2733
@@2Pkb25 point is he was raised in ny
@chal_bajo5885
It’s crazy that YouTube is our closest time machine we have
@drizzydr356
Omfg he still alive
@chal_bajo5885
@PAPI DEADPOOL will do😂
@LieDetectorMusic
realest statement