Hold On Be Strong
2Pac Feat. Big Stretch Lyrics

Hold on
Keep going, don't give up

Yeah it's gonna be alright, don't trip baby
Everything will be okay, don't worry

It'll get better
The situation will improve

Ay do this Thug style main, Thug style
Do it with the attitude and perseverance of a thug

When this whole beat drop we just gon' run it to em bet
When the music starts, we will go at it with determination

It's all good, uhh
Everything is fine

I never had much, ran with a bad bunch
I didn't have much growing up, and hung out with a troublesome group

Little skinny kid sneakin weed in my bag lunch
As a child, I hid drugs in my school lunch

And all through Junior High, we was just gettin by
Throughout middle school, we were just managing to survive

And drivebys robbed my homies of their young lives
My friends were killed in drive-by shootings when they were young

I never did cry, and even though I had pain in my heart, I was hopeless from the start
I never cried, and despite my emotional pain, I felt hopeless from the beginning

They couldn't tell me nothin, they all tried to help to help me
No one could convince me to change, even though they tried to help

The marijuana had my mind gone it wasn't healthy
Smoking weed had negative effects on my mental health

I travelled places, caught cases, what a ill year
I went to different places and got into legal trouble in one year

I felt the pain and the rain but I'm still here
I experienced hardships but am still alive and moving forward

Never did like the police, let the whole world know
I never had a positive view of law enforcement and made it known publicly

Now I gets no peace, cause they chasin me down
I have no peace because the police are pursuing me

And facin me now, what do I do?
Now that I am facing the consequences of my actions, I am unsure of what to do

These thangs that a Thug goes through
These are the experiences that a tough person faces

And still I rise so keep ya head up, and make ya mind strong
Despite everything I am facing, I am persevering, and I encourage you to do the same

It's a struggle every day but you gotta hold on
It's difficult to keep going each day, but you have to persevere

Hold on, be strong, hold on
Keep fighting and don't give up

Be strong, hold on
Persevere and keep going

When it's on it's on
When things get tough, that's just how it is

There's, never a good day, cause in my hood they let they AK's pump strays where the kids play
In my neighborhood, there are never any truly good days, because people shoot guns in areas where children play

And every Halloween, check out the murder scene
On Halloween, there are often violent incidents to witness

Can't help but duplicate the violence seen on the screen
People can't help but copy the violent behavior they see

My homies dyin 'fore they get to see they birthdays
My friends die before they reach their next birthday

These is the worst days, sometimes it hurts to pray
These are the toughest days, and it's hard to pray sometimes

And even God turned his back on the ghetto youth
It feels like even God has given up on young people growing up in low-income areas

I know that ain't the truth, sometimes I look for proof
I know that's not true, but sometimes I look for evidence to the contrary

I wonder if heaven got a ghetto, and if it does, does it matter if you blood or you cuz
I wonder if there is a place for the impoverished in heaven, and if so, does it matter if you are related by blood or not?

Remember how it was, the picnics and the parties in the projects
Remember the good times, like the parties and picnics we used to have in the housing projects

Small time drinkin gettin high with them armies
Drinking and using drugs with my buddies

Just another knucklehead kid from the gutter
Just one more foolish youth from a poor area

I'm dealin with the madness, raised by a single mother
I'm coping with insanity, and was raised by a lone parent

I'm tryin to tell you when it's on, you gotta keep your head to the sky and be strong, most of all hold on
I'm telling you that you have to stay strong and hold on, until things get better

I know them ain't tears comin down your face
I know you are not crying

Wipe your eyes
Dry your tears

In this world
In this life

Only the strong survive y'know
Only tough people make it through, you know

Hmm, I know it's hard out there
It's tough out there

Welfare
Government assistance

AIDS, earthquakes
Diseases and natural disasters

Muggings, carjackings
Robberies and vehicle theft

Yeah we got problems
Yes, we have issues to deal with

But believe me when I tell you things always get better
Trust me, things will get better

God don't like ugly
God does not approve of negative behavior

And God don't like no quitters
God does not respect people who give up easily

You know what Billie Holiday said bay-bee
You know the famous words Billie Holiday said

God bless the child that can hold his own
God bless the person who can manage to survive independently

Y'know?
Do you understand?

Hold on, and be strong
Keep going and be tough

You got to stand strong
You must remain steadfast

And when these bustas try to knock you out your place, you stand there to they face
When people try to undermine you, you look them in the eye and stand your ground

The game don't stop
The struggle continues

Hmmm
Expression of thought

This here is black main
This is the representation of black culture

If you don't never leave nothin, learn one thing
If nothing else, learn this

It don't stop, til the casket drop
The struggle never ends, until we die

Thug, for life feel me?
I am a thug for life, do you understand?

All my homeboys and my homegirls, stay strong
My friends, stay tough

When things get bad, especially come the first and the fifteenth
When things get tough, especially around payday

Stay strong, and stay ballin, hold on
Remain tough and hold on to what you have

I'll catch y'all at the next life, we in traffic
I'll see you all on the other side, we are living in chaos