Hold On Be Strong
2pac/Stretch Lyrics


Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴  Line by Line Meaning ↴

Hold on
Yeah it's gonna be alright, don't trip baby
It'll get better

Ay do this Thug style main, Thug style
When this whole beat drop we just gon' run it to em bet
It's all good, uhh
I never had much, ran with a bad bunch
Little skinny kid sneakin weed in my bag lunch
And all through Junior High, we was just gettin by
And drivebys robbed my homies of their young lives
I never did cry, and even though I had
pain in my heart, I was hopeless from the start
They couldn't tell me nothin, they all tried to help to help me
The marijuana had my mind gone it wasn't healthy
I travelled places, caught cases, what a ill year
I felt the pain and the rain but I'm still here
Never did like the police, let the whole world know
Now I gets no peace, cause they chasin me down
And facin me now, what do I do?
These thangs that a Thug goes through
And still I rise so keep ya head up, and make ya mind strong
It's a struggle every day but you gotta hold on

Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on
When it's on it's on

Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on
When it's on it's on

Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on
When it's on it's on

Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on
When it's on it's on

There's, never a good day, cause in my hood they
let they AK's pump strays where the kids play
And every Halloween, check out the murder scene
Can't help but duplicate the violence seen on the screen
My homies dyin 'fore they get to see they birthdays
These is the worst days, sometimes it hurts to pray
And even God turned his back on the ghetto youth
I know that ain't the truth, sometimes I look for proof
I wonder if heaven got a ghetto, and if it does
Does it matter if you blood or you cuz
Remember how it was, the picnics and the parties in the projects
Small time drinkin gettin high with them armies
Just another knucklehead kid from the gutter
I'm dealin with the madness, raised by a single mother
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

Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on
When it's on it's on

Hold on, be strong
I know them ain't tears comin down your face
When it's on it's on but
Wipe your eyes
Hold on, be strong
In this world
When it's on it's on but
Only the strong survive y'know
Hold on, be strong
Hmm, I know it's hard out there
When it's on it's on but
Welfare
Hold on, be strong
AIDS, earthquakes
Cause when it's on it's on but
Muggings, carjackings
Hold on, and be strong
Yeah we got problems
'Cause when it's on it's on but
But believe me when I tell you
Hold on, and be strong
Things always get better
Cause when it's on it's on but
God don't like ugly
Hold on, and be strong
And God don't like no quitters
Cause when it's on it's on but
You know what Billie Holiday said bay-bee
Hold on, and be strong
God bless the child that can hold his own
'Cause when it's on it's on but
Y'know?
Hold on, and be strong
You got to stand strong
Cause when it's on it's on but
And when these bustas try to knock you out your place
Hold on, and be strong
You stand there to they face
Cause when it's on it's on but
Tell em hold on, and be strong
Hold on, and be strong
The game don't stop
'Cause when it's on it's on but
Hmmm
Hold on, and be strong
This here is black main
Cause when it's on it's on but
If you don't never leave nothin, learn one thing
Hold on, and be strong
It don't stop, til the casket drop
Hold on
Thug, for life feel me?
All my homeboys and my homegirls, stay strong
When things get bad, especially come the first and the fifteenth




Stay strong, and stay ballin, hold on
I'll catch y'all at the next life, we in traffic

Overall Meaning

The lyrics of 2pac/Stretch's song Hold On Be Strong reflect a life of hardship and violence, but also impart a message of hope and resilience in the face of adversity. The opening lines set the tone for the song and assure the listener that everything will be alright, despite the struggles they may face. The lyrics then tell the story of the artist's difficult upbringing, witnessing the deaths of friends and family members through gang violence and drive-bys. The singer struggles with addiction to marijuana, but ultimately manages to survive and rise above the challenges he faced. The song encourages listeners to stay strong, even when facing seemingly insurmountable difficulties, and to hold on to hope for a better tomorrow.


The lyrics of the song reflect the lived experiences of both 2pac and Stretch, who were both involved in the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry that dominated the rap scene in the mid-late 1990s. The song was released posthumously after 2pac's death in 1996 and features Stretch's vocal contributions. The song was a tribute to the resilience of people living in disadvantaged communities and was intended to inspire listeners to stay strong and persevere in spite of adversity.


Line by Line Meaning

Hold on
Don't give up


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


It'll get better
Things will improve


Ay do this Thug style main, Thug style
Let's approach this situation with a tough attitude


When this whole beat drop we just gon' run it to em bet
When the music starts, we'll go all out


It's all good, uhh
We're okay, no worries


I never had much, ran with a bad bunch
I didn't have much and I hung out with the wrong crowd


Little skinny kid sneakin weed in my bag lunch
I was a small kid sneaking drugs into school


And all through Junior High, we was just gettin by
In middle school, we were barely getting through


And drivebys robbed my homies of their young lives
Shootings took the lives of my friends


I never did cry, and even though I had pain in my heart, I was hopeless from the start
I never cried, even though I was hurting and had no hope


They couldn't tell me nothin, they all tried to help to help me
People tried to help but I wouldn't listen


The marijuana had my mind gone it wasn't healthy
Smoking weed messed with my mind and was bad for me


I travelled places, caught cases, what a ill year
I went to different places and had legal issues, it was a tough year


I felt the pain and the rain but I'm still here
Even though I experienced pain and hardship, I'm still alive


Never did like the police, let the whole world know
I never liked the cops and made it clear to everyone


Now I gets no peace, cause they chasin me down
The police won't leave me alone and are constantly after me


And facin me now, what do I do?
Now that I'm being confronted, how do I handle it?


These thangs that a Thug goes through
These are the situations that a thug experiences


And still I rise so keep ya head up, and make ya mind strong
I rise above it all, so keep your head up and stay strong mentally


It's a struggle every day but you gotta hold on
Every day is a challenge but you have to keep going


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


And every Halloween, check out the murder scene
Every Halloween, there are murders and violence


Can't help but duplicate the violence seen on the screen
It's hard not to copy the violence we see in movies and on TV


My homies dyin 'fore they get to see they birthdays
My friends are dying before they reach their birthdays


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


And even God turned his back on the ghetto youth
Even God seems to have abandoned the poor people in the ghetto


I know that ain't the truth, sometimes I look for proof
I don't believe that is true, and sometimes I search for evidence to prove it


I wonder if heaven got a ghetto, and if it does, does it matter if you blood or you cuz
I wonder if there's a ghetto in heaven, and if so, does it matter if you're related or not


Remember how it was, the picnics and the parties in the projects
Remember the good times we had, like picnics and parties in the projects


Small time drinkin gettin high with them armies
Drinking and getting high with my friends


Just another knucklehead kid from the gutter
I was just another troublemaking kid from the poor area


I'm dealin with the madness, raised by a single mother
I'm trying to deal with the chaos of my life, raised by a single mom


You gotta keep your head to the sky and be strong, most of all hold on
You have to stay positive and hold on, especially when things are tough


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


Wipe your eyes
Dry your tears


In this world
In this life


Only the strong survive y'know
The only people who make it are the ones who are strong


Hmm, I know it's hard out there
I know it's tough to survive


Welfare
People on welfare struggle to make ends meet


AIDS, earthquakes
There are serious issues like AIDS and natural disasters


Muggings, carjackings
There are crimes like robbery and car theft


Yeah we got problems
Yes, we have a lot of problems


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


God don't like ugly
God doesn't like bad behavior


And God don't like no quitters
And God doesn't like people who give up


You know what Billie Holiday said bay-bee
Do you know what Billie Holiday said?


God bless the child that can hold his own
God bless the child who can take care of themselves


Y'know?
You know what I mean?


You got to stand strong
You need to be strong


And when these bustas try to knock you out your place
When people try to bring you down


You stand there to they face
You face them head on


Tell em hold on, and be strong
Tell them to hold on and be strong


The game don't stop
The struggle never ends


This here is black main
This is the reality for black people


If you don't never leave nothin, learn one thing
If you don't take away anything else, remember this


It don't stop, til the casket drop
It never ends, until you die


Thug, for life feel me?
I'll be a thug for the rest of my life, you understand?


All my homeboys and my homegirls, stay strong
All of my friends, stay strong


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
Stay strong and keep hustling, hold on


I'll catch y'all at the next life, we in traffic
I'll see you all in the afterlife, we're just waiting now




Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, BMG Rights Management, THE BICYCLE MUSIC COMPANY
Written by: TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR, PHILIP JAMES BAILEY, VANCE BRANCH, DUANE THOMAS NETTLESBEY, ALBERT PHILLIP MCKAY, STEPHEN DEVINNEY BECKMEIER

Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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Comments from YouTube:

Donald Hout

2pac is a King änd a Legend in Gangsta Rap Music. Iam a huge 2pac Fan Forever. R.I.P. Tupac Amaru Shakur 1971 Til 1996.

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