2Pac Hits Vol. 1

"Trapped" 2Pacalypse Now (1991) You know they got me trapped in this prison of seclusion Happiness, living on tha streets is a delusion Even a smooth criminal one day must get caught Shot up or shot down with tha bullet that he bought

Nine millimeter kickin' thinking about what tha streets do to me Cause they never talk peace in tha black community All we know is violence, do tha job in silence Walk tha city streets like a rat pack of tyrants

Too many brothers daily heading for tha big penn Niggas commin' out worse offthan when they went in Over tha years I done alot of growin' up Getten drunk thrown' up Cuffed up Then I said I had enough

There must be another route, way out To money and fame, I changed my name And played a different game Tired of being trapped in this vicious cycle If one more cop harrasses me I just might go psycho And when I gettem

I'll hittem with tha bum rush Only a lunatic would like to see his skull crushed Yo, if your smart you'll really let me go 'G' But keep me cooped up in this ghetto and catch tha uzi They got me trapped...

They got me trapped Can barely walk tha city streets Without a cop harrassing me, searching me Then asking my identity Hands up, throw me up against tha wall Didn't do a thing at all I'm tellen you one day these suckers gotta fall

Cuffed up throw me on tha concrete Coppers try to kill me But they didn't know this was tha wrong street Bang bang, down another casualty But it's a cop who's shot there's brutality Who do you blame? It's a shame because tha mans slain

He got caught in tha chains of his own game How can I feel guilty after all tha things they did to me Sweated me, hunted me Trapped in my own community One day i'm gonna bust Blow up on this society Why did ya lie to me ?

I couldn't find a trace of equality Work me like a slave while they laid back Homie don't play that It's time I lett'em suffer tha payback I'm tryin to avoid physical contact I can't hold back, it's time to attack jack They got me trapped

Can't use tha phone Cause i'm sure someone is tappin in Did it before Ain't scared to use my gat again I look back at hindsite the fight was irrelevant But now he's tha devils friend Too late to be tellin' him

He shot first and i'll be damned if I run away Homie is done away I should of put my gun away I wasn't thinkin' all I heard was tha ridicule Girlies was laughin', Tup sayin "Damn homies is dissin you" I fired my weapon Started steppin' in tha hurricane

I got shot so I dropped Feelin' a burst of pain Got to my feet Couldn't see nothin' but bloody blood Now i'm a fugitive to be hunted like a murderer Ran through an alley Still lookin' for my getaway

Coppers said Freeze, or you'll be dead today Trapped in a corner Dark and I couldn't see tha light Thoughts in my mind was tha nine and a better life

What do I do ? Live my life in a prison cell I'd rather die than be trapped in a living hell They got me trapped

"Brenda's GotA Baby" 2Pacalypse Now (1991) I hear Brenda's got a baby But, Brenda's barely got a brain A damn shame The girl can hardly spell her name (That's not our problem, that's up to Brenda's family)

Well let me show ya how it affects the whole communityNow Brenda really never knew her moms and her dad was a junky Went in death to his arms, it's sad Cause I bet Brenda doesn't even know

Just cause your in the ghetto doesn't mean ya can't grow But oh, that's a thought, my own revelation Do whatever it takes to resist the temptation Brenda got herself a boyfriend Her boyfriend was her cousin, now lets watch the joy end

She tried to hide her pregnancy, from her family Who didn't really care to see, or give a damn if she Went out and had a church of kids As long as when the check came they got first dibsNow Brenda's belly is gettin bigger

But no one seems to notice any change in her figureShe's 12 years old and she's having a baby In love with the molester, who's sexing her crazy And yet she thinks that he'll be with her forever

And dreams of a world with the two of them are together, whatever He left her and she had the baby solo, she had it on the bathroom floor And didn't know so, she didn't know, what to throw away and what to keep

She wrapped the baby up and threw him in the trash heep I guess she thought she'd get away Wouldn't hear the cries She didn't realize How much the the little baby had her eyes Now the baby's in the trash heep balling

Momma say, you makin' me lose pay, the social workers here everyday Now Brenda's gotta make her own way Can't go to her family, they won't let her stay No money no babysitter, she couldn't keep a job

She tried to sell crack, but end up getting robbed So now what's next, there ain't nothing left to sell So she sees sex as a way of leaving hell It's paying the rent, so she really can't complain Prostitute, found slain

And Brenda's her name, she's got a baby

"Keep Ya Head Up" Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993) "Little somethin for my godson Elijah and a little girl named Corinne"

Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots I give a holler to my sisters on welfare Tupac cares, and don't nobody else care And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot

When you come around the block brothas clown a lot But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up Forgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up And when he tells you you ain't nuttin don't believe him

And if he can't learn to love you you should leave him Cause sista you don't need him And I ain't tryin to gas ya up, I just call em how I see em You know it makes me unhappy (what's that)

When brothas make babies, and leave a young mother to be a pappy And since we all came from a woman Got our name from a woman and our game from a woman I wonder why we take from our women

Why we rape our women, do we hate our women? I think it's time to kill for our women Time to heal our women, be real to our women And if we don't we'll have a race of babies That will hate the ladies, that make the babies

And since a man can't make one He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one So will the real men get up I know you're fed up ladies, but keep your head up

Aiyyo, I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be And suddenly tha ghetto didn't seem so tough And though we had it rough, we always had enough

I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules Ran with the local crew, and had a smoke or two And I realize momma really paid the price She nearly gave her life, to raise me right And all I had ta give her was my pipe dream

Of how I'd rock the mic, and make it to tha bright screen I'm tryin to make a dollar out of fifteen cents It's hard to be legit and still pay tha rent And in the end it seems I'm headin for tha pen I try and find my friends, but they're blowin in the wind

Last night my buddy lost his whole family It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity It seems tha rain'll never let up I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin wet up You know it's funny when it rains it pours

They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor Say there ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is it ain't no hope for tha future And then they wonder why we crazy I blame my mother, for turning my brother into a crack baby

We ain't meant to survive, cause it's a setup And even though you're fed up Huh, ya got to keep your head up

To all the ladies havin babies on they own I know it's kinda rough and you're feelin all alone Daddy's long gone and he left you by ya lonesome Thank the Lord for my kids, even if nobody else want em

Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I'm sureAnd if you fall, stand tall and comeback for more Cause ain't nuttin worse than when your son wants to kno why his daddy don't love him no mo' You can't complain you was dealt this

hell of a hand without a man, feelin helpless Because there's too many things for you to deal with Dying inside, but outside you're looking fearless While tears, is rollin down your cheeks Ya steady hopin things don't all down this week

Cause if it did, you couldn't take it, and don't blame me I was given this world I didn't make it And now my son's getten older and older and cold From havin the world on his shoulders While the rich kids is drivin Benz

I'm still tryin to hold on to my survivin friends And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but please... you got to keep your head up

In Memory of Tupac Shakur "Keep Ya Head Up, N.I.G.G.A.Z." Copyright: Virgin Island Press