That's just the way it is (Just the way it is, yeah, yeah, yeah) "Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat," that's the way it is 'Cause I always got to worry ’bout the payback That's the sound of my tool, you say it ain't coolĪnd as long as I stay Black, I gotta stay strapped I don't trust this, when they try to rush, I bust this They get jealous when they see you with your mobile phone They got a war on drugs so the police can bother meĪnd I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to doīut now I'm back with the facts, givin' it back to you (Ooh) It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East (Ooh, yeah) So it's on us to do what we gotta do to surviveĪnd still I see no changes, can't a brother get a little peace? It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changesĪnd let's change the way we treat each other Sellin' crack to the kids (Oh, oh), "I gotta get paid" (Oh) "I made a G today," but you made it in a sleazy way Try to show another way, but you stayin' in the dope game (Ooh)īein' real don't appeal to the brother in you (Yeah) The penitentiary's packed and it's filled with Blacksīut some things will never change (Never change) It ain't a secret, don't conceal the fact We ain't ready to see a Black president, uh (Oh, ooh) It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other ’Cause both Black and White are smokin' crack tonightĪnd the only time we chill is when we kill each other (Kill each other) Take the evil out the people, they'll be actin' right We under, I wonder what it takes to make this I see no changes, all I see is racist faces (Never be the same, yeah, yeah, yeah, aww, yeah) That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is, the way it is) That's just the way it is (That's the way it is, what?) I'd love to go back to when we played as kidsīut things change, and that's the way it is How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me? Uh Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers "It's time to fight back," that's what Huey saidīut we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other Give ’em guns, step back, watch ’em kill each other "Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares?įirst ship ’em dope and let ’em deal to brothers Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch I'm tired of bein' poor and, even worse, I'm Black Is life worth livin'? Should I blast myself? I see no changes, wake up in the morning and I ask myself It wasn't just a case of choosing a sample because it sounded good artists and producers would often incorporate people and songs that meant something to them.Fast forward to 2021, "Changes" has integrated itself into the meme culture on TikTok with the well-known bar "I see no changes" marking the comedic lack of progression within the government, relationships and body goals.Ĭheck out the lyrics to Tupac Shakur's "Changes" below. They were both powerful, strong figures for the black community. Trapped, one of the hit singles from his first record, samples James Brown's The Spank.īrown is one of the most sampled artists in hip hop, along with Curtis Mayfield. Tupac sampled a range of artists on his records, such as Herbie Hancock, Pink Floyd, Parliament, Joe Cocker, Public Enemy and Stevie Wonder. It tells the story of a 12-year-old girl from the ghetto who has a baby and ends up slipping into drugs and prostitution and is eventually killed. Songs like Brenda's Got A Baby on his debut studio album, 2Pacalyse Now, highlight that. On the other side was that social conscience, showing all the facets of what life was life in the ghetto as a young black male, telling stories that hadn't been heard, and speaking out for the black community. There was a side of him that wanted to just let it all out and cut loose and not care about consequences. It wasn't necessarily about telling a story in the most intricate and detailed of ways, it was about making you feel like you were there seeing what he was seeing. Tupac's ability to communicate what was going on around him was second to none. " wrote some of the rawest stories, man," he told the LA Times in 1995. He also studied theatre as a teenager at the Baltimore School of Performing Arts, and was inspired by Shakespeare. Tupac took a lot of early inspiration from the politically-charged music of Public Enemy and Ice Cube. He had a level of self-empowerment that made people want to listen to what he had to say.Įven today, you could fly anywhere and surely there'd be someone who knows of Tupac. What he brought to hip hop was a level of rawness and a poetic drive in the way he delivered his words. Tupac Shakur, known by his stage names 2Pac, Pac, and Makaveli, is regarded as one of the most iconic and influential rappers of all time.
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