Tupac Shakur contained multitudes.He was a brilliant poet, a highly trained and skilled actor, advocate and free-thinker.He’s also the man who championed THUG LIFE (later explained as the backcronym The Hate U Give Little Infants F---s Everybody”), wrote songs about the disposability of women, and openly wished violence upon his enemies.One of these does not cancel out the other -- 2Pac has done things worth glorifying and others worth condemning.But his words have outlived him, and many are just as relevant now as they were while he was still breathing.In the wake of an election that saw a man elected on a platform of discrimination and white supremacy, we looked for meaning in 2Pac’s back catalog, searching for some of his most positive and socially conscious lyrics, in the hopes that 2Pac at his most woke can provide some levity for anyone confused or in pain.From the jump, 2Pac’s rhymes were imbued with complex narratives, humanizing the downtrodden with equal parts empathy and rage.

This famous story of a 12 year old girl molested by her family, impregnated, turned out and strung out in the street is one of his darkest and most poignant.Pac lays out the story in a single verse, with strong active language that paints a vivid picture free of florid detail.It’s been referenced by countless rappers, though not always so tactfully; Rick Ross once bragged on “Tupac’s Back” that “Brenda’s havin’ my baby.” Hmmm.“Now the baby's in the trash heap ballingMomma can't help her, but it hurts to hear her callingBrenda wants to run awayMomma say, you makin' me lose payThe social workers here everydayNow Brenda's gotta make her own wayCan't go to her family, they won't let her stayNo money no babysitter, she couldn't keep a jobShe tried to sell crack, but end up getting robbedSo now what's next, there ain't nothing left to sellSo she sees sex as a way of leaving hellIt's paying the rent, so she really can't complainProstitute, found slain, and Brenda's her name, she's got a baby”One of the more disturbing developments of the ubiquity of “trap” music is its divorce from its origin -- to call a neighborhood “The Trap” is quite literally referencing the systemic oppression that prevents its residents from climbing out of poverty.

Here Pac delineates some of the Catch 22s of the Trap.“You know they got me trapped in this prison of seclusionHappiness, living on the streets is a delusionEven a smooth criminal one day must get caughtShot up or shot down with the bullet that he boughtNine millimeter kickin' thinkin' about what the streets do to meCause they never talk peace in the black community”“Holla if Ya Hear Me”One of the things that made 2Pac so difficult for mainstream America to comprehend was the mere plurality of his existence.bitcoin micro loansOn tracks like "Holla If You Hear Me," he terrified pearl-clutching suburbanites with his THUG LIFE tales and his tacit approval of the life of crime.remove bitcoin ubuntuBut with bars like these, he captures the anger and frustration of millions who feel trapped.“Pump ya fists if ya feel me, holla if ya hear meLearn to survive in the nine-tre'I make rhyme pay, others make crime payWhatever it takes to live and standCause nobody else'll give a damnSo we live like caged beastsWaitin for the day to let the rage freeStill me, till they kill meI love it when they fear me”Quite possibly the most woke 2Pac song of all time, Pac celebrates blackness, women, and black women, promoting hope and positivity amidst tragic circumstances.ethereum vpn

The fact that it’s so disparate from his most thugged out material is likely its greatest strength; if he can get the hardest, toughest gangsters to consider the strength and beauty of black women, maybe the rest of us can, too.“Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juiceI say the darker the flesh then the deeper the rootsI give a holla to my sisters on welfare2Pac cares if don't nobody else careAnd I know they like to beat you down a lotWhen you come around the block, brothers clown a lotBut please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let upForgive, but don't forget, girl, keep your head upAnd when he tells you you ain't nothing, don't believe himAnd if he can't learn to love you, you should leave him‘Cause, sister, you don't need him”Most every thug loves his mama.“I shed tears with my baby sister, over the yearsWe was poorer than the other little kidsAnd even though we had different daddies, the same dramaWhen things went wrong we'd blame MamaI reminisce on the stress I caused, it was hellHuggin' on my mama from a jail cellAnd who'd think in elementary, heyI'd see the penitentiary one day?And running from the police, that's rightMama catch me, put a whoopin' to my backsideAnd even as a crack fiend, MamaYou always was a black queen, MamaI finally understandFor a woman it ain't easy trying to raise a manYou always was committedA poor single mother on welfare, tell me how you did itThere's no way I can pay you back, but the planIs to show you that I understand; you are appreciated””To Live and Die in LA”This Pac anthem to his adopted hometown of Los Angeles (Shakur was originally from the east coast) is a love letter to a complicated town.ethereum pepe

He speaks of gangs and police drama on equal terms with women and marijuana, and even calls out the Governor.But our favorite lyric is the start to the third verse, his hat tip to brown pride, and a commonality with segregated communities.“It wouldn't be L.A.without MexicansBlack love, brown pride, and the sets againPete Wilson tryin' to see us all brokeI'm on some bullshit out for everything they owe”An anthem that feels as urgent in late 2016 as it did in 1996.bitcoin core forkWhat does it feel like to be black in a world where white is right?sell litecoin for euroWhen half the voting public wants to be led by racists?“Eatin' Jack-Mack, Starin' at the walls of silenceInside this cage where they captured all my rage and violenceIn time I learned a few lessons, never fall for richesApologizes to my true sisters, far from bitchesHelp me raise my Black nation, reparations are dueIt's true, caught up in this world I took advantage of youSo tell the babies how I love them, precious boys and girlsBorn black in this white man's world”It’s hard to say what Pac would have thought of this posthumous Elton John collaboration, but despite the relatively cheesy production values, his verses are as thoughtful and carefully considered as ever.

Verses of wizened reflection like these, released after his death, are part of why so many were so reluctant to accept that he was gone.“If I could recollect before my hood daysI sit and reminisce, thinking of bliss and the good daysI stop and stare at the youngerMy heart goes to 'em, they tested with stress that they underAnd nowadays things changeEveryone's ashamed of the youth‘cause the truth look strangeAnd for me it's reversedWe left 'em a world that's cursed and it hurts‘Cause any day they'll push the button, and all good men like Malcolm X or Bobby Hutton died for nothin'Don't it make you get teary?The world looks drearyWhen you wipe your eyes see it clearlyThere's no need for you to fear meIf you take your time and hear meMaybe you can learn to cheer meIt ain't about black or white, ‘cause we humanI hope we see the light before it's ruined; my ghetto gospel”Nothin’ more gangsta than a Bruce Hornsby sample, eh?The lead single from his posthumous Greatest Hits collection, chances are this was the first time your grandma heard Pac’s bars, when the DJ threw it on at your homeboy’s bar mitzvah.

Post-Obama, people loved to quote and sample “We ain’t ready to see a Black President,” but Post-Trump, ‘Pac’s words appear more prescient than ever.“I see no changes, all I see is racist facesMisplaced hate makes disgrace to racesWe under, I wonder what it takes to make thisOne better place, let's erase the wastedTake the evil out the people, they'll be acting right‘Cause both Black and White are smoking crack tonightAnd the only time we chill is when we kill each otherIt takes skill to be real, time to heal each otherAnd although it seems heaven-sentWe ain't ready to see a black presidentIt ain't a secret, don't conceal the fact:The penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacksBut some things will never changeTry to show another way, but you staying in the dope gameNow tell me, what's a mother to do?Being real don't appeal to the brother in youYou gotta operate the easy way"I made a G today," but you made it in a sleazy waySelling crack to the kids"I gotta get paid!", well hey, but that's the way it is””“Can U C the Pride in the Panther”The voice may be Yasiin Bey’s (fka Mos Def), but the words are all Mr.