With Tupac Shakur's 46th birthday behind us, and his biopic film "All Eyez on Me" recently released, 2Pac has been on the hearts and minds of a lot of us. Regardless of how people viewed him- poet, gangster, thug, visionary, activist, etc.- he made waves through his music that can still be felt today. Here are XX 2Pac quotes that still hold their value today
1. My mama always used to tell me: "If you can't find somethin' to live for, you best find somethin' to die for."
Tupac loved his mother and always took her advice to heart. This goes back to the old adage "if you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything." Our generation needs to find our purpose because we are lost.
2. My only fear is coming back reincarnated.
(Above- The last known picture of Tupac Shakur alive)
Quoted specifically from "No More Pain" by 2Pac, he speaks not about fearing the inevitability of death, but rather being brought back into what he viewed as a cruel and unfair world. This quote also holds value for Shakur as a Christ figure, in that he saw the afterlife as glorious.
3. Hate to sound sleazy, but tease me, I don't want it if it's that easy.
Simply put — guys, be picky about the girls you choose.
4. The only thing that comes to a sleeping man is dreams.
Tupac was always hustling, always making money and connections. Plenty of people like to sit around and do nothing to achieve their dreams.
5. I'd rather die like a man than live like a coward.
Tupac in his younger years wrote dozens of poetic verses and studied the arts, referencing Shakespeare in many of his works.
6. We all gonna die, we bleed from similar veins.
This references any confrontation with a man in his life. Tupac feared no man because nobody is invincible, we all bleed the same blood.
7. For every dark night, there's a brighter day.
8. Our future is our confidence and self-esteem.
Again, Tupac worked against fear instead of through it. He believed that conquering our internal demons was key to success.
9. You know it's funny when it rains it pours, they got money for wars, but can't feed the poor.
2Pac was always outspoken and critical of society and our governing bodies, saying "instead of a war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me."
10. Everybody’s at war with different things. I’m at war with my own heart sometimes.
You never know what someone is going through.
11. I'm not saying I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.
Tupac was the first to admit that he may not have been the smartest guy in the world, but he knew that his music would touch people's lives and change them for the better.
12. The seed must grow regardless of the fact that it’s planted in stone.
A personal favorite from one of Tupac's poems. No matter where you came from, all that matters is where you're going and everyone has their chance to blossom into the rose that grew from concrete.
13. I am not a perfectionist but still I seek perfection. I am not a great romantic, but yet I yearn for affection.
14. Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive Never surrender.
Hope, sometimes, is all we have. Never lose it.
15. Pay no mind to those who talk behind your back, it simply means that you are two steps ahead.
He used hate as his fuel to do what people said he couldn't.
16. I’m not saying girls are perfect cause we all know that’s not true. But why be unfaithful to her if she was true to you?
@ every man in this generation, again. But this also applies to women.
17. I would rather be stricken blind, than to live without expression of mind.
The day you let someone limit how you express yourself is the day you lose your true freedom. Writing, singing, dancing, sports, etc. it doesn't matter what you do, but that you express yourself unhindered. That is true happiness.
