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Keep Ya Head Up
The beat is sampled from Zapp's "Be Alright" and the chorus is sampled from The Five Stairsteps' "O-o-h Child", but originally it was sampled from Big Daddy Kane's "Prince of Darkness". It was first released in Shakur's 1993 album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., later appearing after his death in 1998 in his Greatest Hits compilation. A "sequel" to the song, "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)" was released in 2Pac's posthumous album Still I Rise in 1999.
Unknown Binding
First published January 1, 1993
About the author
Tupac Shakur
16 books851 followersTupac Amaru Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a successful film actor and a prominent social activist. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-selling rap artist, with over 75,000,000 albums sold worldwide, including over 50,000,000 in the United States. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social and racial equality, as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse and conflicts with the law.
Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground. Shakur's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, gained critical recognition and backlash for its controversial lyrics. Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal problems. Later, he was shot five times and robbed in the lobby of a recording studio in New York City. Following the event, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. After serving eleven months of his sentence for sexual abuse, Shakur was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Knight's assistance, Shakur agreed to release three albums under the Death Row label. Shakur's fifth album, the first double-disc release in hip hop history All Eyez on Me, was counted as two albums.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, and died six days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at the University Medical Center.
Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground. Shakur's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, gained critical recognition and backlash for its controversial lyrics. Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal problems. Later, he was shot five times and robbed in the lobby of a recording studio in New York City. Following the event, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. After serving eleven months of his sentence for sexual abuse, Shakur was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Knight's assistance, Shakur agreed to release three albums under the Death Row label. Shakur's fifth album, the first double-disc release in hip hop history All Eyez on Me, was counted as two albums.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, and died six days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at the University Medical Center.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
December 1, 2014
This is my favorite song by the late Tupac Shakur. This artist had mastered the art of story telling through rap. This songs always evokes various emotions when I hear it. For me it has many golden lines, or lines that overwhelm me in a positive way. "Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots" this one line sets the entire tone of the song for me. When I hear this I know that this song will be on that helps to uplift people of color. "And I ain't tryin to gash you up, I just call em how I see em" this reminds me that sometimes you need to hear the harsh truth of your reality in order to invoke the want for change inside yourself. "I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me
He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be" this line makes me feel a since of pride in being African American, because their was a time when I was not as proud of my race. "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 fall down this week" and this is the most powerful set of lines for me, because this is my everyday struggle. Just reading these lyrics brings me to tears. "And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but Please... you got to keep your head up" this line is the overall theme of the song, and what makes it so encouraging to me. Over the years black people as a whole have consistently been reminded to keep our heads up, we are resilient as a people and I intend to keep that resilience going and hopefully be a great example to my daughter of how to "keep ya head up". Tupac did a wonderful job with this song and has many golden lines that have different meanings to different people. This song as a whole is very powerful and inspirational and can be used to teach how bring depth and expression to writing.
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots" this one line sets the entire tone of the song for me. When I hear this I know that this song will be on that helps to uplift people of color. "And I ain't tryin to gash you up, I just call em how I see em" this reminds me that sometimes you need to hear the harsh truth of your reality in order to invoke the want for change inside yourself. "I remember Marvin Gaye, used to sing ta me
He had me feelin like black was tha thing to be" this line makes me feel a since of pride in being African American, because their was a time when I was not as proud of my race. "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 fall down this week" and this is the most powerful set of lines for me, because this is my everyday struggle. Just reading these lyrics brings me to tears. "And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but Please... you got to keep your head up" this line is the overall theme of the song, and what makes it so encouraging to me. Over the years black people as a whole have consistently been reminded to keep our heads up, we are resilient as a people and I intend to keep that resilience going and hopefully be a great example to my daughter of how to "keep ya head up". Tupac did a wonderful job with this song and has many golden lines that have different meanings to different people. This song as a whole is very powerful and inspirational and can be used to teach how bring depth and expression to writing.
Displaying 1 of 1 review