Change, shit
I guess change is good for any of us
Whatever it take for any of y'all niggaz to get up out the hood
Shit, I'm wit cha, I ain't mad at cha
Got nuttin but love for ya, do your thing boy
Yeah, all the homies that I ain't talk to in a while
I'ma send this one out for y'all, knahmean?
Cause I ain't mad at cha
Heard y'all tearin up shit out there, kickin up dust
[Danny Boy] I ain't...
Givin a motherfucker, heheheheheh
Yeah, niggaz
[Danny Boy] ...mad at cha
Cause I ain't mad at cha
Verse One: 2Pac
Now we was once two niggaz of the same kind
Quick to holla at a hoochie with the same line
You was just a little smaller but you still rolled
Got stressed in y.a and hit the hood swoll
Member when you had a jheri curl didn't quite learn
On the block, witcha glock, trippin off sherm
Collect calls to the till, sayin how ya changed
Oh you a Muslim now, no more dope game
Heard you might be comin home, just got bail
Wanna go to the Mosque, don't wanna chase tail
I seems I lost my little homie he's a changed man
Hit the pen and now no sinnin is the game plan
When I talk about money all you see is the struggle
When I tell you I'm livin large you tell me it's trouble
Congratulation on the weddin, I hope your wife know
She got a playa for life, and that's no bullshitin
I know we grew apart, you probably don't remember
I used to fiend for your sister, but never went up in her
And I can see us after school, we'd BOMB
on the first motherfucker with the wrong shit on
Now the whole shit's changed, and we don't even kick it
Got a big money scheme, and you ain't even with it
Hmm, knew in my heart you was the same motherfucker bad
Go toe to toe when it's time for roll you got a brother's back
And I can't even trip, cause I'm just laughin at cha
You tryin hard to maintain, then go head
cause I ain't mad at cha
(Hmm, I ain't mad at cha)
Chorus: Danny Boy
I ain't, mad, at cha (2Pac: I ain't mad at cha)
I ain't, mad, at cha
Verse Two: 2Pac
We used to be like distant cousins, fightin, playin dozens
Whole neighborhood buzzin, knowin, that we wasn't
Used to catch us on the roof or behind the stairs
I'm gettin blitzed and I reminsce on all the times we shared
Besides bumpin n grindin wasn't nothin on our mind
In time we learned to live a life of crime
Rewind us back, to a time was much too young to know
I caught a felony lovin the way the guns blow
And even though we seperated, you said that you'd wait
Don't give nobody no coochie while I be locked up state
I kiss my Mama goodbye, and wipe the tears from her lonely eyes
Said I'll return but I gotta fight the fate's arrived
Don't shed a tear, cause Mama I ain't happy here
I'm through trial, no more smiles, for a couple years
They got me goin mad, I'm knockin busters on they backs
in my cell, thinkin, "Hell, I know one day I'll be back"
As soon as I touch down
I told my girl I'll be there, so prepare, to get fucked down
The homies wanna kick it, but I'm just laughin at cha
Cause youse a down ass bitch, and I ain't mad at cha
Chorus: Danny Boy
I ain't, mad, at cha (2Pac: I ain't mad at cha)
I ain't, mad, at cha (2Pac: A true down ass bitch, and I ain't mad at cha)
Verse Three: 2Pac
Well guess who's movin up, this nigga's ballin now
Bitches be callin to get it, hookers keep fallin down
He went from nuttin to lots, ten carots to rock
Went from a nobody nigga to the big, man on the block
He's Mister local celebrity, addicted to move a key
Most hated by enemy, escape in the Luxury
See, first you was our nigga but you made it, so the choice is made
Now we gotta slay you why you faded, in the younger days
So full of pain while the weapons blaze
Gettin so high off that bomb hopin we make it, to the better days
Cause crime pays, and in time, you'll find a rhyme'll blaze
You'll feel the fire from the niggaz in my younger days
So many changed on me, so many tried to plot
That I keep a glock beside my head, when will it stop?
Til God return me to my essence
Cause even as a adolescents, I refuse to be a convalescent
So many questions, and they ask me if I'm still down
I moved up out of the ghetto, so I ain't real now?
They got so much to say, but I'm just laughin at cha
You niggaz just don't know, but I ain't mad at cha
Chorus: Danny Boy
I ain't, mad at cha (2Pac: and I ain't mad at cha)
Iiiiiiiii ain't mad (2Pac: hell nah I ain't mad at cha) at cha
I ain't, mad at mha (2Pac: and I ain't mad at cha)
I ain't, mad at cha (2Pac: I ain't mad at cha)
I ain't, mad at cha, noooo
I ain't mad at chaaaaahhhhhhhh
I guess change is good for any of us
Whatever it take for any of y'all niggaz to get up out the hood
Shit, I'm wit cha, I ain't mad at cha
Got nuttin but love for ya, do your thing boy
Yeah, all the homies that I ain't talk to in a while
I'ma send this one out for y'all, knahmean?
Cause I ain't mad at cha
Heard y'all tearin up shit out there, kickin up dust
[Danny Boy] I ain't...
Givin a motherfucker, heheheheheh
Yeah, niggaz
[Danny Boy] ...mad at cha
Cause I ain't mad at cha
Verse One: 2Pac
Now we was once two niggaz of the same kind
Quick to holla at a hoochie with the same line
You was just a little smaller but you still rolled
Got stressed in y.a and hit the hood swoll
Member when you had a jheri curl didn't quite learn
On the block, witcha glock, trippin off sherm
Collect calls to the till, sayin how ya changed
Oh you a Muslim now, no more dope game
Heard you might be comin home, just got bail
Wanna go to the Mosque, don't wanna chase tail
I seems I lost my little homie he's a changed man
Hit the pen and now no sinnin is the game plan
When I talk about money all you see is the struggle
When I tell you I'm livin large you tell me it's trouble
Congratulation on the weddin, I hope your wife know
She got a playa for life, and that's no bullshitin
I know we grew apart, you probably don't remember
I used to fiend for your sister, but never went up in her
And I can see us after school, we'd BOMB
on the first motherfucker with the wrong shit on
Now the whole shit's changed, and we don't even kick it
Got a big money scheme, and you ain't even with it
Hmm, knew in my heart you was the same motherfucker bad
Go toe to toe when it's time for roll you got a brother's back
And I can't even trip, cause I'm just laughin at cha
You tryin hard to maintain, then go head
cause I ain't mad at cha
(Hmm, I ain't mad at cha)
Chorus: Danny Boy
I ain't, mad, at cha (2Pac: I ain't mad at cha)
I ain't, mad, at cha
Verse Two: 2Pac
We used to be like distant cousins, fightin, playin dozens
Whole neighborhood buzzin, knowin, that we wasn't
Used to catch us on the roof or behind the stairs
I'm gettin blitzed and I reminsce on all the times we shared
Besides bumpin n grindin wasn't nothin on our mind
In time we learned to live a life of crime
Rewind us back, to a time was much too young to know
I caught a felony lovin the way the guns blow
And even though we seperated, you said that you'd wait
Don't give nobody no coochie while I be locked up state
I kiss my Mama goodbye, and wipe the tears from her lonely eyes
Said I'll return but I gotta fight the fate's arrived
Don't shed a tear, cause Mama I ain't happy here
I'm through trial, no more smiles, for a couple years
They got me goin mad, I'm knockin busters on they backs
in my cell, thinkin, "Hell, I know one day I'll be back"
As soon as I touch down
I told my girl I'll be there, so prepare, to get fucked down
The homies wanna kick it, but I'm just laughin at cha
Cause youse a down ass bitch, and I ain't mad at cha
Chorus: Danny Boy
I ain't, mad, at cha (2Pac: I ain't mad at cha)
I ain't, mad, at cha (2Pac: A true down ass bitch, and I ain't mad at cha)
Verse Three: 2Pac
Well guess who's movin up, this nigga's ballin now
Bitches be callin to get it, hookers keep fallin down
He went from nuttin to lots, ten carots to rock
Went from a nobody nigga to the big, man on the block
He's Mister local celebrity, addicted to move a key
Most hated by enemy, escape in the Luxury
See, first you was our nigga but you made it, so the choice is made
Now we gotta slay you why you faded, in the younger days
So full of pain while the weapons blaze
Gettin so high off that bomb hopin we make it, to the better days
Cause crime pays, and in time, you'll find a rhyme'll blaze
You'll feel the fire from the niggaz in my younger days
So many changed on me, so many tried to plot
That I keep a glock beside my head, when will it stop?
Til God return me to my essence
Cause even as a adolescents, I refuse to be a convalescent
So many questions, and they ask me if I'm still down
I moved up out of the ghetto, so I ain't real now?
They got so much to say, but I'm just laughin at cha
You niggaz just don't know, but I ain't mad at cha
Chorus: Danny Boy
I ain't, mad at cha (2Pac: and I ain't mad at cha)
Iiiiiiiii ain't mad (2Pac: hell nah I ain't mad at cha) at cha
I ain't, mad at mha (2Pac: and I ain't mad at cha)
I ain't, mad at cha (2Pac: I ain't mad at cha)
I ain't, mad at cha, noooo
I ain't mad at chaaaaahhhhhhhh
Lyrics submitted by spliphstar
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In the opening lines:
"Change, shit
I guess change is good for any of us
Whatever it take for any of y'all niggas to get up out the hood
Shit, I'm wit cha, I ain't mad at cha
Got nuttin but love for ya, do your thing boy"
"Change" is the major initial theme. The song is centered around change.
In the 2nd line, getting out of the "hood" is seen as the goal or the struggle.
"I'm wit cha, I ain't mad at cha". Tupac is a soldier in the same "struggle" as those he is addressing in this song...he's basically saying "We're all in this together and I have nothing but love for you".
He then goes on and identifies who he is speaking to in this song:
"Yeah, all the homies that I ain't talk to in a while
I'ma send this one out for y'all, kna' mean?
Cause I ain't mad at cha
Heard y'all tearin' up shit out there, kickin' up dust
Givin a motherfucker,"
He's addressing his "homies" that he has lost touch/contact with over the years. He wants to let them know that he's heard that they are out there "Kicking up dust and giving a motherfuck"...and he aint mad at that.
So now we know who he is addressing, what the major theme will be (how things have changed in their relationship and life in general), and how Tupac feels about all of it...namely that he loves his homies, they all came up together, they all struggled and lived and dreamed together, he loves them, and though they may have gone different paths with their lives...he still wants them to know that he loves them and he's not mad at them.
The 1st entity/individual he addresses is his "little homie" in the 1st major piece of the song with the opening lines:
"Now we was once two niggas of the same kind"...and ending with "You tryin' hard to maintain, then go head cuz I ain't mad at cha".
This individual from his past was like a brother, they rolled together, they always had each other's backs, they hustled together...but then this individual converted to Islam, went to jail, and re-emerged "a changed man". He didn't care about money, he didn't want to chase girls, commit crime, or "sin". When Tupac would call him up and tell him about his "big money scheme"...he wouldn't be with it. So Tupac is "on the rise" in his celebrity, wealth, and "living on the edge" per se...and this friend from his past doesn't see any of that or care for it. He sees Tupac's life as a "struggle" or "trouble". Well little homie...Tupac ain't mad at cha for that!
He then goes on to address the 2nd person/entity from his past, a girl/woman, perhaps his "first love".
"We used to be like distant cousins, fightin', playin' dozens..." and ending with
"But you're a down ass bitch, and I ain't mad at cha".
They used to sneak around, make out, "bump and grind" and were smitten with one another. But things changed, Tupac got involved in some crime, he felt his "fate had arrived" and he had to go out there in the world and "fight the fight". He got locked up, and though they separated, she said that she would wait for him, and when he got out...as soon as the touched down...he called her up because she is and always will be a "down ass bitch" and Tupac ain't mad cha either!
In the last major piece of the song, I actually think he is addressing himself while shifting from 2 alternate perspectives...1 being an outsider's perspective which could be taken as the perspective of those very individuals that he is directly addressing in the song (his homies) and the 2nd being his own perspective of himself.
In the last piece he is addressing how HE himself has also changed.
In the first part, it's as if his "homies" are talking to him now:
Well guess who's movin up, this nigga's ballin' now
Bitches be callin' to get it, hookers keep fallin' down
He went from nothin' to lots, ten carots to rock
Went from a nobody nigga to the big, man on the block
He's Mister local celebrity, addicted to move a key
Most hated by enemy, escape in the Luxury
See, first you was our nigga but you made it, so the choice is made
Now we gotta slay you why you faded, in the younger days
The 2nd last line there says a lot...they are saying Tupac YOU used to be our nigga...but you "made it". Tupac "made it" and that has created a vast gulf between them now. They go on to say "So the choice is made". Which means "it is what it is now" and now "We gotta slay you while you faded in the younger days"...which means to Tupac they are "slaying him" while he is in this "faded state of reflecting on the younger days"... before he "made it". "Slay him" evokes the sense that he feels they are "slaying him"...whatever they are doing to him or perhaps the possible guilt or regret that he carries feels as if he is being slayed.
With the next lines:
"So full of pain while the weapons blaze
Gettin' so high off that bomb hopin' we make it, to the better days
Cause crime pays, and in time, you'll find a rhyme'll blaze
You'll feel the fire from the niggas in my younger days"
He shifts perspectives. Now this is him talking, in response to what was previously addressed by his "homies". Here he talks about the pains HE felt while the "weapons were blazing". Because that's how he "came up", with weapons blazing...getting so high & hoping they would make it to the better days. And the reason why he says "hoping WE make it to the better days" is addressed in his next lines, "Cuz crime pays"...he sees what he does as "crime"...but in time he prophecizes that with the power of his pen game and "rhymes" that he will harness the "fire from the niggas in his younger days" and channel it through his rhymes. THAT is his response or promise to his homies who felt/feel that Tupac "making it" means that he has forgotten about them. He saying NO, in time, you will find a "rhyme I'll blaze and you will feel the fire from the niggers in my younger days".
"So many changed on me, so many tried to plot
That I keep a glock beside my head, when will it stop?"
He is so many of his "homies" changed on him, they even tried to plot against him, so much so that he has to sleep with a glock beside his head...and he is questioning "when will it stop?"
He answers his own question "Til God return me to my essence". His "return" to his essence basically means until he dies.
"Cause even as a adolescents, I refuse to be a convalescent".
If convalescent is actually the correct term, then this implies that he feels it has always been his fate/destiny to be who he is/became. The figure of Tupac, could be described as a rogue, renegade, outlaw, a revolutionary type figure...and he is acknowledging that basically...until I die, and even when I was a child, there has only been one path for me.
"So many questions, and they ask me if I'm still down
I moved up out of the ghetto, so I ain't real now?
They got so much to say, but I'm just laughin' at cha
You niggas just don't know, but I ain't mad at cha "
He is basically saying
"With everything that has happened...they still ask if I'm still down? Just because I moved up out the ghetto all of a sudden I'm not REAL now? They have just so much to say...but they just don't know...they don't understand...but that's alright...because Tupac is not mad cha!
So that's basically it.
I love the song, I think he really hits deep insights, it's chock full of depth, meaning, and understanding about life/destiny/relationships/change. And this is how I've always interpreted the song, hope that helps.
R.I.P. Tupac Shakur
At the beginning of the song he starts by saying:
"Change, shit
I guess change is good for any of us
Whatever it take for any of y'all niggaz to get up out the hood
Shit, I'm wit cha, I ain't mad at cha
Got nuttin but love for ya, do your thing boy"
I believe that the message embedded within this is that he has no intention on criticising the ways of those who are doing what they have to do to get out of the ghetto.
"Yeah, all the homies that I ain't talk to in a while"
I believe this is where he takes the song to its main course where he addresses possibly someone he knew from his past. I think the rest of the song kind of cues in on someone he knew from his past but now criticizes Tupac for the way he lives his life and eventually turns on him. I think the message behind the song has to do with how Tupac wanted to live his life making rap songs for money rather than dealing drugs for money. We know that Tupac's death has been attributed to speculation about him creating his own label under the name "Makaveli" and possibly this was the reasoning behind:
"So many questions, and they ask me if I'm still down
I moved up out of the ghetto, so I ain't real now?"
meaning he felt as if he had grown up and wasnt interested in dealing anymore but more focused on his music.
This song's music video came out after his death and has Tupac dressed as an angel in it so maybe there is a personal message within the lyrics we arent seeing. Oh well, just me.
I say it's about a man changing his life and Tupac is saying that although he gave up the thug life, he will always love him like a brother and not consider him a sellout.
"So full of pain while weapons blaze, Gettin' so high off dat bomb, hopin we make it ta better dayz"
Tupac even says it at the end of the song in the video version: "for all the homeboys that passed away, all the homeboys locked in jail". And of course there was the first verse that was seemingly to Napolean.
The message he's basically trying to send out is that he isn't mad at everyone who left him alone in the game, either by dying, being locked up or just moving on. It would make sense since people get angry at someone they lose for leaving them, either through death or otherwise.
He's saying he understands how everyone gotta do what they gotta do and move on and that's just how things turned out. At the start he actually says "Changes, its all a part of growing up".
This is echoed on alot of other Pac songs where he raps about losing friends and being the last one left, but at the same time how's he's still a playa 4 life and will always ride.
R.I.P Mr Shakur
You'll always be missed...