Hold Ya Head

(album: Makaveli - The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory - 1996)

[Malcolm X prison scene:]
Yo, Jackson! A 231549
Yeah, close four! Coming down!
Crichlow! A 5991301
Close five! Coming down!

[2Pac:]
My homeboys in Clinton And Rikers Island
All the Penitentiaries
Mumia, Mutulu, Geronimo, Sekon
All the political Prisoners
San Quentin (Look at Satan) (I see him)
All the jailhouses, I'm with you

[2Pac (Tyrone Wrice):]
Yeah, one thug, one thug
(How do we keep the music playin'?)
You're listening to the sounds of one thug
One thug, one thug, how do we get ahead?
You're listening to the sounds of…

[2Pac:]
I wake up early in the morning, mind state so military
Suckers fantasizing pictures of a young brother buried
Was it me, the weed, or this life I lead?
If daytime is for suckers, then tonight we breathe
Out for all that, knowing that this world bring drawbacks
Look how they shiver once I deliver these raw raps
Meet me at the cemetery, dressed in black
Tonight we honor the dead, those who won't be back
So, if I die, do the same for me, shed no tears
An outlaw thug living in this game for years
Why worry? Hope to God, get me high when I'm buried
Knowing deep inside only a few love me
Don't rush me to the gates of Heaven
Let me picture for a while, how I lived for my days as a child
I wonder now, how do we outlast?
Always get cash, stay strong if we all mash; hold ya head!

[Tyrone Wrice (2Pac):]
How do we keep the music playin'?
(Yes, you got to hold ya head!)
How do we get ahead? (Hold ya head!)
Too many young black brothers are dying
(Yes, you got to hold ya head!)
Living fast, too fast

[2Pac:]
These felonies be like prophecies
Begging me to stop, 'cause these
Lawyers getting money every time they knock us
Snatching pockets lyrically, suckers flee when they notice
Switched my name to Makaveli, half the rap game ghost
Exposed foes with my hocus-pocus flows, they froze
Now suckers idolize my chosen blows
And mo' money mean litigating, mo' playa hating
Got a cell at the pen' for me waitin'—is this my fate?
Miss me with that misdemeanor thinking, me fall back?
Never that, too much tequila drinking, we all that
Make them understand me? Hell nah, this ain't my posse
Everyone with me is family, 'cause everybody's got me
Watch me paint a perfect vision, this life we living
Got us all meeting up in prison
Last week I got a letter from my road dog, written in blood
Saying, "Please show a playa love"—hold ya head! (Hold it!)

[Tyrone Wrice (2Pac):]
How do we keep the music playin'?
(You got to hold ya head!)
How do we get ahead? (Come on, hold ya head!)
Too many young black brothers are dying
(Yes, hold ya head!)
Living fast, too fast
(The weed got me tweaking in my mind, I'm thinkin'…)

[2Pac:]
God bless the child that can hold his own
Indeed, enemies bleed when I hold my chrome
Let these words be the last to my unborn seeds
Hope to raise my young nation in this world of greed
Currency means nothing if you still ain't free
Money breeds jealousy, take the game from me
I hope for better days, trouble comes naturally
Running from authorities 'til they capture me
And my aim is to spread mo' smiles than tears
Utilize lessons learned from my childhood years
Maybe Mama had it all right, rest yo' head
Trading conversations all night, bless the dead
To the homies that I used to have that no longer roll
Catch a brother at the crossroads
Plus nobody knows my soul, watching time pass
Through the glass of my drop-top Rolls; hold ya head!

[Tyrone Wrice (2Pac):]
How do we keep the music playin'?
(You got to hold ya head!)
How do we get ahead? (C'mon, hold ya head!)
Too many young black brothers are dying
(Yes, hold ya head!)
Living fast, too fast
(You got to hold ya head!)
(How do we keep the music playin'?)
(Yes, you got to hold ya head!)
How do we get ahead?

[2Pac:]
No matter how hard it get, feel me?
Get the weed, drink a drink, read a book
Watch the stars, get some pussy—whatever!