26 Best 2Pac Songs List for a Party Playlist
There is no question that Tupac Shakur’s legacy will endure for years and years to come. The rapper was more than just a groundbreaking lyricist or a phenomenal performer; he was the people’s champion, the shining light in his field, and, like many legends before his time, he is recalled as an icon.
It’s easy to blame Tupac’s death for his iconic status, and it definitely played a role. The real reason Tupac Shakur is as respected and credible as he’s ever been is that the performer was genuine in every meaning of the word.
Sure, Shakur was gifted with an innate rhythm and would be more than able to adapt to any situation on the fly. But the true reason his tracks are so highly regarded is that he dedicated himself to them. Pac is present in every song and every album.
Tupac Shakur’s legend lives on in the realm of hip hop decades after his death. His impact is as strong as ever, and his songs can still be heard on the radio whenever possible.
I’ve selected his 26 greatest tracks as part of a phenomenal playlist demonstrating why Tupac is an eternal icon.
Shakur’s most influential and timeless tracks:
Spotify 2Pac Playlist
26 Of 2Pac’s Greatest Tracks
1. Keep Ya Head Up
Released in 1993 on the album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
And since a man can’t make one
He has no right to tell a woman when and where to create one
So will the real men get up
I know you’re fed up ladies, but keep your head up
Keep Ya Head Up is the ideal display of the man’s sensitive side, and is possibly his best individual effort ever. Pac conveys the message about keeping on top of the fight and having respect for everyone, irrespective of gender, atop DJ Daryl’s depiction of Zapp & Roger’s song “Be Alright.”
2. Dear Mama
Released in 1995 on the album Me Against the World
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
There’s no way I can pay you back
But the plan is to show you that I understand
You are appreciated
Lady, don’t you know we love you? (Dear Mama)
2Pac’s homage to his mother, Afeni Shakur, “Dear Mama,” has become the Mother’s Day hip-hop theme song. In this meticulously crafted masterpiece, Shakur thanks Mama for working tirelessly during the day to put food on the table and trying to free him from the dangers of street life at night.
3. California Love
Released in 1995 on the album California Love
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
California knows how to party
In the city of L.A
In the city of good ol’ Watts
In the city, the city of Compton
We keep it rockin’, we keep it rockin’
Though it is sometimes overshadowed by Tupac’s more emotional To Live and Die in LA, the track California Love is among his most well-known works. Dr. Dre’s piano-laden creation serves as the foundation for a joyous ode to California, whereas Roger Troutman’s chorus adds some spice to the mix.
4. To Live and Die In L.A
Released in 1996 on the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
To live and die in L.A., it’s the place to be
(And the angels go) You’ve got to be there to know it
When everybody wanna see
Tupac loved Los Angeles, all the way from Venice Beach to San Gabriel Valley or anywhere in between, and the city definitely loved him back. Of course, California Love was a fun party song about the Golden State, however, To Live and Die in L.A. was a genuine tribute to his genuine adoptive home. The fact that it had become one of his many swan songs further immortalized his name and unending connection to the city, still to this day.
5. Only God Can Judge Me
Released in 1996 on the album All Eyez on Me
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Recollect your thoughts don’t get caught up in the mix
‘Cause the media is full of dirty tricks
Only God can judge me
On the one hand, 2Pac and Rappin’ 4-Tay exchange bars about imperfection, while on the other, they ponder the afterlife. This song is among the best on All Eyez on Me, the highly acclaimed double album.
6. So Many Tears
Released in 1995 on the album Me Against the World
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Call on the sirens, seen him murdered in the streets
Now rest in peace
Is there a heaven for a G? Remember me
So many homies in the cemetery, shed so many tears
So Many Tears reveals Tupac making a plea to God, recognizing past sins, and his thoughts full of demons over the somber puffs of Stevie Wonder’s That Girl’s harmonica solo. Pac reflects on the sadness he’s experienced over the lives he’s witnessed taken by violence. One of his most profound and personal moments.
7. Hail Mary
Released in 1996 on the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Mama told me never stop until I bust a nut
F*** the world if they can’t adjust
It’s just as well, Hail Mary
On this truly outstanding track from 1996’s Makaveli, 2Pac serves up a dose of vitriol over a hazy cosmic soundtrack. Eminem, 50 Cent, as well as Busta Rhymes notably, summoned ‘Pac’s spirit in 2003 when they reimagined Hail Mary” as a diss towards Ja Rule and Irv Gotti.
8. Me Against The World
Released in 1995 on the album Me Against the World
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Don’t wanna make excuses, ’cause this is how it is
What’s the use? Unless we’re shootin’, no one notices the youth
It’s just me against the world, baby
This title track from 2Pac’s 1995 masterwork, Me Against the World, epitomizes the rapper’s eff-the-world, melodramatic attitude.
9. My Block
Released in 1995 on the album Russell Simmons Presents The Show: The Soundtrack
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
My block, where everything is everything for sheezy
My block, we probably done it all homey believe me
My block, we made the impossible look easy, for sheezy
While saying prayers for better days, ‘Pac shouts out to his ‘hood.
10. Old School
Released in 1995 on the album Me Against the World
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Listen to Treach and KRS to get me through the night
With T La Rock and Mantronix, to Stetsasonic
Remember “Push It” was the bomb shit, nothin’ like the old school
With all of the name-dropping and ode that occurs in Pac’s name today, it’s easy to overlook that he was once a rising star. Shakur thanks everybody from MC Lyte and Big Daddy Kane to Rakim and Slick Rick for laying the groundwork for ambitious hip-hop artists on “Old School.”
11. Trapped
Released in 1991 on the album 2Pacalypse Now
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
They got me trapped
Uh-uh, they can’t keep the Black man down
They got me trapped
Nah, they can’t keep the Black man down
Tupac’s voice becomes more pressing with each bar as he continues to criticize the so-called system of justice and the prison complex.
12. Brenda’s Got A Baby
Released in 1991 on the album 2Pacalypse Now
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Now Brenda’s gotta make her own way
Can’t go to her family, they won’t let her stay
No money, no babysitter, she couldn’t keep a job
‘Pac tells a story of a 12-year-old girl who unintentionally conceives and is unable to raise her child on his debut from 1991’s 2Pacalypse Now. Numerous rappers have kept the debate going seventeen years later by releasing their own styles of song: Runaway Love and Lil Girl Gone, and yet Brenda’s Got a Baby to this day comes out on top.
13. Ambitionz As A Ridah
Released in 1996 on the album All Eyez on Me
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
You don’t wanna f*** with me
(My ambitions as a ridah)
Got the police bustin’ at me
But they can’t do nothin’ to a G (I won’t deny it, I’m a straight ridah)
The ferocious opening track for Pac’s most successful and popular album, All Eyez On Me, sets the stage instantly; fearsome, brusque, and unyielding, this song supports a macabre foreshadowing of the conflict and paranoia which would plague Tupac’s career for the rest of his life.
14. I Wonder If Heaven’s Got A Ghetto
Released in 1992 on the album Troublesome 21
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
We can’t have peace till the n***** get a piece too
I want G’s so you label me a criminal
And if I die, I wonder if Heaven got a ghetto
Going back to his position as a social agitator and outspoken messiah, 2Pac questions the material world’s failed institutions and starts to wonder if the divine is much more tolerant and understanding. Pac, vulnerable yet assured, offers no apologies in this earnest song, only hope.
15. Life Goes On
Released in 1996 on the album All Eyez on Me
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
I love them n*****s to death, I’m drinkin’ Hennessy
While trying to make it last
I drank a fifth for that when you passed
‘Cause life goes on
This All Eyez On Me gem finds 2Pac pushing himself forward after the loss of some loved ones. Life Goes On serves as a deeply moving reminder of ‘Pac’s ability to show strength and determination throughout the hardship.
16. When Thugz Cry
Released in 2001 on the album Until the End of Time
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Oh, why should you send your child off to die?
In the streets of chalk where they lie
Let no wrongs cry out when thugs cry, dear God
Oh my, does it have to be this way?
Self-pity is typically reserved for adolescent girls, but 2Pac transforms it into a track about the oppression that leads to Black-on-Black violence within the African American community.
17. Picture Me Rollin
Released in 1996 on the album All Eyez on Me
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Can you see me now
Move to the side a little bit so you can get a clear picture
Can you see it?
Pictue me rollin
With inventive production and guests, Tupac gets enough ammunition from Syke and CPO to turn an otherwise mundane roll across the city into an atmospheric portrait of life on the streets. Pac responds to his critics and naysayers with his trademark energy and lyricism, providing a victorious assertion of individuality in the face of difficulties.
18. Lord Knows
Released in 1995 on the album Me Against the World
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
‘Cause I done suffered so much, I’m feelin’ shell-shocked
And driveby’s an everyday thang
I done lost too many homies to this m’n game
And Lord knows
A frustrated and angry Shakur strives to maintain optimism in this track – Me Against the World, a sincere lamentation of ills within the Black society. This song is introspective and spiritual, and it represents Pac at his most truthful: conflicted, disenchanted, and clinging desperately to the hope of redemption.
19. Hit Em Up
Released in 1996 on the B-side to the single “How Do U Want It”
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Who shot me? But ya punks didn’t finish
Now ya ’bout to feel the wrath of a menace
N****, I hit em’ up
Tupac’s vitriolic, mean-spirited, and outright provocative diss record directed at Notorious B.I.G. raised what was a bitter rivalry between old friends to outright warfare. Pac, accompanied by the Outlawz’s marginally skilled ranks, exposed personal matters—including an affair with Biggie’s partner, Faith Evans—for all to see, offering hip-hop perhaps among the most noteworthy and venomous tracks.
20. Changes
Released in 1998 on the album Greatest Hits
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
I got love for my brother, but we can never go nowhere
Unless we share with each other
We gotta start makin’ changes
Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers
Changes, perhaps Tupac’s most recognizable song, grasped the unique duality of being a best seller and a vehicle of social upliftment. The hit track Changes is timeless even today.
21. Until The End Of Time
Released in 2001 on the album Until the End of Time
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Bringin’ a cease to the peace that was on my block
It never stops, when my mama ask me will I change, I tell her
“Yeah, but it’s clear I’ll always be the same until the end of time”
This Broken Wings Richard Page remix, an iconic remix track, mirrored Tupac’s personality quite well. The heavy bass, snares, and church bells grip the listener as ‘Pac pours his soul over it with grit and honesty.
22. 2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted
Released in 1996 on the album All Eyez on Me
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Now follow as we ride
M—k the rest, two of the best from the West side
And I can make you famous
N***** been dyin’ for years, so how can they blame us
This is the track that blew the epic Biggie-Tupac rivalry off the hinges. Anointed as the new left coast prince, ‘Pac revealed a new aspect of himself: a smart, young comrade of the mid-’90s gangsta rap movement, alongside Tha Doggfather. Atop a silky-smooth party track, the dynamic duo spits brutal daggers towards East Coast adversaries.
23. Runnin’ (Dying to Live)
Released in 2003 on the album Tupac: Resurrection
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Why am I trying to see when there ain’t nothing in sight?
Why am I trying to give when no one gives me a try?
Why am I dying to live if I’m just living to die?
Eminem combined two productions by the pals to create a sentimental track that reminded us all of what we’d missed since their deaths. Big and Pac came to symbolize all the phenomenal talent lost to violence, and the madness of tribalism after being killed within 6 months of each other. They became inextricably linked forever and ever.
24. 16 On Death Row
Released in 1997 on the album R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Livin’ like a thief, runnin through the streets
Bye bye, and I got no place to go
Where they find me? 16 on Death Row
Pac, who is still figuring out his style, tries out several methods here that he will use frequently in the future. The Geto Boys’ impact can be felt in both rhythm and subject matter, particularly in his intense representations of a world through paranoid eyes.
In this song, as in the majority of his career, he depicts our world as a dark, inequitable place full of negativity and racists out to imprison him. To tell his tales more clearly, he slows his rhymes. He also began to favor blues and funk, both lyrically and musically.
25. Military Minds
Released in 2002 on the album Better Dayz
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
Why try
Everybody lie
About the block
True soldier mentality
This is how we rock and move
Pac’s final rallying cry. Pac emerged from prison with a greater emphasis on military strategy. The art of war became a constant motif in his songs and the basis for his movements. In the months and weeks leading up to his death, he made specific alliances to counter his image as a strictly West Coast artist.
26. Ghetto Gospel
Released in 2005 on the album Loyal to the Game
Most Meaningful Lyrics:
It ain’t about black or white, ‘cause we human
I hope we see the light before it’s ruined
My ghetto gospel
Early Tupac and Elton John appear to be an unlikely pairing – but this heartfelt rendition worked so well that it became one of Tupac’s most influential and famous songs even to this day.
2Pac’s Highest-Charting Singles
(US Rap)
- #1 “Dear Mama”, 1995
- #1 “California Love” featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman, 1996
- #1 “How Do U Want It” featuring K-Ci & JoJo, 1996
- #1 “Changes” featuring Talent, 1998
- #2 “Keep Ya Head Up”, 1993
- #2 “Do for Love” featuring Eric Williams, 1998
- #2 “Smile” Scarface featuring 2Pac and Johnny P, 1997
- #3 “Brenda’s Got a Baby”, 1991
- #3 “If My Homie Calls”, 1992
- #4 “Hail Mary” featuring The Outlawz and Prince Ital Joe, 1997
- #4 “I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto”, 1997
- #4 “Thugz Mansion” featuring Nas and J. Phoenix, 2002
- #5 “Toss It Up” featuring Danny Boy, K-Ci & JoJo, and Aaron Hall, 1996
- #5 “Runnin’ (Dying to Live)” featuring The Notorious B.I.G., 2003
Who Was Tupac Shakur?
Tupac was an African American rap artist who came to encapsulate the 1990s gangsta-rap elegance and was an icon of noble struggle after his death. To date, he has managed to sell 75 million records, which means he is among the best-selling musicians in history.
Tupac was assassinated near a hotel in Las Vegas in September 1996 and died a week later. The murder remains unsolved.
Tupac started out his rap life as a rebellion against society, expressing the hardships and injustices that many people of African American ethnicity faced. His ability to do so made him a communicator not only for his generation but also for future generations who would undoubtedly come across the same fight for equality.
His greatest battle in life was often with himself. As fate led him to the cynicism of gangsta rap and then towards the hotly debated Death Row Records mogul Suge Knight, the lines between Shakur’s craftsmanship and his life had become increasingly muddled — with tragic results.
Tupac’s History
Tupac Shakur was born in Harlem, New York, on June 16, 1971. His mother, Afeni, struggled financially while raising two kids on her own. The family relocated frequently, occasionally staying in shelters. Tupac moved to Baltimore and decided to enroll at the renowned Baltimore School of Art, where he felt the freest he had ever felt.
In 1990, Atron Gregory, a music manager, landed him a job as a roadie for the hip hop band Digital Underground. He soon took to the microphone, making his debut in 1991.
Then Gregory managed to land Tupac a contract with Interscope Records, and 2Pacalypse Now, his debut album as a recording artist, was released.
Tupac was shot several times in the reception area of a Manhattan music studio, Quad, before releasing his third album in November 1994. Tupac suspected his rap adversary Biggie Smalls had been behind the shooting, but he was never charged.
Tupac decided to release a diss song, Hit ‘Em Up, in June 1996, directed at Biggie Smalls as well as Sean Combs, the brand manager at Bad Boy Records, ramping up the intensity among West and East Coast rap. Their feud was quickly becoming the rap genre’s most renowned — and nastiest — feud. Tupac was assassinated three months later.
The Death Of 2Pac
While incarcerated on rape charges, Shakur encountered Death Row Records’ founding partner Suge Knight. Shakur was subsequently released but decided to sign with Knight’s label in exchange for paying the rapper’s $1.3 million bail.
This union would indeed cause Shakur future problems, as Knight was associated with the Bloods, a rival gang to the Crips. Though he had the tattoo for years, Shakur’s “Thug Life” era started after his official launch in October 1995.
His songs were more arrogant and confrontational than before, and he freely offended performers with gang affiliations like Mobb Deep.
Shakur died merely a few months after releasing “Hit ‘Em Up,” the most renowned hip-hop diss song ever recorded, clearly aimed at Notorious BIG and Bad Boy Records. His music’s escalating tensions horrifically began to reflect real-life violence.
Tupac Shakur was shot dead in Las Vegas shortly after 11:00 pm on September 7, 1996. Suge Knight was traveling to Club 662 with the rap artist riding shotgun after seeing Mike Tyson’s brawl at the MGM Hotel.
The gunshots were fired by a white Cadillac that rode up next to them at the red light and then sped away, never to be seen again. Shakur was struck four times in the arm, thigh, and chest.
Shakur ended up spending the next week fighting for his life in a hospital in Southern Nevada after uttering his famous last words. On September 13, 1996, he died in the hospital from internal bleeding after being placed on life-sustaining treatment and placed in an induced coma.
Former Los Angeles Police Department Detective Greg Kading directed a special task force that investigated Tupac Shakur’s death. His three-year investigation allegedly found proof that Sean Combs recruited Crips member Duane Davis to assassinate Tupac for $1 million.
While Combs has categorically denied the allegations, Davis actually admitted in 2018 how he and his nephew Orlando Anderson were in the notorious Cadillac that night in Las Vegas. The past between Shakur Tupac and Anderson only bolstered this claim.
Shakur was seen jumping Anderson in security footage from the MGM Hotel on the evening of the attack. Anderson allegedly stole Death Row jewelry from a label member weeks before, prompting Shakur’s response to beat him up.
Davis asserted that Anderson and himself were informed of Shakur’s plans to visit Club 662 that night, but nearly gave up when he failed to appear. But Tupac had only just left the hotel once Davis and Anderson noticed him as they drove away.
Davis denied being the triggerman, but he did reveal the following: Brown and Anderson were hiding in the back, one of whom was the shooter. He refused to provide any additional information for the street code. Anderson was assassinated two years after Tupac.
Tupac Death Controversies
Numerous fans believe Tupac is still alive, whereas others believe the state murdered him. This theory is based largely on his family’s connections to a group called the Black Panthers and his role in uniting poverty-stricken African Americans against authorities. In addition, he had shot two cops in the past.
Subsequent inquiries into LAPD Rampart controversies revealed widespread corruption within the force, with certain officers collaborating with gangs like the Bloods. Some presume the answers can be found there.
Suge Knight’s son recently claimed Tupac was alive in a peculiar series of Instagram posts. However, photos of people who look like the rapper have been popping up all over the world for years, fueling the enduring theory that he staged his own death.
A man who claimed to be a member of the rapper’s security team even claimed to have assisted in his smuggling into Cuba.
These speculations are likely to be appealing because they allow the young talented musician to live in peace in the public imagination. Unfortunately, the more straightforward explanation that he had been killed in Las Vegas is much more convincing. One only needs to look at the devastated faces of his family and friends to reconsider.
This article has provided an exceptional playlist of Tupac’s 26 greatest songs throughout history, as well as a brief history of his unique life, career, and untimely death.
Tupac Shakur’s death is difficult to bear because he provided a necessary spokesmanship to black America throughout the 1990s rap era — and his middle finger to an oppressive system that keeps trying to persecute people of color like him.
Ultimately, the greatness of his songwriting was in its endurance, with allusions to living on even after dying, seeing his own death, and returning for vengeance striking a chord that has yet to fade.
Do you have a favorite 2Pac song? Please share your song below in the comments!
