Even after his tragic passing in 1996 at the age of 25, Tupac Shakur is still regarded as one of the most important rappers and hip-hop philosophers of all time. He truly resembled a flash of light because he was so dazzling before disappearing. With songs like “California Love,” “Changes,” and “Dear Mama,” his discography will undoubtedly endure for a very long time—possibly centuries.
In the little duration of his existence, the man sold almost 75 million records. What, then, did Tupac have to say about the nature of life? about love, songwriting technique, hip-hop music, his family, and other topics? This article’s focus, dear reader, is exactly on that. Without dallying any further, let’s get started with the top 10 most popular Tupac quotations of all-time.
1. “Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.”
– The rapper was a big dreamer with a bag full of dreams and ambitions that were sadly truncated and foiled at the peak of his career. The same way he was filled with his lofty aspirations and goals, he did his best to fuel his listeners with just about the same energy.
2. “My mama always used to tell me: ‘If you can’t find somethin’ to live for, you best find somethin’ to die for.’”
– Pac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, was a big inspiration to the late rapper. She served as a motivating factor in his successful but shortlived music career, and her words kept him on his toes, grinding and pushing forward the music, which was what he lived and would’ve gladly died for.
3. “I think I’m a natural-born leader. I know how to bow down to authority if it’s authority that I respect.”
– Tupac knew who he was. He was fearless, possessed with a drive and confidence that most rappers in his day did not have which made him an easy target for envy.
4. “I’m a reflection of the community.”
– The rapper knew his roots and stood up for the downtrodden in his community using his influence and his sound. Through his music he always painted quite the vivid picture of the situation of things in his community, from the good to the bad to the ugly.
5. “All I’m trying to do is survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty, unbelievable lifestyle that they gave me.”
– He was natural-born hustler who struggled to attain success from out of the mud. His background was every reason he needed to give himself the required push to secure a good life.
6. “It seems like every time you come up something happens to bring you back down.”
– Pac was a man who, all his life, took several jabs from the society and the police, especially when he began to make a name for himself.
7. “I don’t see myself being special; I just see myself having more responsibilities than the next man. People look to me to do things for them, to have answers.”
– Tupac did not fancy himself a demi-god. He regarded himself as natural and regular as the next person which was one the many reasons why he garnered so much love from his fans.
8. “I just don’t know how to deal with so many people giving me that much affection. I never had that in my life.”
– Tupac was anything but fake. He always expressed his feelings without sugarcoating, most in particularly as he was adjusting to the wild fame that accompanied the international spread of his music.
9. “I would rather have been shot straight-up in cold blood-but to be set up? By people who you trusted? That’s bad.”
– Pac was enmeshed in a handful of controversies while he was alive, and had to deal with betrayals, which made it pretty hard for him to trust people.
10. “There’s nobody in the business strong enough to scare me.”
– As mentioned earlier, Tupac Shakur was a fearless man, even to his peers and colleagues, and he was not bothered to declare his courage.