Changes

"Changes" is a rap/hip hop song by the late Tupac Shakur originally recorded during his tenure at Interscope records which was rerecorded and remixed between 1995-96. It is one of his most notable and popular songs. Released initially posthumously on his album Greatest Hits, the song addresses issues close to 2Pac's era of influence, notably racism, police brutality, drugs, gang violence and the prospect of a black president. In addition, the song heavily samples the 1986 hit "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The Chris Hafner-directed music video is a compilation of a number of previous music videos 2Pac released in addition to home videos and never-before-seen pictures. "Changes" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards of 2000; it remains the only posthumous song to be nominated in this category. One verse in "Changes" was first featured in his previous release "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto". There is also a notable remix of the song mashed up with Nelly Furtado's "All Good Things (Come to an End)". The "Huey" that 2Pac mentions in the song ("two shots in the dark, now Huey's dead") is Black Panther Party activist Huey P. Newton. In 2008, Changes climbed to Number One on Billboard magazine's Hot Ringtones chart.

[Intro: Talent] Ooh, yeah (Ooh) (Come on, come on) [Verse 1: 2Pac] I see no changes, wake up in the morning and I ask myself Is life worth livin'? Should I blast myself? I'm tired of bein' poor and, even worse, I'm black My stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatch Cops give a damn about a negro Pull the trigger, kill a nigga, he's a hero "Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares? One less hungry mouth on the welfare" First ship 'em dope and let 'em deal to brothers Give 'em guns, step back, watch 'em kill each other "It's time to fight back," that's what Huey said Two shots in the dark, now Huey's dead 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 And that's how it's supposed to be How can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me? Uh I'd love to go back to when we played as kids But things change, and that's the way it is [Chorus: Talent] (Come on, come on) That's just the way it is (Changes) Things'll never be the same That's just the way it is (That's the way it is, what?) Aww, yeah-yeah (Hear me) (Oh my, oh my, come on, come on) That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is, the way it is) Things'll never be the same (Never be the same, yeah, yeah, yeah, aww, yeah) That's just the way it is (Way it is) Aww, yeah (Come on, come on) [Verse 2: 2Pac & Talent] I see no changes, all I see is racist faces Misplaced hate makes disgrace to races We under, I wonder what it takes to make this One better place, let's erase the wasted Take the evil out the people, they'll be actin' right 'Cause both black and white are smokin' crack tonight And the only time we chill is when we kill each other (Kill each other) It takes skill to be real, time to heal each other And although it seems heaven-sent We ain't ready to see a black president, uh (Oh-ooh) It ain't a secret, don't conceal the fact The penitentiary's packed and it's filled with blacks But some things will never change (Never change) Try to show another way, but you stayin' in the dope game (Ooh) Now tell me, what's a mother to do? Bein' real don't appeal to the brother in you (Yeah) You gotta operate the easy way "I made a G today," but you made it in a sleazy way Sellin' crack to the kids (Oh-oh), "I gotta get paid" (Oh) Well hey, well that's the way it is [Chorus: Talent] (Come on, come on) That's just the way it is (Changes) Things'll never be the same That's just the way it is (That's the way it is, what?) Aww, yeah (Hear me) (Oh my, oh my, come on, come on) That's just the way it is (That's just the way it is, the way it is) Things'll never be the same (Never be the same, yeah, yeah, yeah, aww, yeah) That's just the way it is (Way it is) Aww, yeah (Aww, yeah, aww, yeah) [Interlude: 2Pac] We gotta make a change It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes Let's change the way we eat Let's change the way we live And let's change the way we treat each other You see, the old way wasn't workin' So it's on us to do what we gotta do to survive [Verse 3: 2Pac & Talent] And still I see no changes, can't a brother get a little peace? It's war on the streets and the war in the Middle East (Ooh, yeah) Instead of war on poverty They got a war on drugs so the police can bother me And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do But now I'm back with the facts, givin' it back to you (Ooh) Don't let 'em jack you up, back you up Crack you up and pimp-smack you up You gotta learn to hold your own They get jealous when they see you with your mobile phone But tell the cops they can't touch this I don't trust this, when they try to rush, I bust this That's the sound of my tool, you say it ain't cool My mama didn't raise no fool (Oh) And as long as I stay black, I gotta stay strapped And I never get to lay back 'Cause I always got to worry 'bout the payback Some buck that I roughed up way back Comin' back after all these years "Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat," that's the way it is [Chorus: Talent & 2Pac] (Uh) That's just the way it is (Just the way it is, yeah, yeah, yeah) Things'll never be the same (Yeah) That's just the way it is (The way it is) Aww, yeah (Some things will never change, oh my) (I'm tryna make a change) (You're my brother, you're my sister, yeah) That's just the way it is (The way it is, the way it is) Things'll never be the same (You're my brother, you're my sister) That's just the way it is, aww, yeah Some things'll never change