I Ain’t Mad At Cha Lyrics
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' ya, I ain't mad at cha
Got nothin' 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
Know what I mean? 'Cause I ain't mad at cha
Heard y'all tearin' up shit out there
Kickin' up dust, givin' a motherfuck
Yeah, niggas, 'cause I ain't mad at cha
[Verse 1: 2Pac]
Now we was once two niggas 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 stretched to Y.A. and hit the hood swoll
'Member when you had a Jheri curl, didn't quite learn
On the block, wit'cha Glock, trippin' off sherm
Collect calls to the crib, sayin' how you've 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
It 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
Congratulations on the weddin', I hope your wife know
She got a playa for life, and that's no bullshittin'
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
Knew in my heart you was the same motherfucker that
Go toe to toe when it's time to 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 ahead
'Cause I ain't mad at cha
I ain't mad at cha
I ain't mad at cha
I ain't mad at cha
[Verse 2: 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 reminisce on all the times we shared
Besides bumpin' and grindin', wasn't nothin' on our mind
In time, we'd 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 separated, you said that you'd wait
Don't give nobody no coochie while I'll 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 blew 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'd be there, so prepare to get fucked down
The homies wanna kick it, but I'm just laughin' at cha
'Cause you's a down-ass bitch and I ain't mad at cha
I ain't mad at cha
I ain't mad at cha
I ain't mad at cha
A true down-ass bitch and I ain't mad at cha
[Verse 3: 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 nothin' to lots, ten carats to rock
Went from a nobody nigga to the big man on the block
He's Mr. Local-Celebrity, addicted to movin' ki's
Most hated by enemies, escape in the luxury
See, first you was our nigga, but you made it so the choice is made
Now we gotta slay you while 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 niggas 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 an adolescent, I refused 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 niggas just don't know, but I ain't mad at cha
About
The song “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” is an ode to the now-distant friends of his childhood, featuring verses of reminiscing, and the accomplishment of present-day goals. The song enlists the singer Danny Boy Steward to vocalize throughout the song. “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” is the thirteenth-track off the double LP All Eyez On Me.
Besides a single CD, cassette and 12" record there was also an official video made in 1996 while Tupac was still alive but not released until after his death, marking it as the last music video release featuring him alive. The song samples “A Dream” by DeBarge and a sound that 2Pac was excited to hear according to Kurupt who was also in the studio at the time:
Oh yeah, ‘Pac heard the beat and flipped out. And basically he was just like, “Man, this is it.
Q&A
Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning
Though there is no specific evidence, historians believe the message for this song was intended for Pac’s old friends from back in the day. He still persists in his unconditionally loving attitude, and so, despite what’s been done to him, Pac still “ain’t mad”.
The music video to “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” first aired on September 18, 1996, just five days after 2Pac’s murder—the music video was filmed weeks before Shakur’s death, and, ironically, the video depicts the rapper getting shot.
Actor Bookem Woodbine, who portrayed the lead character in the video, discussed working with ‘Pac in a September 2011 interview with XXL Magazine:
I first met ‘Pac when I got the call that he wanted me to be in his video. […] He said, ‘I wasn’t gonna do this video with anybody but you.’ Right then and there I realized that I gotta try to do the best job I can in this video because this brother specifically wanted me to play the part. […] We were so focused on making it the best video it could be that that’s where the focus remained
Father forgive us for livin' while all my homies stuck in prison
Barely breathin' believin' that the world is a prism
It’s like a ghetto we can never leave
A broken rose givin' bloom through the cracks of the concrete
So many other things for us to see
Things to be, our history so full of tragedy and misery
To all my homies never made it home
The dead peers I shed tattooed tears for, when I’m alone
Picture us inside a ghetto heaven, a place to rest
Findin' peace through this land of stress
In my chest I feel pain come in sudden storms
Life full of rain in this game watch for lead thorns
Our unborn never got to grow, never got to see what’s next
In this world full of countless threats
I beg God, to make a way for our ghetto kids to breathe
Show us sign, make us all believe
‘Cause I ain’t mad at cha
- 2.All About U
- 3.Skandalouz
- 7.No More Pain
- 9.Life Goes On
- 13.I Ain’t Mad At Cha
- 15.Can’t C Me
- 17.Holla At Me
- 19.When We Ride
- 20.Thug Passion
- 22.Check Out Time
- 24.All Eyez On Me
- 25.Run Tha Streetz
- 28.California Love
