Tupac Shakur (1971-1996) was a highly influential American rapper, actor, and social activist. Born in New York City and raised in Baltimore, he emerged as a prominent figure in hip-hop during the early 1990s with socially conscious lyrics addressing systemic issues. Albums like “2Pacalypse Now” and “Me Against the World” showcased his powerful storytelling. Tupac also pursued acting, starring in films like “Juice” and “Poetic Justice.” His life was marked by controversies and a notable feud with The Notorious B.I.G. The East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry of the 1990s intensified the media scrutiny surrounding him. Tragically, he was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on September 13, 1996, and his murder remains unsolved. Despite his untimely death, Tupac’s legacy endures, solidifying him as one of the greatest and most influential rappers in history.
Tupac Shakur Quotes
1. “Trust me I never lose. Either I win or learn from it.”
— Tupac Shakur
2. “Be an individual, work hard, study, get your mind straight, and trust nobody.”
— Tupac Shakur
3. “Only God can judge me.”
— Tupac Shakur
4. “I’m not perfect. But I’ll always be real.”
— Tupac Shakur
5. “Real eyes, realize, real lies…”
— Tupac Shakur
6. “What doesn’t kill me just makes me stronger.”
— Tupac Shakur
7. “Don’t believe everything you hear: Real eyes, Realize, Real lies.”
— Tupac Shakur
8. “The realest people don’t have a lot of friends.”
— Tupac Shakur
9. “Follow the rules or follow the fools.”
— Tupac Shakur
10. “Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.”
— Tupac Shakur
11. “It’s just me against the world.”
— Tupac Shakur
12. “Life’s a test, mistakes are lessons, but the gift of life is knowing that you have made a difference.”
— Tupac Shakur
13. “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive. Never surrender.”
— Tupac Shakur
14. “I’m not saying I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.”
— Tupac Shakur
15. “Forgive, but don’t forget.”
— Tupac Shakur
16. “They Have Money For War But Can’t Feed The Poor.”
— Tupac Shakur
17. “I didn’t choose the thug life, the thug life chose me.”
— Tupac Shakur
18. “During your life, never stop dreaming. No one can take away your dreams.”
— Tupac Shakur
19. “I’d rather die like a man, than live like a coward.”
— Tupac Shakur
20. “Stay in the game until the end of time.”
— Tupac Shakur
21. “Things change that’s the way it is.”
— Tupac Shakur
22. “Never surrender, it’s all about the faith that you got.”
— Tupac Shakur
23. “No matter how hard it gets, keep your chest out, keep your head up and handle it.”
— Tupac Shakur
24. “Play the game, never let the game play you.”
— Tupac Shakur
25. “If you don’t know me, don’t judge me.”
— Tupac Shakur
26. “Don’t look back unless it’s a good view.”
— Tupac Shakur
27. “The trick is to never lose hope!”
— Tupac Shakur
28. “If you can make it through the night, there’s a brighter day.”
— Tupac Shakur
29. “No one knows my Struggle, they only see the Trouble. Not knowing it’s hard to carry on when, No one loves you.”
— Tupac Shakur
30. “Long live the rose that grew from the concrete when no one else ever cared.”
— Tupac Shakur
31. “If you let a person talk long enough you’ll hear their true intentions. Listen twice, speak once.”
— Tupac Shakur
32. “I am a hard person to love but when I love, I love really hard.”
— Tupac Shakur
33. “Why am I dying to live if I’m just living to die.”
— Tupac Shakur
34. “Fear is stronger than love, remember that. Fear is stronger than love, all that love I gave didn’t mean nothing when it came to fear.”
— Tupac Shakur
35. “Behind every sweet smile, there is a bitter sadness that no one can ever see and feel.”
— Tupac Shakur
36. “Don’t leave this world without giving it your all.”
— Tupac Shakur
37. “You never stop loving someone. You just learn to live without them.”
— Tupac Shakur
38. “Let’s change the way we eat, let’s change the way we live, and let’s change the way we treat each other.”
— Tupac Shakur
39. “Is it a crime, to fight, for what is mine?”
— Tupac Shakur
40. “Ain’t a woman alive that could take my mama’s place.”
— Tupac Shakur
41. “Study your lessons, don’t settle for less.”
— Tupac Shakur
42. “A coward dies a thousand times, a soldier dies but once.”
— Tupac Shakur
43. “It’s time we stop worrying, and get angry you know? But not angry and pick up a gun, but angry and open our minds.”
— Tupac Shakur
44. “You gotta find a way to survive cause they win when your soul dies.”
— Tupac Shakur
45. “You gotta make a change. Its time for us as a people to start making some changes, lets change the way we eat, lets change the way we live, and lets change the way we treat each other. You see the old way wasn’t working so its on us, to do what we gotta do to survive.”
— Tupac Shakur
46. “My only fear of death is reincarnation.”
— Tupac Shakur
47. “Never surrender, it’s all about the faith you got: don’t ever stop, just push it ’till you hit the top and if you drop, at least you know you gave your all to be true to you, that way you can never fall.”
— Tupac Shakur
48. “I wake up in the morning and ask myself; is life worth living? Should I blast myself?”
— Tupac Shakur
49. “Only God Can Judge Me That which does not kill me can only make me stronger. I don’t see why everybody feel as though that they gotta tell me how to live my life.”
— Tupac Shakur
50. “My aim is to spread more smiles than tears.”
— Tupac Shakur
51. “If a picture is worth a thousand words, photographers are worth a million.”
— Tupac Shakur
52. “If you fall stand tall and come back for more.”
— Tupac Shakur
53. “I truly believe I’ve been blessed by God, and God walks with me.”
— Tupac Shakur
54. “Maybe in time you’ll understand only God can save us.”
— Tupac Shakur
55. “Death or success is what I quest, cause I’m fearless.”
— Tupac Shakur
56. “God will judge my heart, Man will judge my actions.”
— Tupac Shakur
57. “They claim that I’m violent just cuz I refuse to be silent.”
— Tupac Shakur
58. “You know it’s funny, when it rains it pours they got money for wars, but can’t feed the poor.”
— Tupac Shakur
59. “The lesser the friends, the lesser the chances of betrayal.”
— Tupac Shakur
60. “I feel that what was done in the dark will come to light. There are secrets everybody’s gonna find out about.”
— Tupac Shakur
61. “Life give to you what you gave to it. So give your best.”
— Tupac Shakur
62. “Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots.”
— Tupac Shakur
63. “This fast life soon shatters, cause after all the lights and screams, nothing but my dreams matter.”
— Tupac Shakur
64. “I’d love to go back to when we played as kids, but things change. And that’s the way it is.”
— Tupac Shakur
65. “I don’t have no fear of death. My only fear is coming back reincarnated.”
— Tupac Shakur
66. “I set goals, take control, drink out my own bottle, I make mistakes but learn from every one, And when it’s said and done, I bet this brother be a better one, If I upset you don’t stress, Never forget, that God isn’t finished with me yet.”
— Tupac Shakur
67. “Tomorrow comes after the dark.”
— Tupac Shakur
68. “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 Shakur
69. “There’s no way I could pay you back but my plan is to show you that I understand, you are appreciated.”
— Tupac Shakur
70. “Instead of war on poverty, they got a war on drugs so the police can bother me.”
— Tupac Shakur
71. “I wonder if heaven got a ghetto?”
— Tupac Shakur
72. “Perspective. You start looking at things differently like everything’s not so important. You don’t take things so personally. Everyone changes, and becomes better people. We all should get that chance…”
— Tupac Shakur
73. “I have no fear, I have only ambition, and I want mine, And I will do anything to protect and feed my family.”
— Tupac Shakur
74. “When my Heart Can Beat No More I hope to die for a principal or a belief that I have lived for.”
— Tupac Shakur
75. “As wars come and go, my soldier stays eternal.”
— Tupac Shakur
76. “Why am I fighting to live, If I am just living to fight Why am I trying to see. When there aint nothing in sight Why am I trying to give, When no one gives me a try Why am I dying to live, If I am just living to die?”
— Tupac Shakur
77. “Cry later, but for now, let’s enjoy the laughter.”
— Tupac Shakur
78. “Measure a man by his actions fully from the beginning to the end. Don’t take a piece out of my life or a song out of my music and say this is what I’m about because you know better than that.”
— Tupac Shakur
79. “For quiet times disappear listen to the ocean.”
— Tupac Shakur
80. “The only thing that can kill me is death, that’s the only thing that can ever stop me, is death, and even then my music will live forever.”
— Tupac Shakur
81. “We ain’t meant to survive, cause it’s a setup, And even though you’re fed up, Huh, ya got to keep your head up.”
— Tupac Shakur
82. “I am not a perfectionist, but still I seek perfection. I am not a great romantic, but yet I yearn 4 affection.”
— Tupac Shakur
83. “Before we find world peace, we gotta find peace in the war on the streets.”
— Tupac Shakur
84. “Fear is stronger than love.”
— Tupac Shakur
85. “I smoke blunt to take the pain out and if I wasn’t high I’d probably blow my brains out.”
— Tupac Shakur
86. “I put the pistol by my head, and say a prayer. I see visions of me dead, Lord are you there?”
— Tupac Shakur
87. “We live like caged beasts waiting for the day to let the rage free.”
— Tupac Shakur
88. “When an angel comes down and takes me away, memories of me and my songs will always stay until the end of time.”
— Tupac Shakur
89. “All I’m trying to do is survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty, unbelievable lifestyle that they gave me.”
— Tupac Shakur
90. “How can I be a man if there is no role model?”
— Tupac Shakur
91. “I’m not saying girls are perfect, because we all know that’s not true. But why be unfaithful to her if she was true to you.”
— Tupac Shakur
92. “Since I only got one life to ive, God forgive me for my sins, let me make it and i’ll never steal again, or deal again, my only friend is my misery. Wantin’ revenge for the agony they did to me.”
— Tupac Shakur
93. “Out of anger comes controversy, out of controversy comes conversation, out of conversation comes action.”
— Tupac Shakur
94. “You gotta keep ur head up even when the road is hard never give up.”
— Tupac Shakur
95. “Let the Lord judge the criminals.”
— Tupac Shakur
96. “I would rather have been shot straight-up in cold blood-but to be set up? By people who you trusted? That’s bad.”
— Tupac Shakur
97. “Of course I’m going to say “I’m a thug” that’s because I came from the GUTTER and I’m still HERE!”
— Tupac Shakur
98. “Life’s a wheel of fortune and it’s my chance to spin it.”
— Tupac Shakur
99. “No thank you to all the bustas, cowards, and FAKE HOMIES who showed me the depths of jealousy, envy and greed.”
— Tupac Shakur
100. “Hate to sound sleazy, but tease me, I don’t want it if it’s that easy.”
— Tupac Shakur
101. “Even the genius ask questions.”
— Tupac Shakur
102. “I’m a reflection of the community.”
— Tupac Shakur
103. “People die and people cry people want me dead.”
— Tupac Shakur
104. “I feel like role models today are not meant to be put on a pedestal. But more like angels with broken wings.”
— Tupac Shakur
105. “No matter what these people say about me, my music doesn’t glorify any image. My music is spiritual when you listen to it. It’s all about emotion, I tell my innermost, darkest secrets.”
— Tupac Shakur
106. “Dying on the inside, but outside you’re looking fearless.”
— Tupac Shakur
107. “I’m a sucker for love.”
— Tupac Shakur
108. “Just because you lost me as a friend doesn’t mean you gained me as an enemy. I’m bigger than that, I still wanna see you eat, just not at my table.”
— Tupac Shakur
109. “Make me wanna kill myself, but I see death around the corner.”
— Tupac Shakur
110. “The seed must grow regardless Of the fact that it’s planted in stone.”
— Tupac Shakur
111. “All the Hennessy and weed can’t hide, the pain i feel inside, its like I’m living just to die.”
— Tupac Shakur
112. “If you could walk a mile in my shoes you’d be crazy too.”
— Tupac Shakur
113. “A woman bought you into this world, so you have no right to disrespect one.”
— Tupac Shakur
114. “To all the seeds that follow me protect your essence, Born with less, but you still precious.”
— Tupac Shakur
115. “Give me a paper and pen, so I can write about my life of sin. A couple of bottles of gin, in case I don’t get in.”
— Tupac Shakur
116. “Killing ain’t fair, but somebody gotta do it.”
— Tupac Shakur
117. “It’s hard to care when no one loves you.”
— Tupac Shakur
118. “Even thugs cry, but do the Lord care?”
— Tupac Shakur
119. “Don’t live to fight, fight to live.”
— Tupac Shakur
120. “I don’t know how to change the world but I know if I keep talking about how dirty it is out here, somebody gon clean it up.”
— Tupac Shakur
121. “It’s the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they’re gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it’s my turn to leave.”
— Tupac Shakur
122. “It seems like every time you come up something happens to bring you back down.”
— Tupac Shakur
123. “Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete proving nature’s laws wrong it learned 2 walk without having feet.”
— Tupac Shakur
124. “I’m tired of being a nice guy, I’ve been poor all my life, but don’t know quite why.”
— Tupac Shakur
125. “I believe that everything that you do bad comes back to you. So everything that I do that’s bad, I’m going to suffer from it. But in my mind, I believe what I’m doing is right. So I feel like I’m going to heaven.”
— Tupac Shakur
126. “Keep your head up, Legs closed, Eyes open.”
— Tupac Shakur
127. “I’m on my knees begging, please come and save me.”
— Tupac Shakur
128. “The ground is the symbol for the poor people; the poor people is gonna open up this whole world and swallow up the rich people. It’s gonna be like – there might be some cannibalism out this mother. They might eat the rich.”
— Tupac Shakur
129. “Role is something people play, model is something people make, both of those things are fake.”
— Tupac Shakur
130. “It takes skill to be real. Time to heal each other.”
— Tupac Shakur
131. “I got love for my brother but we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other…”
— Tupac Shakur
132. “God come save the youth, Ain’t nothing else to do but have faith in you, Dear Lord I live the life of a Thug, hope you understand Forgive me for my mistakes, I gotta play my hand.”
— Tupac Shakur
133. “In a position to make a difference, politicians and hypocrites don’t wanna listen.”
— Tupac Shakur
134. “Imperfection is inherited, therefore we all sin, but fighting the war of sin is the greatest war of all because we all die in the end no matter how hard we fight.”
— Tupac Shakur
135. “It’s not like I idolize this one guy Machiavelli. I idolize that type of thinking where you do whatever’s gonna make you achieve your goal.”
— Tupac Shakur
136. “My mother taught me three things: respect, knowledge, search for knowledge. It’s an eternal journey.”
— Tupac Shakur
137. “Before I write I let my mind go blind and let the lord do his thing.”
— Tupac Shakur
138. “Let me say for the record, I am not a gangster and never have been. I’m not the thief who grabs your purse. I’m not the guy who jacks your car. I’m not down with the people who steal and hurt others. I’m just a brother who fight back.”
— Tupac Shakur
139. “I’m responsible for what i did. I’m not responible for what every black male did. Yes! I call myself a THUG, because i grew up in the ghetto. And im still standing.”
— Tupac Shakur
140. “It don’t stop ’til the casket drop.”
— Tupac Shakur
141. “Sometimes I sit and look at life from a different angle.”
— Tupac Shakur
142. “How many caskets can we witness before we see it’s hard to live this life without God, so we must ask forgiveness.”
— Tupac Shakur
143. “If God wanted me to be quiet he would’ve never showed me what he does.”
— Tupac Shakur
144. “And did you ever stop to think that I’m old enough to go to war but I ain’t old enough to drink.”
— Tupac Shakur
145. “I have no patience for anybody who doubts me, none at all.”
— Tupac Shakur
146. “But tomorrow I see a change, a chance to build anew, built on Spirit, intent of heart, and ideas based on truth. Tomorrow I wake with second wind and strong ideas of pride. I know I fought with all my heart to keep the dream alive.”
— Tupac Shakur
147. “Will I, succeed, paranoid from the weed and hocus pocus, try to focus but I can’t see.”
— Tupac Shakur
148. “You never know what’s going on in somebody’s mind. There’s a lot of pressure on someone growing up. You have to watch it.”
— Tupac Shakur
149. “I feel like Black Jesus got his hands on me and guides me through life to put me where I’m supposed to be.”
— Tupac Shakur
150. “Driving by my ambitions, desire higher positions, to see eternally and my mission, to be more than just a rap musician.”
— Tupac Shakur
