Keep Ya Head Up.
(Tupac Shakur)

Some say the blacker the berry, the sweeter the juice
I say the darker the flesh then the deeper the roots.
I give a holler to my sisters on welfare:
Tupac cares, if don't nobody else care.
And uhh, I know they like to beat ya down a lot
And when they come around the block brothers clown a lot,
But please don't cry, dry your eyes, never let up,
Forgive but don't forget, girl keep your head up.
And when he tells you you ain't nothin' don't believe him.
And if you can't learn to love him you should leave him.
Cause sister you don't need him.
And I ain't tryin' to gash up, I just call 'em how I see 'em.
You know it makes me unhappy?
When brothers make a baby, and leave the young mother to be a pappy.
And since we all came from a woman, got our name from a woman
And our game from a woman...
I wonder why we take from our women, why we rape our women,
Do we hate our women?
I think it's time to kill for our women, time to heal our women
Be real to our women.
Cause if we don't we'll have a race of babies
That will hate the ladies, that make the babies.
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.

Yo, I remember Marvin Gaye used to sing to me
He had me feeling like black was the thing to be.
And suddenly the ghetto didn't seem so tough
And though we had it rough, we always had enough.
I huffed and puffed about my curfew and broke the rules,
Ran with the local crew, and had a smoke or two.
I realize mama really paid the price;
She nearly gave her life, to raise me right.
And all I had to give her was my pipe dreams
Of how I'd rock the mic, and make it to the bright screen.
Trying to make a dollar out of fifteen cents...
It's hard to be legit and still pay the rent.
And in the end it seems I'm heading for the pen -
I try to find my friends, but they're blowin' in the wind.
Last night my buddy lost his whole family,
It's gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanity.
It seems the rain'll never let up.
I try to keep my head up, and still keep from gettin' wet up.
You know it's funny, when it rains it pours,
They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor.
Say there ain't no hope for the youth and the truth is
It ain't no hope for the future.
And then they wonder why we crazy?
I blame my mother, for turning my brother into a crack baby.
We ain't meant to survive, cause it's a setup,
But even though you're fed up...
You got to keep your head up.

To all the ladies having babies on they own,
I know it's kinda rough and you're feeling all alone.
Daddy's long gone and he left you by your lonesome;
Thank the Lord for my kids, even if nobody else want 'em.
But I think we can make it, in fact I'm sure -
And if you fall, stand tall and come back for more.
Cause ain't nothing worse than when your son
Wants to know why his daddy don't love him no more.
You can't complain, you was dealt this
Hell of a hand, without a man, feeling helpless.
Cause too many things for you to deal with,
Dying inside, but outside you're looking fearless.
While the tears is rolling down your cheek
You're steady hoping things don't go all down this week.
Cause if it did you couldn't take it; and don't blame me,
I was given this world, I didn't make it.
And now my son's gettin' older and older and cold
From having the world on his shoulders.
While the rich kids is drivin' Benz.
I'm still trying to hold on to my surviving friends.
And it's crazy, it seems it'll never let up, but...huh,
please... you got to keep your head up.