140+ Powerful Tupac Quotes About Growth

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There are so many powerful Tupac quotes. The world-renowned artist Tupac Shakur was born on June 16th, 1971, in East Harlem, New York. Both Tupac’s mother and father were Black Panther members. They raised Tupac to challenge racist stereotypes and take a stand against blatant racism and police brutality. At the age of 12, he discovered his love for the arts. He performed in A Raisin in the Sun with the 127th Street Ensemble.

Later in his years, he moved to Baltimore, Maryland, with his mother Afeni, where he entered the prestigious Baltimore School for the Arts. At this school, he found his love for writing raps and poetry while continuing his interest in entertainment. He performed in various Shakespearian plays and a production of The Nutcracker.

In June of 1988, Shakur and his family moved to Marin, California, where Tupac joined the Ensemble Theater Company. By 1991 he released his first hit single, “Same Song,” following with his first solo album 2Pacalypse, later in the year. Also, in 1991, Shakur starred in his first movie Sons of the P, beginning his journey in the film industry. 1993 came with conflict and success for Shakur. He formed the group Thug Life with a few friends and his stepbrother Mopreme Shakur. However, he found trouble with the law later in the year. In October of 1993, Tupac shot two off-duty police officers that he claimed were harassing a black motorist. The case was dropped after it was released that the officers were drunk. However, more conflict with the law followed in 1994 when Tupac was convicted of assaulting a former female employer. The day before his guilty verdict, Tupac was shot 5 times and received his sentencing in a wheelchair. That year also brought joy for Shakur as he and his group Thug Life released their only album, Thug Life Vol. 1.

At the young age of 25, Tupac was wounded in a drive-by shooting. He died six days later from his injuries on September 13th, 1996. Despite life’s challenges and his short professional career, he became the best-selling hip-hop artist worldwide. He had over 75 million albums sold while starring in 9 movies and being nominated for 6 Grammies. Tupac’s legacy spread wide and far due to his activism, lyric raps, and determination. Discover the best Tupac Shakur quotes from his discography, poetry, and life below. Or find a Tupac lyric or inspirational quote to share with those you love.

Tupac Quotes on Love, Compassion, and God

“I am a hard person to love, but when I love, I love really hard.” – Tupac Shakur

“I’m not trying to make people think I’m in here faking it, but my whole life is going to be about saving somebody.” – Tupac Shakur

“You can never “just be friends” with someone you fall in love with.” – Tupac Shakur

“Fear is stronger than love, remember that. Fear is stronger than love. All that love I gave didn’t mean anything when it came to fear.” – Tupac Shakur

“Time to heal our women, be real to our women.” – Tupac Shakur

“I have no fear. I have no motherfucking fear. I have only ambition. I want mine, and I will do anything to feed and protect my family.” – Tupac Shakur

“Ain’t a woman alive that could take my mama’s place.” – Tupac Shakur

“A woman brought you into this world, so you have no right to disrespect one.” – Tupac Shakur

“We all going to die; we bleed from similar veins.” – Tupac Shakur

“Let the Lord judge the criminals.” – Tupac Shakur

“If God wanted me to be quiet he would’ve never showed me what he does.” – Tupac Shakur

“With all my fans I got a family again.” – Tupac Shakur

“I’ve been shot five times but I’m still breathing, living proof there a God if you need a reason.” – Tupac Shakur

“If you let a person talk long enough, you’ll hear their true intentions! Listen twice; speak once.” – Tupac Shakur

“We can never go anywhere unless we share with each other.” – Tupac Shakur

“Follow your heart, but take your brain with you.” – Tupac Shakur

“It takes skill to be real. Time to heal each other.” – Tupac Shakur

“Out of anger comes controversy, out of controversy comes conversation, out of conversation comes action.” – Tupac Shakur

“We were young, and we were dumb, but we had heart.” – Tupac Shakur

“Watch for phonies, keep your enemies close, watch your homies.” – Tupac Shakur

“Learn to see me as a brother instead of two distant strangers.” – Tupac Shakur

“There’s no way that Michael Jackson or whoever Jackson should have a million thousand droople billion dollars and then there are people starving. There’s no way! There’s no way that these people should own planes, and their people don’t have houses. Apartments. Shacks. Drawers. Pants! I know you’re rich. I know you got 40 billion dollars, but can you just keep it to one house? You only need ONE house. And if you only got two kids, can you just keep it to two rooms? I mean, why have 52 rooms and you know there’s somebody with no room?! It just doesn’t make sense to me.” – Tupac Shakur

“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 Shakur

“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

“You have to make a change. It’s time for us as a people to start making 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 working so it’s on us to do what we have to do to survive.” – Tupac Shakur

“For a woman it ain’t easy trying to raise a man.” – Tupac Shakur

“There’s no way I can pay you back, but the plan is to show you that I understand: you are appreciated.” – Tupac Shakur

Tupac Quotes on Character, Resilience, and Growth

“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive. Never surrender.” – Tupac Shakur

“During your life, never stop dreaming. No one can take away your dreams.” – Tupac Shakur

“All I’m trying to do is survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty, unbelievable lifestyle that they gave me.” – Tupac Shakur

“Until it happened, I really did believe that no Black person would ever shoot me. I believed that I didn’t have to fear my own community, you know, I was like, I represent them. I’m their ambassador to the world; they will never do me wrong.” – Tupac Shakur

“Sometimes, I sit and look at life from a different angle.” – Tupac Shakur

“Sometimes, life can be a heavy load.” – Tupac Shakur

“Sometimes when I’m alone. I Cry. Cause I am on my own. The tears I cry are bitter and warm. They flow with life but take no form. I Cry because my heart is torn. I find it difficult to carry on. If I had an ear to confide in, I would cry among my treasured friend. But who do you know that stops that long, to help another carry-on. The world moves fast and it would rather pass by. Then to stop and see what makes one cry, / so painful and sad. And sometimes… I Cry and no one cares about why.” -“I Cry,” a poem by Tupac Shakur – Tupac Shakur

“This fast life soon shatters cause after all the lights and screams, nothing but my dreams matter.” – Tupac Shakur

“Forgive but don’t forget, girl keep your head up. And when he tells you that you ain’t nothing, don’t believe him. And if he can’t learn to love you, you should leave him.” – Tupac Shakur

“You see, you wouldn’t ask why the rose that grew from the concrete had damaged petals. On the contrary, we would all celebrate its tenacity. We would all love its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the rose – this is the concrete – and these are my damaged petals. Don’t ask me why, thank God –, ask me how!” – Tupac Shakur

“My mother had a really bad childhood. And my father had a bad childhood. And I had a bad childhood, but I love my childhood. Even though it was bad, I love it. I feel like it’s taught me so much. And I feel like nothing can faze me, you know, nothing in this world, nothing can surprise me. It might set me back, but only momentarily, only to spring back.” – Tupac Shakur

“During your life, never stop dreaming. No one can take away your dreams.” – Tupac Shakur

“Many dreams are what we had, and plenty wishes.” – Tupac Shakur

“Tomorrow, I wake with second wind and strong because of pride. I know I fought with all my heart to keep the dream alive.” – Tupac Shakur

“It seems the rain’ll never let up / I try to keep my head up and still keep from getting wet up.” – Tupac Shakur

“I don’t have no fear of death. My only fear is coming back reincarnated.” – Tupac Shakur

“I feel like role models today are not meant to be put on a pedestal. But more like angels with broken wings.” – Tupac Shakur

“I set goals, take control, drink out my own bottle. I make mistakes but learn from everyone. 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

“In my death, people will understand what I was talking about.” – Tupac Shakur

“Behind every sweet smile, there is a bitter sadness that no one can see and feel.” – Tupac Shakur

“Everybody’s at war with different things. I’m at war with my own heart sometimes.” – Tupac Shakur

“If you can make it through the night, there’s a brighter day.” – Tupac Shakur

“I know it seems hard sometimes but remember one thing. Through every dark night, there’s a bright day after that. So no matter how hard it gets, stick your chest out, keep ya head up, and handle it.” – Tupac Shakur

“I’d rather die like a man than live like a coward.” – Tupac Shakur

“Imperfection is inherited. Therefore, we all sin. But fighting the war of sin is the greatest war of all. We all die in the end, no matter how hard we fight.” – Tupac Shakur

“As wars come and go, my soldier stays eternal.” – Tupac Shakur

“There is going to be some stuff you are going to see that’s going to make it hard to smile in the future. But through whatever you see, through all the rain and the pain, you have to keep your sense of humor. You have to be able to smile through all this bullshit…remember that.” – Tupac Shakur

“Don’t leave this world without giving it your all.” – Tupac Shakur

“I am not a perfectionist, but still, I seek perfection. I am not a great romantic, but yet I yearn for affection.” – Tupac Shakur

“I hate the man in the mirror ’cause his reflection makes the pain turn realer.” – Tupac Shakur

“Somebody help me, tell me where to go from here cause even thugs cry, but do the Lord care?” – Tupac Shakur

“My mama always used to tell me: ‘if you can’t find somethin to live for, you best find somethin to die for.’” – Tupac Shakur

“Though things change, the future’s still inside me.” – Tupac Shakur

“It seems like every time you come up, something happens to bring you back down.” – Tupac Shakur

“The seed must grow regardless of the fact that it’s planted in stone.” – Tupac Shakur

“Don’t live to fight, fight to live.” – Tupac Shakur

“I want to grow. I want to be better. You grow. We all grow. We’re made to grow. You either evolve or you disappear.” – Tupac Shakur

“You can spend minutes, hours, days, weeks, or months over-analyzing a situation; trying to put the pieces together, justifying what could’ve, would’ve happened. Or you can just leave the pieces on the floor and move the f*** on.” – Tupac Shakur

“Never surrender, it’s all about the faith you got. Don’t ever stop, just push it until 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 fail.” – Tupac Shakur

“Even the genius asks questions.” – Tupac Shakur

“Just cause you live in the ghetto doesn’t mean you can’t grow.” – Tupac Shakur

“I don’t want it if it’s that easy.” – Tupac Shakur

“Don’t believe everything you hear. Real eyes, realize, real lies.” – Tupac Shakur

“I think being humble is sexy.” – Tupac Shakur

“The realest people don’t have a lot of friends.” – Tupac Shakur

“Recollect your thoughts, don’t get caught up in the mix.” – Tupac Shakur

“You have to learn to hold your own.” – Tupac Shakur

“In my mind, I’ll be thinking is this true, will I fail? Am I supposed to fail? Should I just stop trying and give up? But then, that’s exactly what they’re waiting for me to do.” – Tupac Shakur

“Don’t change on me. Don’t extort me unless you intend to do it forever.” – Tupac Shakur

“Our future is our confidence and self-esteem.” – Tupac Shakur

“Pay no mind to those who talk behind your back, it simply means that you are 2 steps ahead.” – Tupac Shakur

“The only time I have problems is when I sleep.” – Tupac Shakur

“Where There is a will / there is a will / to search and discover / a better day / Where a positive heart / is all you need / to rise beyond / and succeed / Where young minds grow / and respect each other / based on their deeds / and not their color / when times are dim / say as I say / “Where there’s a will / there’s a way!”  – Tupac Shakur

“You know nothing can stop me, but loss of breath and I’m still breathing, so it’s still on.” – Tupac Shakur

“I’m 23 years old. I might just be my mother’s child, but in all reality, I’m everybody’s child. Nobody raised me; I was raised in this society.” – Tupac Shakur

“Everything will be alright if you hold on. It’s a struggle every day, gotta roll on.” – Tupac Shakur

“In My Chest I Feel Pain, Come In Sudden Storms, / Life Full Of Rain In This Game Watch For land storms…” – Tupac Shakur

“I know you’re fed up, ladies, but keep ya head up.” – Tupac Shakur

Tupac Quotes About His Life, Music, and Inspiration

“Everything in life is not all beautiful, not all fun. There is lots of killing and drugs. To me, a perfect album talks about the hard stuff and the fun and caring stuff.” – Tupac quotes

“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 quotes

“I’m doing this for the kid who truly leads a ‘thug life’ and thinks it’s hopeless.” – Tupac quotes

“My life was lived through falling rain, so call on me if there be pain.” – Tupac quotes

“I have not brought violence to you. I have not brought ‘thug life’ to America. I didn’t create ‘thug life;’ I diagnosed it.” – Tupac quotes

“What I learned in jail is that I can’t change. I can’t live a different lifestyle – this is it. This is the life that they gave and this is the life that I made.” – Tupac quotes

“Life is a wheel of fortune, and it’s my turn to spin it.” – Tupac quotes

“It’s the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they’re going to shut the game down. I have to have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it’s my turn to leave.” – Tupac quotes

“That which does not kill me can only make me stronger. I don’t see why everybody feels as though that they have to tell me how to live my life.” – Tupac quotes

“No one knows my struggle; they only see the trouble. Not knowing how hard it is to carry on when no one loves you.” – Tupac quotes

“Hip Hop, when it started, it was supposed to be this new thing that had no boundaries and was so different to everyday music. Now it seems like I was starting to get caught up in the mode of what made hip hop come about. As long as the music has the true to the heart soul it can be hip hop. As long it has soul to it, hip hop can live on.” – Tupac quotes

“Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.” – Tupac quotes

“If we’re all saying that rap is an art form, then we have to be more responsible for our lyrics. If you see everybody dying because of what you’re saying, it doesn’t matter that you didn’t make them die. It just matters that you didn’t save them.” – Tupac quotes

“I said, I’m going to write a song about women like my mom. Women like my sister, who I think represent strong black women, and I did that. Now I’m going to write about the women I see every day, and that was ‘[I] Get Around.’ If I just write songs like Keep Ya Head Up, it would make me seem more than what I am. But I’m just a normal man.” – Tupac quotes

“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 quotes

“When you do rap albums, you got to train yourself. You got to constantly be in character.” – Tupac quotes

“The only thing that comes to a sleeping man is dreams.” – Tupac quotes

“I’m a reflection of the community.” – Tupac quotes

“My inspiration for writing music is like Don McLean did when he did “American Pie” or “Vincent.” Lorraine Hansberry with “A Raisin in the Sun.” Like Shakespeare, when he does his thing, like deep stories, raw human needs. I’m trying to think of a good analogy. It’s like, you’ve got the Vietnam War. And because you had reporters showing us pictures of the war at home, that’s what made the war end. Or that shit would have lasted longer. If no one knew what was going on, we would have thought they were just dying valiantly in some beautiful way. But because we saw the horror, that’s what made us stop the war. So I thought, that’s what I’m going to do as an artist, as a rapper. I’m going to show the most graphic details of what I see in my community and hopefully, they’ll stop it quick.” – Tupac quotes

“I’m not saying that I’m going to rule the world, or that I’m going to change the world. But I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.” – Tupac quotes

Tupac Shakur Words of Wisdom

“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

“I’m going to show people my true intentions, and my true heart. I’m going to show them the man that my mother raised. I’m going to make them all proud.” – Tupac

“I think I’m a natural-born leader. I know how to bow down to authority if it’s authority that I respect.” – Tupac quotes

“I’ll probably be punished for hard living.” – Tupac

“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

“I don’t want to be a role model. I just want to be someone who says, this is who I am, this is what I do, I say what’s on my mind.” – Tupac

“You just can’t be calling us fakers and pretenders and non-creative and say we can’t freestyle.” – Tupac

“If you could walk a mile in my shoes, you’d be crazy too.” – Tupac

“I didn’t choose the thug life; the thug life chose me.” – Tupac

“I’m not perfect. But I’ll always be real.” – Tupac

“I’m 100 percent original, and that’s what got me here. My rap music is more understandable, slower. It tells a story. You can write a book on each of my thoughts.” – Tupac

“Don’t think I don’t see you haters; I know y’all in disguise.” – Tupac

“I live in hell. I have no friends. I never sleep. I can never close my eyes. Can you imagine what it’s like to be who I am?” – Tupac

“To all the seeds that follow me, protect your essence. Born with less, but you still precious.” – Tupac

“Why am I fighting to live, if I am just living to fight. Why am I trying to see, when there isn’t anything 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

“People die, but legends live forever.” – Tupac

“I would rather be stricken blind than live without expression of mind.” – Tupac

“A Broken Rose, Trying to Bloom Through The Cracks Of The Concrete. So Many Otha Things For Us To See, Things To Be. Our History so Full Of Tragedy And Misery.” – Tupac

“Look to my future, ‘cause my past is all behind me.” – Tupac

“Every time I speak, I want the truth to come out. Every time I speak, I want a shiver.” – Tupac

“Be grateful for blessings.” – Tupac

“Always do your best, don’t let the pressure make you panic.” – Tupac

“There’s nobody in the business strong enough to scare me.” – Tupac

“Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Provin nature’s laws wrong. It learned to walk without having feet. Funny it seems but by keeping its dreams, it learned to breathe FRESH air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete. When no one else, even cared.” – Tupac

Tupac Quotes on Violence, Racism, and Corruption

“They have money for war but can’t feed the poor.” – Tupac

“I see the ground is the symbol for the poor people. The poor people are going to open up this whole world and swallow up the rich people. Because the rich people going to be so fat, they are going to be so appetizing, you know what I’m saying, wealthy, appetizing. The poor going to be so poor and hungry, you know what I’m saying? It’s going to be like — there might be some cannibalism out this mother. They might eat the rich.” – Tupac

“The same crime element that white people are scared of, black people are scared of. While they are waiting for legislation to pass, we next door to the killer. All them killers they let out, they’re in that building. Just because we black, we get along with the killers? What is that?” – Tupac

“I know what good morals are, but you’re supposed to disregard good morals when you’re living in a crazy, bad world. If you’re in hell, how can you live like an angel? You’re surrounded by devils, trying to be an angel? That’s like suicide.” – Tupac

“It’s a struggle for every young Black man. You know how it is; only God can judge us.” – Tupac

“I am society’s child. This is how they made me, and now I’m sayin’ what’s on my mind, and they don’t want that. This is what you made me, America.” – Tupac

“No matter who committed the crime, they all yell at me. And the media is greedier than most. You could sell ‘em your soul, and they’ll be on ya till a nigga’s a ghost.” – Tupac

“Is it a crime to fight for what is mine?” – Tupac

“What people do for the struggle of power is madness.” – Tupac

“If they take half the buildings that they used to praise God, and give it to the motherfuckers who need God, we’d be all right.” – Tupac

“One thing we all adore, something worth dying for, nothing but pain, stuck in this game, searching for fortune and fame.” – Tupac

“Do everything you can to make it around the system, over the system, or out the system.” – Tupac

“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

“A coward dies a thousand deaths. A soldier dies but once.” – Tupac

“Father Forgive Us For Livin’ / Why All My Homies Stuck In Prison? / Barely Breathin’ Believin That The World Is A Prison, / It’s Like A Ghetto We Could Neva Leave…” – Tupac

“I did not want to become the victim, so became the bully.” – Tupac

Tupac’s Albums for Further Listening

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