Tupac inspired millions of fans around the world, even after more than 20 years he died. We have selected a few dozen of his memorable quotes. Throughout Tupac’s life and after his death, his music, poetry, and messages left an indelible imprint on society. He was the greatest rappers of all time.
“A coward dies a thousand deaths. A soldier dies but once.”
“There’s gonna be some stuff you gonna see thats gonna make it hard to smile in the future, but through whatever you see, through all the rain and the pain you gotta keep your sense of humor. You gotta be able to smile through all this bullshit…remember that.”
“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.”
“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.”
“I think I’m a natural-born leader. I know how to bow down to authority if it’s authority that I respect.”
“I know it seems hard sometimes but remember one thing. Through every dark night, theres a bright day after that. So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out, keep ya head up and handle it.”
“It’s a struggle for every young Black man. You know how it is, only God can judge us.”
“I just don’t know how to deal with so many people giving me that much affection. I never had that in my life.”
“All I’m trying to do is survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty, unbelievable lifestyle that they gave me.”
“When you do rap albums, you got to train yourself. You got to constantly be in character.”
“Somebody help me, tell me where to go from here cause even thugs cry, but do the Lord care?”
“We wouldn’t ask why a rose that grew from the concrete for having damaged petals; in turn, we would all celebrate its tenacity, we would all love its will to reach the sun. Well, we are the roses, this is the concrete and these are my damaged petals. Don’t ask me why, thank God, and ask me how.”
“I would rather have been shot straight-up in cold blood-but to be set up? By people who you trusted? That’s bad.”
“The only thing that comes to a sleeping man is dreams.”
“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.”
“We all gonna die, we bleed from similar veins.”
“I feel like role models today are not meant to be put on a pedestal. But more like angels with broken wings.”
“If God wanted me to be quiet he would’ve never showed me what he does.”
“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.”
“I don’t have no fear of death. My only fear is coming back reincarnated.”
“There’s nobody in the business strong enough to scare me.”
“In my mind I’m a blind man doin’ time.”
“With all my fans I got a family again.”
“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.”
“Of course I’m going to say “I’m a thug,” that’s because I came from the gutter and I’m still here!”
“I’ve been shot five times but I’m still breathing, living proof there a God if you need a reason.”
“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.”
“If we really are saying that rap is an art form, then we got to be more responsible for our lyrics. If you see everybody dying because of what you are saying, it don’t matter that you didn’t make them die. It just matters that you didn’t save them.”
“Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive. Never surrender.”
“Even the genius asks questions.”
“I’m not sayin’ I’m gonna rule the world, or that I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.”
