Hold On Be Strong (Original Version) feat. Stretch
Date: 1993/1994
Producer: Choo for Thug Music
Studio: Westlake Studios, Los Angeles, California
Samples: Earth, Wind & Fire – I’ll Write A Song For You
Lyrics:
[2PAC talking]
Ay do this Thug style main, Thug style
When this whole beat drop we just gon’ run it to ’em bet
It’s all good, uhh
[2PAC]
I never had much, ran with a bad bunch
Little skinny kid sneakin’ weed in my bag lunch
And all through Junior High, we was just gettin’ by
And drivebys robbed my homies of their young lives
I never did cry, and even though I had
pain in my heart, I was hopeless from the start
They couldn’t tell me nothin’, they all tried to help to help me
The marijuana had my mind gone it wasn’t healthy
I traveled places, caught cases, what a ill year
I felt the pain and the rain but I’m still here
Never did like the police, let the whole world know
Now I gets no peace, cause they chasin’ me down
And facin’ me now, what do I do?
These thangs that a Thug goes through
And still I rise so keep ya head up, and make ya mind strong
It’s a struggle every day but you gotta hold on
[Chorus – 2PAC & Stretch]
Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on
When it’s on it’s on
Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on, be strong
When it’s on it’s on
Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on, be strong
When it’s on it’s on
Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on, be strong
When it’s on it’s on
[2PAC]
There’s, never a good day, cause in my hood they
let they AK’s pump strays where the kids play
And every Halloween, check out the murder scene
Can’t help but duplicate the violence seen on the screen
My homies dyin’ ‘fore they get to see they birthdays
These is the worst days, sometimes it hurts to pray
And even God turned his back on the ghetto youth
I know that ain’t the truth, sometimes I look for proof
I wonder if heaven got a ghetto, and if it does
Does it matter if you blood or you cuz
Remember how it was, the picnics and the parties in the projects
Small time drinkin’ gettin’ high with them armies
Just another knucklehead kid from the gutter
I’m dealin with the madness, raised by a single mother
I’m tryin’ to tell you when it’s on
You gotta keep your head to the sky and be strong, most of all hold on
[Chorus – 2PAC & Stretch]
Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on
When it’s on it’s on
Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on, be strong
When it’s on it’s on
Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on, be strong
When it’s on it’s on
Hold on, be strong, hold on
Be strong, hold on, be strong
When it’s on it’s on
[Outro]
(See, huh)
Hold on, be strong
(I know them ain’t tears comin down your face)
When it’s on it’s on but
(Wipe your eyes)
Hold on, be strong
(In this world)
When it’s on it’s on but
(Only the strong survive y’know)
Hold on, be strong
(Hmm, I know it’s hard out there)
When it’s on it’s on but
(Welfare)
Hold on, be strong
(AIDS, earthquakes)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(Muggings, carjackings)
Hold on, and be strong
(Yeah we got problems)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(But believe me when I tell you)
Hold on, and be strong
(Things always get better)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(God don’t like ugly)
Hold on, and be strong
(And God don’t like no quitters)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(You know what Billie Holiday said bay-bee)
Hold on, and be strong
(God bless the child that can hold his own)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(Y’know?)
Hold on, and be strong
(You got to stand strong)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(And when these bustas try to knock you out your place)
Hold on, and be strong
(You stand there to they face)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(Tell em hold on, and be strong)
Hold on, and be strong
(The game don’t stop)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(Hmmm)
Hold on, and be strong
(This here is black main)
Cause when it’s on it’s on but
(If you don’t never leave nothin, learn one thing)
Hold on, and be strong
(It don’t stop, til the casket drop)
Hold on
(Thug, for Life… feel me? (feel me?, feel me?)
(All my homeboys and my homegirls, stay strong)
(When things get bad, especially come the first and the fifteenth)
(Stay strong, and stay ballin’, hold on)
(I’ll catch y’all at the next life, we in traffic)