Top 10 Tupac Songs

Tupac is probably one of the only rappers who’s known as much for his sensitivity as he is for his street cred. On All Eyez on Me’s opening track, Tupac packs each verse with heat and showcases the fact that he never forgot who he was or where his loyalties lay. By drawing the listener in with its raw and gritty sound, Tupac reveals things haven’t really changed that much, despite his fame.

As the title track from his fourth studio album, “All Eyez On Me” perfectly embraces Tupac’s unapologetic love of the thug life. He spits fire as he raps about gangbanging, getting girls and money, and is unapologetic about claiming to want to live this way ‘til the day he dies. You just can’t help but respect such honesty and self-awareness in an artist.

Even though he was born in New York, Tupac quickly and fully adopted California as his spiritual birthplace. This song memorializes his experiences while growing up in the ghetto of South Central L.A. and seeing horrible things in the naturally beautiful city. Despite its problems, Tupac still embraced the region by showing his love to Los Angeles’ dress code, its local rappers, mom and pop stores, and more.

In the diss song to end all diss songs, Tupac gets aggressive as he goes for the jugular in dissing multiple East Coast rappers. But he mainly aims the nasty little track at his former friend, Biggie, even opening with a line stating that he slept with B.I.G.’s girl. “Hit ‘Em Up”’s undeniable rage and raw lyricism are so undeniable, they helped fuel the rappers’ on-going feud, which came to an end three months after the song’s release due to Tupac’s death.

It’s eerily fitting that this was Tupac’s last single before he was gunned down in 1996. In the chorus, mixed with a string of “la, la, las,” he asks “Do you wanna ride or die?” – which gives the song an unsettling effect. Often played in tribute to the rapper, the five-minute track was also a top 10 hit on Billboard’s Hot Rap Singles chart.

Featuring the vocals of K-Ci & JoJo, this smooth tune serves as a great example of the hey-day of hip-hop and R&B. As Tupac raps about growing up in a dog-eat-dog world, he leaves listeners with the impression that there’s no other way that life should be. To Pac, the fast lane was the only option, and the preferred one at that.

This is by far one of Tupac’s most introspective and heartfelt songs, as it sees him rapping about his admiration for his mother. By telling the story of how his mom struggled to provide for him as a single parent and kept him off the streets, he became one of the first rappers willing to express himself on such a personal level and earned a Hot 100 top 10 too.

Rappers are often accused of being misogynists and chauvinists, but this song shows that even the hardest man has a softer side. Dedicated to an African-American teenager shot by a Korean storeowner, “Keep Ya Head Up” functions as a call to action to men of visible minorities to better treat women of visible minorities. Tupac warns listeners that if things don’t change, it’ll only perpetuate a cycle of hatred for the future generations.

It’s rare that a song about racism and police brutality can still be uplifting, but “Changes” is just that. While rapping about how “things’ll never be the same,” Tupac samples the ‘80s hit, “The Way It Is.” It may not have won the Grammy for the Best Rap Solo Performance it was posthumously nominated for, but the conscious hip-hop track did earn global success and charted fairly highly around the world.

- “Only God Can Judge Me” feat. Rappin’ 4-Tay, All Eyez on Me (1996)
- “So Many Tears” Me Against the World (1995)
- “Brenda’s Got a Baby” feat. Dave Hollister, 2Pacalypse Now (1991)
- “Life Goes On” feat. Stacey Smallie, All Eyez on Me (1996)
- “I Get Around” feat. Shock G & Money-B, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993)
- “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” feat. Danny Boy, All Eyez on Me (1996)

As his first Death Row Records single, “California Love” initially hit the streets as a double A-side with “How Do U Want It.” It then became Pac’s most successful track when it topped the Billboard Hot 100 for two weeks in 1996. The remix version appearing on All Eyez on Me also found popularity. With its electro-funk beat, smooth rhymes and laid-back Cali Vibe, it’s no surprise it was nominated for two posthumous Grammys.

Do you agree with our list? Which Tupac song is your number one? For more entertaining Top 10s published daily, be sure to subscribe to WatchMojo.com.