Young Black Male Lyrics

[Intro: 2Pac, Ed O.G. & Ice Cube]
Elam— Elam— Elam— Elam—
Hard like an erection, young Black male
Hard like an erection, ain't shit to fool with
Hard like an erection, young Black male
Hard like an erection, ain't shit to fool with
Htiw loof ot tihs t'nia, noitcere na ekil drah
Elam kcalb gnuoy, noitcere na ekil drah
Young Black male (Yes, niggas)
Yes, niggas
Young Black male (Yes, niggas)
Hard like an erection, young Black male
Hard like an erection, ain't shit to fool with
Hard like an erection, young Black male
Hard like an erection (Go nigga, go)

[Verse: 2Pac]
Young Black male
I'm tryna effect by kicking the facts
And stacking much mail

I'm packing a gat 'cause cops wanna jack
And fuck going to jail
'Cause I ain't a crook, despite how I look
I don't sell yayo
They judging us brothers like covers on books

Follow me into a flow
I'm sure you know which way to go
I'm hitting 'em out of the doors
So simple and slow, they step on the flow
I'm fucking the sluts and hoes
The bigger the butts, the tighter the clothes
They givin' ya jim many blows
Then what do you know? It's off with some clothes
Proud when the crowd says "ho"
That let's me know they know I can flow
I love when they come to my shows
I get up and go with skins before
When I'm collecting my dough
I let 'em respect the way that I rep
The quicker the nigga can wreck
The bigger the check, now watch how they sweat
Now what kind of style is that?
The style of a mack and ready to jack

I ran through the piles of wack
The wacker the pack, the fatter the smack
They hate it when real niggas bust
They hate when I cuss, they threaten to bust
I had enough of the fuss
I bust what I bust and cuss when I must
They gave me a charge for sales
For selling the tales of young Black males
[Outro]
Yes, nigga
N-I-G-G-A, niggas
Ayy, nigga, you can't handle that shit
Pass that, man
Hit that shit, that's the shit
It smell like skunk
Skunk smell like that nigga over there mama
Some old funky-ass shit
We ain't nothin' but some low down dirty niggas
Keep it real, nigga! Fuck you, nigga
You ain't giving me near a dime on this real motherfucker
Fuck St. Ides, it's an Olde E thing, baby
Stick with some of that Hennessy
Can I drink with you, fellas? Can I get in on it in here?
Fuck you, Capo, you ain't in, baby
I tell you what!
You guys are not gonna be talking all that shit, when I come back, okay?
We gonna see who the big mouth when I come back
Young black male— male

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About

Genius Annotation

“Young Black Male” serves as the lead song on 2Pacalypse Now and features strong accentuation typical only of Tupac. This creates an interesting and bizarre compression to his two-line rhyme scheme, which remains constant through the whole of the song.

Thematically, Tupac, despite detailing an essentially boiled down autobiography of a day in his life as an MC, distances himself from any sort of emotion or subjectivity that so often creeps into his later narratives. Shakur links his experience with a myriad of other young black males. No distinction between his own and others' experience as a young impoverished African-American is ever allowed to evanesce.

Q&A

Find answers to frequently asked questions about the song and explore its deeper meaning

What did 2Pac say about "Young Black Male"?
Genius Answer

In an interview with Chuck Philips of the Los Angeles Times in 1995, 2Pac said the following about “Young Black Male”:

I just wanted to rap about things that affected young black males. When I said that, I didn’t know that I was gonna tie myself down to just take all the blunts and hits for all the young black males, to be the media’s kicking post for young black males. I just figured since I lived that life I could do that, I could rap about that.

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