2pac the blacker the berry the sweeter the juice

Keep Ya Head Up

Little something for my godson ElijahAnd a little girl named Corin

Some say the blacker the berryThe sweeter the juiceI say the darker the fleshThen the deeper the rootsI give a holla to my sisters on welfare2Pac cares if don’t nobody else care

And, uh, I know they like to beat you down a lotWhen you come around the block, brothers clown a lotBut please don’t cry, dry your eyes, never let upForgive, but don’t forget, girl, keep ya head up

And when he tells you you ain’t nothin’Don’t believe himAnd if he can’t learn to love youYou should leave him’Cause, sister, you don’t need himAnd I ain’t tryin’ to gas you upI just call ’em how I see ’em (you don’t need him)

You know what makes me unhappy?When brothers make babiesAnd leave a young mother to be a pappyAnd since we all came from a womanGot our name from a womanAnd our game from a womanI wonder why we take from our womenWhy we rape our women? Do we hate our women?I think it’s time to kill for our womenTime to heal our women, be real to our women

And if we don’t, we’ll have a race of babiesThat will hate the ladies that make the babiesAnd since a man can’t make oneHe has no right to tell a womanWhen and where to create oneSo will the real men get up?I know you’re fed up, ladiesBut keep ya head up

(Keep ya head up)Oh, child, things are gonna get easier(Keep ya head up)Oh, child, things’ll get brighter(Oh, keep ya head up)Oh, child, things are gonna get easier(Keep ya head up)Oh, child, things’ll get brighter

Ayo, I remember Marvin Gaye used to sing to meHe had me feelin’ like black was the thing to beAnd suddenly the ghetto didn’t seem so toughAnd though we had it rough, we always had enoughI huffed and puffed about my curfewAnd broke the rulesRan with the local crew and had a smoke or two

I realize mama really paid the priceShe nearly gave her life to raise me rightAnd all I had to give her was my pipe dreamOf how I’d rock the micAnd make it to the bright screen

I’m tryin’ to make a dollar out of fifteen centsIt’s hard to be legit and still pay your rentAnd in the end, it seems I’m headin’ for the pen’I try to find my friendsBut they’re blowin’ in the wind

Last night, my buddy lost his whole familyIt’s gonna take the man in me to conquer this insanityIt seems the rain’ll never let upI try to keep my head upAnd still keep from gettin’ wet up, huh

You know, it’s funny, when it rains, it poursThey got money for wars, but can’t feed the poorSaid it ain’t no hope for the youthAnd the truth is it ain’t no hope for the future

And then they wonder why we crazy, huhI blame my mother for turnin’ my brother into a crack babyWe ain’t meant to survive ’cause it’s a set-upAnd even though you’re fed upHuh, you got to keep ya head up

Oh, child, things are gonna get easier(Keep ya head up)Oh, child, things’ll get brighter(Oh, keep ya head up)Oh, child, things are gonna get easier(Keep ya head up)Oh, child, things’ll get brighter

And, uh, to all the ladies havin’ babies on they ownI know it’s kinda rough and you’re feelin’ all aloneDaddy’s long gone and he left you by your lonesomeThank the Lord for my kids even if nobody else want ’em

‘Cause I think we can make it, in fact, I’m sureAnd if you fall, stand tall and come back for more’Cause ain’t nothin’ worse than when your sonWants to know why his daddy don’t love him no mo’

You can’t complain, you was dealt this hell of a handWithout a man, feelin’ helplessBecause there’s too many things for you to deal withDyin’ inside, but outside you’re lookin’ fearlessWhile the tears is rollin’ down your cheeksYou’re steady hopin’ things don’t all fall this week’Cause if it did, you couldn’t take itAnd don’t blame meI was given this world, I didn’t make it

And now my son’s gettin’ older and olderAnd cold from havin’ the world on his shouldersWhile the rich kids is drivin’ BenzI’m still tryin’ to hold on to survivin’ friends

And it’s crazy, it seems it’ll never let upBut, huh, pleaseYou got to keep your head up

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