The Painful Meaning Behind the Song “Changes” by Tupac

Two years and one month after Tupac Shakur was slain, his estate posthumously released “Changes” in October 1998. The song would go on to peak at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and would be added to the rapper’s Greatest Hits album a month later.

The impact of “Changes” could never be quantified, as its message and intent made it one of the most impactful releases of Tupac’s legendary career.

When Was “Changes” Made?

Four years before Tupac’s death, he wrote “Changes” in the time between his debut and sophomore albums 2Pacalypse Now (1991) and Strictly 4 My N****Z… (1993). Realizing the song felt unfinished, considering it borrowed lyrics from another song he was working on titled “I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto,” Pac would shelve “Changes” instead of adding it to any of his future LPs.

Most notably, the song samples “The Way It Is,” a 1980s hit by Bruce Hornsby & The Range. Instead of just using Hornsby’s vocals, though, Pac recruited lesser-known vocalist Talent to interpolate the That’s just the way it is hook, as Talent was signed to R. Kelly’s Rockland Records.

After Pac’s estate tweaked the vocals and production to help it sounds finished, they released “Changes” in 1998, a year after “I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto” was also put out posthumously.

Tupac’s Stark Message

Talent’s aforementioned hook for “Changes” sets a perfect stage for Pac’s rather disheartening reluctance on the song’s verses. All throughout the track, the now-deceased emcee describes the harsh conditions of being Black in America, which includes poverty and racial discrimination from police. Using his brashness and eloquence, Pac submits that sometimes sacrificing your morals is necessary when you’re out of options.

Try to show another way, but you stayin’ in the dope game (Ooh)
Now tell me, what’s a mother to do?
Bein’ real don’t appeal to the brother in you (Yeah)
You gotta operate the easy way
“I made a G today,” but you made it in a sleazy way
Sellin’ crack to the kids (Oh-oh), “I gotta get paid” (Oh)
Well hey, well that’s the way it is

In one portion of the song, Pac even mentions how Black Panthers founder Huey Newton was killed for his attempts at changing the paradigm when it comes to being a persecuted minority. But through it all, Pac still urged his fellow Black people to be kind to one another.

“It’s time to fight back,” that’s what Huey said
Two shots in the dark, now Huey’s dead
I got love for my brother
But we can never go nowhere unless we share with each other
We gotta start makin’ changes

25 years later, “Changes” is still an anthem of hope and fortitude, persuading listeners to take tough times in stride while pursuing a better reality.

Photo By Raymond Boyd/Getty Images