Throwback Thursday ‘Changes’ by 2Pac feat. Talent (1998)

I've been trying to pick Throwback songs that speak to the issues our country is facing right now. "Changes" is a great choice. Not only because of the subject matter but also because it's over four minutes and that annoys Andy!

"Changes" by 2Pac was released in 1998, two years after his death.

It was released as part of a Greatest Hits compilation album.

"Changes" samples "The Way It Is" by Bruce Hornsby and the Range from 1986.

Wikipedia summed up the themes in "Changes" the best, "The song makes references to the war on drugs, the treatment of black people by the police, racism (explicitly the reconciliation between the black and white people in America), the perpetuation of poverty and its accompanying vicious-cycle value system in urban African American culture, and the difficulties of life in the ghetto."

"Changes" was the only posthumous song to be nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards.  "Changes" was also nominated for Best Editing in a Video and Best Rap Video at the MTV Video Music Awards.

The music video is made up of previous 2Pac music videos as well as never-before-seen home videos and pictures.

In "Changes" there are these lyrics, "'It's time to fight back,' that's what Huey said
Two shots in the dark now Huey's dead."

That is in reference to Huey P. Newton the founder of The Black Panthers.

The song is also a bit eery due to 2Pac's lyrics, "'Cause I always got to worry about the paybacks/Some buck that I roughed up way back/Comin' back after all these years/Rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat that's the way it is, uh"

He's speaking about the possibility of dying by gunshots due to payback. Creepy foreshadowing.

Most of the song is still very much relevant today, however, "We ain't ready, to see a black President, uh" does not hold true anymore due to Barack Obama's presidency.