Tupac Shakur’s rap supergroup “Thug Life” only released one album, “Thug Life: Volume 1” before the untimely deaths of Tupac and his frequent collaborator, Stretch, in 1995 and 1996. However, “Thug Life: Volume 1” is considered a seminal moment in the evolution of West Coast rap, seamlessly blending profane bravado, brash beats, and chillingly introspective revelations on what it means to be a young man in a cold world.

     Two singles from this album were released, “Pour Out a Little Liquor”, a Tupac solo song, and “Cradle 2 The Grave”, a posse cut featuring Tupac, Mopreme, Rated R, Big Syke, and Macadoshis.

     The lyrics here represent Tupac’s full verse on “Cradle 2 The Grave”, which charted at 25 on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles, in its entirety. Tupac performed the first verse of this song, later ceding the spotlight to his fellow “Thug Life” members.

     Tupac’s hand written lyrics touch on subjects that deeply affected his life, including street violence and the ever growing threat of incarceration that hung over his life. This song is unique in that the lyrics begin with Tupac’s birthday, June 16, 1971. His lyrics are written on 8 1/2 x 11 inch notebook paper in both blue and black pen, with certain bars crossed out and heavily edited, including a reference to Patrick Swayze’s character in the hit movie Ghost. These handwritten lyrics provide an intimate look into the songwriting process of one of rap’s great artists, and provide incredible value when examining his work. The first page of lyrics is completely full of hand writing, while the second is only a few lines. Each page of lyrics comes with an individual LOA from JSA (first: Z17648, second: Z17647).

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