Thug Life was an American

hip hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hip- ...

group that consisted of

2Pac Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

Big Syke Tyruss Gerald Himes (November 22, 1968 – December 5, 2016), better known by his stage names Big Syke and Mussolini, was an American rapper best known for his work with the American hip-hop groups Thug Life and Outlawz. His stage name "Big S ...

, Mopreme, Macadoshis, and The Rated R. They released one album, 1994's ''

Thug Life, Volume I ''Thug Life, Volume I'' is the only studio album by the American hip-hop group Thug Life. The album was released on September 26, 1994, by Interscope Records and Out da Gutta Records and distributed by Atlantic Records. The group, started by Am ...

'', before disbanding in 1995.

Etymology

According to Tupac Shakur, the name refers to the acronym: "The Hate U Gave Little Infants, Fuck Everybody".§ It represents the idea that the racism and marginalization experienced by black youth ends up negatively affecting society.

History

Big Syke was a Crips gang member and Macadoshis was a drug dealer during the 1990s. Tupac, Randy "Stretch" Walker and Princess Mel formed Thug Life in 1992 with Tyruss "Little Psycho" Himes. Big Syke bioat

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All-Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Mus ...

They recorded a song also titled "Thug Life". Soon Little Psycho joined the group, under the name Syke. Later Macadoshis and The Rated R joined the group. They signed with Interscope Records and recorded an LP titled ''Thug Life, Volume I''. Tupac's stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, later joined the group. It is also speculated that 2Pac and Thug Life were supposed to sign to

Eazy-E Eric Lynn Wright (September 7, 1964 – March 26, 1995), known professionally as Eazy-E, was an American rapper who propelled West Coast rap and gangsta rap by leading the group N.W.A and its label, Ruthless Records. Eazy-E is often re ...

Ruthless Records Ruthless Records was an American independent record label founded by Eric "Eazy-E" Wright and Jerry Heller in Compton, California on March 3, 1987. All of the Ruthless trademarks have been owned by Comptown Records, Inc. since 1987. Several ...

. In 1993, 2Pac and Eazy-E met up to talk about signing. Eazy liked the demo tape that 2Pac had brought with him. He wanted 2Pac to change his group name because he didn't want two groups with the same name. The other "thug" group was

Bone Thugs-n-Harmony Bone Thugs-n-Harmony (formerly known as B.O.N.E. Enterpri$e and also referred to as simply Bone Thugs or Bone) is an American hip hop group formed in 1991 in Cleveland, Ohio. Consisting of rappers Bizzy Bone, Wish Bone, Layzie Bone, Krayzie ...

. This never came into fruition because of Eazy-E's passing from

AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

on March 26, 1995.

''Thug Life, Volume I''

On September 26, 1994, ''

'' was released. The first single and video was " Pour Out a Little Liquor" (which originally appeared on the ''Above the Rim'' soundtrack, released six months earlier), which was a Tupac solo song. Tupac performed "Out on Bail" at the 1994 Source Awards. The album was originally released on Shakur's label Out da Gutta. Tupac's mother's label,

Amaru Entertainment Amaru Entertainment (formerly Amaru Records) was a record label founded in 1997 by Afeni Shakur after the death of her son Tupac Amaru Shakur. The label was created to handle the release of Tupac's previously unreleased material, and was give ...

, has since gained the rights to the album. The track "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" appeared on Tupac's 1998 ''

Greatest Hits A greatest hits album or best-of album is a type of compilation album that collects popular and commercially successful songs by a particular artist or band. While greatest hits albums are typically supported by the artist, they can also be creat ...

'' album. ''Thug Life, Volume I'' had sold 478,419 copies in the United States as of 2011.

Members

Tupac Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur (; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor, regarded as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all tim ...

( 1996) *

(a.k.a. Little Psycho or Mussolini) (d. 2016) *

Mopreme Shakur Maurice Shakur ( né Harding; August 16, 1967), better known by his stage name Mopreme Shakur, originally known as Wycked, is an American rapper. He was a member of the hip-hop group Thug Life and is the stepbrother of rapper Tupac Shakur. He wa ...

(a.k.a. Mocedes, The Wycked, Komani or Mo' Khomani) * Macadoshis (a.k.a. The Original Mac 10) * The Rated R (a.k.a. Super Star, Runner)

Discography

Studio albums

*''

'' (1994) #42 Billboard 200; #6 R&B/Hip-Hop

Singles

References

{{Authority control African-American musical groups Hip-hop groups from California West Coast hip-hop groups Gangsta rap groups G-funk groups Hip-hop collectives Interscope Records artists Jive Records artists 1993 establishments in California