Thug Life was an American
hip hop group that consisted of
Tupac,
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 Syk ...
,
Mopreme
Maurice Harding (born 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 Tupac Shakur. He was also a member o ...
, Macadoshis, and The Rated R. They released one album, 1994's ''
Thug Life: Volume 1'', before disbanding in 1995.
Etymology
According to Tupac, the name originally started as an acronym: "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody". It represented 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 bio
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* ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks
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at Allmusic
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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 1''. Tupac's stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, later joined the group.
''Thug Life: Volume 1''
On September 26, 1994, ''
Thug Life: Volume 1'' 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, has since gained the rights to the album.
The track "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" appeared on Tupac's 1998 ''
Greatest Hits'' album.
''Thug Life: Volume 1'' had sold 478,419 copies in the United States as of 2011.
Stretch's death
On November 30, 1995, Stretch died after being shot four times in the back by three men who pulled up alongside his minivan in Queens Village. He was killed exactly one year after 2Pac's 1994 Quad Studio shooting.
Original members
*
Tupac ( 1996)
*
Stretch (a.k.a. Big Stretch) (d. 1995)
*
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 Syk ...
(a.k.a. Little Psycho or Mussolini) (d. 2016)
*
Mopreme
Maurice Harding (born 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 Tupac Shakur. He was also a member o ...
(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)
Discography
Studio albums
*''
Thug Life: Volume 1'' (1994) #42 Billboard 200; #6 R&B/ Hip-Hop
References
{{Authority control
African-American musical groups
Hip hop groups from California
Gangsta rap groups
G-funk groups
Hip hop collectives
Interscope Records artists
Jive Records artists