| Thug Life | |
| Years Active: | 1993–1995 |
| Past Members: |
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Thug Life was an American hip hop group that consisted of 2Pac, Big Syke, Mopreme, Macadoshis, and The Rated R. They released one album, 1994's Thug Life, Volume I, before disbanding in 1995.
According to Tupac Shakur, the name refers to the acronym: "The Hate U Gave Little Infants, Fuck Everybody".§[1] It represents the idea that the racism and marginalization experienced by black youth ends up negatively affecting society.[2]
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.[3] 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.
On September 26, 1994, Thug Life, Volume I 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.[4] 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 I had sold 478,419 copies in the United States as of 2011.[5]