“Changes” is a hip hop song by the late Tupac Shakur originally recorded during his tenure at Interscope records which was rerecorded and remixed between 1995-96. It is one of his most notable and popular songs. Released initially posthumously on his album Greatest Hits, the song addresses issues close to 2Pac’s era of influence, notably racism, police brutality, drugs and gang violence. In the song, 2Pac looks to a future America without prejudice, saying “although it seems heaven-sent, we ain’t ready to see a black president.” This was the case until Nov 2008, when America did indeed elect African-American Barack Obama. In addition, the song heavily samples the 1986 hit “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby and the Range.
The Chris Hafner-directed music video is a compilation of a number of previous music videos 2Pac released in addition to home videos and never-before-seen pictures.
“Changes” was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the Grammy Awards of 2000; it remains the only posthumous song to be nominated in this category. One verse in “Changes” was first featured in his previous release “I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto“. There is also a notable remix of the song mashed up with Nelly Furtado’s “All Good Things (Come to an End)”. The “Huey” that 2Pac mentions in the song (“two shots in the dark, now Huey’s dead”) is Black Panther Party activist Huey P. Newton.
November 6th, 2008 at 1:39 pm
Tupac’s song “Changes” really captures the emotions of the time. The song was written in the early 90’s and we’re now in the early 00’s. There have been changes, but we have to recognize the fact that Obama is a self-identified African American although he is biologically biracial and was raised by white grandparents and was elected after (and perhaps because) GWBush ruined the country. So are we, as a voting public, really over all of our prejudices? No. Absolutely not. This is one giant leap towards erasing the discrimination all minorities feel, but we’re still very far off the goal.