"Hit 'Em Up" by Tupac

“Hit ‘Em Up”

I was debating on whether or not to use this song,  “Hit ‘Em Up,” by Tupac. It is not a song you will be playing at Christmas dinner, Thanksgiving dinner, or at any formal function whatsoever. However, it is one of my favorite songs. 

I once left my iPod playing on shuffle mode in my car while I ran in to the grocery store and a female friend of mine was still in the car.  When I came back to the car, she said, “Man that guy was really mad, he kept saying fuck you.”  I could not help but laugh.  I instantly knew the song she was referring to.

This song was written right after Tupac was shot while in New York.  He wasn’t sure who shot him but thought that all of  the East Coast rappers where behind it.  “Hit ‘Em Up” was written with raw, powerful emotions behind it.  The lyrics speak for themselves.  The hook is “Hit Em Up,” meaning: I’m going to retaliate against you, I’m going to kill you, and I’m going to fuck you up.  This is not your ordinary rap song.

“That’s why I fucked your bitch you fat motherfucker.”  This is something that people might think, something people might even say to their friends, but never to a person’s face, or let the whole world know exactly what they did to another person.  Tupac did just that, he lyrically expressed how he felt about Biggie, Puffy, and Junior Mafia in one song.  What keeps me drawn to the song is Tupac’s uncensored thoughts of what had just happened to him. The song motivates people.  This song has been used by many athletes to pump them up before a big game, I use it to pump me up at the gym on a regular basis. 

While writing this blog I wondered if this song reflects who I am.  In some ways it does.  We all have this inner demon in us. We’ve all said “fuck you” to someone, or we have all thought it even if we haven’t said it.  “Why did you take my parking space? Why did you cut me off in the freeway?”  No I’m not going to go and hit ‘em up like Tupac wanted to do.  But we can all relate on some level.  I don’t like to be messed with, I think that nobody likes to be messed with, and this song speaks to me in that sense.

The song is full of lyrics and very little “hook music” meaning that the same thing is not repeated over and over again to keep a person singing the song.  That’s probably what I like the most about the song.