Keep Ya Head Up


"Keep Ya Head Up" is a 1993 hit single by 2Pac. The song features R&B singer Dave Hollister and is dedicated to black women and Latasha Harlins.

Production And Release

The beat is sampled from Zapp's "Be Alright" and the chorus is taken from The Five Stairsteps' "O-o-h Child". It was first released in Shakur's 1993 album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. later appearing after his death in 1998 in his Greatest Hits compilation. A "sequel" to the song, "Baby Don't Cry " was released on 2Pac's posthumous album Still I Rise in 1999.

Music Video

The video opens up with the words "Dedicated to the memory of Latasha Harlins, it's still on", in reference to the 1992 L.A. Riots. The video has a basic format with Shakur rapping in the middle of a circle surrounded by a crowd of people and in some scenes he is seen holding a young child. His mother Afeni Shakur also appears in the video. Jada Pinkett Smith made a cameo appearance in the music video.
The song was featured in the Tupac biopic All Eyez on Me

Critical Reception

Alyssa Rosenberg of Brisbane Times felt the song "weaved together a critique of negligent fathers, an argument for abortion rights and a sharp analysis of misogyny."

Track listing

CDS - maxi single
  1. "Keep Ya Head Up"
  2. "Keep Ya Head Up"
  3. "Keep Ya Head Up"
  4. "Rebel of the Underground"
  5. "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto"

    Charts

Credits

Remix,