Changes by 2Pac

Background
"Changes" is a rap/hip-hop song by Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known as 2Pac or Makaveli. The chorus from "The Way It Is," a song by Bruce Hornsby and the Range, is sampled in the song but re-sung by the musician, Talent. It was released posthumously on October 13, 1998 and addresses poverty (specifically the vicious cycle that occurs in African-American communities), police brutality, racism towards the black community, and the war on drugs. The song was produced in 1996 by Deon Evans, also known as Big D the Impossible, in California.

Lyrics (Sample)
"Cops give a damn about a ne*** Pull the trigger, kill a ni***, he's a hero (#1)

"The penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacks But some things will never change (#2)

"''They got a war on drugs so the police can bother me And I ain't never did a crime I ain't have to do." ''(#3)

Relevance (Samples)
The first sample deals with the reality of police brutality, which is essentially unnecessary and excessive violence from police officers. This

unnecessary violence sometimes even encompasses intended fatality. The African-American population in America is still disproportionately affected by police brutality. Some well-known cases include Terrence Crutcher, Tamir Rice, Michael Brown, and so many more which ended in fatality of the victims. The violence against Rodney King, a victim whose case did not end in death, inspired the Los Angeles riots of 1992. Most of these cases ended in acquittals for these clearly guilty officers, which is why 2Pac protests the still-relevant issue.

The second sample talks about the disproportionate amount of arrests in the black community, which is due to, according to Dr. Ashley Nellis, racial profiling and stereotyping among arresting police officers as well as the disadvantages that communities of color experience from a structural standpoint. In this excerpt, 2Pac protests the unfairness of this situation and laments the lack of change.

The third sample references the "War on Drugs," a racist initiative that was emphasized by President Richard Nixon in 1971. It is considered racist because, today, white people are 1/4th times as likely to be arrested on marijuana charges as black people are, even though both races use marijuana at similar rates. It also talks about the motive behind drug-related crime and how crimes aren't always committed with greedy intentions.

Overall, the song is very convincing in its message.

Details of Issue
The song was created as a protest song long-term issues, rather than one specific event. Police brutality is still an ongoing issue that occurs all around the world. In the United States, the majority of police brutality victims are, unfortunately, black. Some examples of police brutality cases in the United States that received a lot of publicity or were extremely violent are: year-old shot by Timothy Loehmann for playing with a toy gun These 5 cases do not even scratch the surface of the long-standing issue, but they are simply a few of the worst police brutality cases.
 * Oscar Grant (2009) in Oakland, California: shot by Johannes Mehserle
 * Tamir-rice.jpgt Davis (2005) in New Orleans, Louisiana: beaten by Stuart Smith, Robert Evangelist, and Lance Schilling
 * Tamir Rice (2014) in Cleveland, Ohio: 12-
 * Michael Brown (2014) in Ferguson, Missouri: shot by Darren Wilson
 * Malice Green (1992) in Detroit, Michigan: beaten to death by Walter Budzyn and Larry Nevers

Significance of the Song in History
The song seemed to really hit home for the public, as it peaked at #32 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and it stayed on the chart for 19 weeks. It also reached #3 in the UK chart and #1 in the Netherlands and Norway. The song was also nominated for a Grammy in the category of Best Rap Solo Performance, and it is the only song to be nominated in this category after the rapper's death. The video also received accolades and was nominated in 1999 for the categories Best Editing in a Video and Best Rap Video at the MTV Music Awards. Tupac's goal with this song was to reach the public and inspire them to make these necessary changes, and he clearly reached many listeners all around the world with this song.

Contemporary Connections
The song has since been sampled by Nas in his song "Black President" and Insane Clown Posse in their song "Mom Song."

Trivia

 * There was a remixed version officially released by Tupac after 1998, which had a noticeable change of the main chorus where the sample was instead “It’s Like That” by Run-D.M.C. Their song also deals with societal issues in the African-American community during the 1980s, although this song did not have as much of an impact.
 * Tupac sampled “The Way it Is” by Bruce Hornsby and the Range. The song deals with voting discrimination and how the 1964 Voting Rights legislature impacted America.
 * Tupac's birth name is Lesane Parish Crooks.
 * Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac were close friends.
 * Tupac was a big fan of Shakespeare.
 * Tupac's parents were active members of the Black Panther Party.