Hear the isolated vocals on Tupac Shakur's song 'F*ck All Y'all'

There is simply no doubt that Tupac Shakur‘s legacy will remain untarnished for decades to come. The rapper wasn’t just a landmark lyricist or extremely gifted performer he was the voice of a generation, the leading light of his field and, like many heroes before him, he is remembered as an icon. He made himself indispensable to the hip hop world through his visceral attachment to the truth. You can hear this legendary tone via the isolated track of ‘Fuck All Y’all’ below.

It’s easy to point to Tupac’s death as a primary reason for his legendary status, and it certainly played a part. However, the real reason that Tupac Shakur is still as highly valued and trusted as he once was is that the artist was real in every sense of the word. Not only was he unafraid to throw a fist or put up a middle finger when he felt himself being corralled into a situation that he didn’t think was worthy. Likewise, musically, Pac was so self-assured in his talent that he was happy to kill any beat, any time anywhere.

Of course, Shakur was blessed with a natural rhythm and was more than capable of applying himself off the cuff to any situation. But the real reason his work is so highly respected is that he committed himself to the craft. Released after his death in 1997 as part of the album R U Still Down? (Remember Me), the song is some of Pac’s most powerful lyrics.

“I thought I had friends, but I ain’t got no fuckin’ friends / I thought I had friends, but I ain’t got no fuckin’ friends,” are the opening lyrics that are embedded throughout the song via sample, until Pac kicks in with “Money gone fuck friends, I need a homie that know me / When all these motherfuckin’ cops be on me / I got problems, ain’t nobody callin’ back / Now what the fuck is happenin’ with my ballin’ cats? / Remember me? I’m your homie that was down to brawl / Sippin’ Hennessy, hangin’ with the clowns, and all”.

The song sees Pac lamenting his newfound position as a hip hop icon as it removes any sense of reality. As he tries to find his real homies, he’s met with glimmers of a brutal past, and he demonstrates that the only way for him to truly continue to find solace is to forget everybody and everything that happened before he became a star.

It’s one of Pac’s most powerful songs and not only showcases his iconoclastic position within music at the time of his death but how he had personally been affected by it.

Listen below to Tupac Shakur’s isolated vocals for his song ‘Fuck All Y’all’.