Thug Life was an American hip hop group that consisted of Tupac, Big Syke, Mopreme, Macadoshis, and The Rated R. They released one album, 1994's '' Thug Life: Volume 1'', before disbanding in 1995.

Etymology

According to Tupac, the name originally started as an acronym: "The Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody". It represented the idea that the racism and marginalization experienced by black youth ends up negatively affecting society.

History

Big Syke was a Crips gang member and Macadoshis was a drug dealer during the 1990s. Tupac, Randy "Stretch" Walker and Princess Mel formed Thug Life in 1992 with Tyruss "Little Psycho" Himes.

Big Syke bio Big or BIG may refer to: * Big, of great size or degree Film and television * ''Big'' (film), a 1988 fantasy-comedy film starring Tom Hanks * ''Big!'', a Discovery Channel television show * ''Richard Hammond's Big'', a television show presente ...

Allmusic AllMusic (previously known as All Music Guide and AMG) is an American online database, online music database. It catalogs more than three million album entries and 30 million tracks, as well as information on Musical artist, musicians and Music ...

They recorded a song also titled "Thug Life". Soon Little Psycho joined the group, under the name Syke. Later Macadoshis and The Rated R joined the group. They signed with Interscope Records and recorded an LP titled ''Thug Life Volume 1''. Tupac's stepbrother, Mopreme Shakur, later joined the group.

''Thug Life: Volume 1''

On September 26, 1994, '' Thug Life: Volume 1'' was released. The first single and video was "Pour Out a Little Liquor" (which originally appeared on the '' Above the Rim'' soundtrack, released six months earlier), which was a Tupac solo song. Tupac performed "Out on Bail" at the 1994 Source Awards. The album was originally released on Shakur's label Out Da Gutta. Tupac's mother's label, Amaru Entertainment, has since gained the rights to the album. The track "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" appeared on Tupac's 1998 '' Greatest Hits'' album. ''Thug Life: Volume 1'' had sold 478,419 copies in the United States as of 2011.

Stretch's death

On November 30, 1995, Stretch died after being shot four times in the back by three men who pulled up alongside his minivan in Queens Village. He was killed exactly one year after 2Pac's 1994 Quad Studio shooting.

Original members

* Tupac ( 1996) * Stretch (a.k.a. Big Stretch) (d. 1995) * Big Syke (a.k.a. Little Psycho or Mussolini) (d. 2016) * Mopreme (a.k.a. Mocedes, The Wycked, Komani or Mo' Khomani) * Macadoshis (a.k.a. The Original Mac 10) * The Rated R (a.k.a. Super Star)

Discography

Studio albums

*'' Thug Life: Volume 1'' (1994) #42 Billboard 200; #6 R&B/ Hip-Hop

References

{{Authority control African-American musical groups Hip hop groups from California Gangsta rap groups G-funk groups Hip hop collectives Interscope Records artists Jive Records artists