| "Keep Ya Head Up" | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|
 | ||||
| Single by2Pac | ||||
| from the albumStrictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... | ||||
| B-side |
| |||
| Released | October 28, 1993 | |||
| Recorded | 1992[1] | |||
| Genre | ||||
| Length | 4:23 | |||
| Label | Interscope | |||
| Songwriters | ||||
| Producer | DJ Daryl | |||
| 2Pac singles chronology | ||||
| ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
"Keep Ya Head Up" | ||||
| Music video | ||||
| "Keep Ya Head Up" onYouTube | ||||
"Keep Ya Head Up" is a song by American rapper2Pac from his second studio album,Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993). It was released on October 28, 1993 byInterscope Records as the album's third single, peaking at numbers 12 and 13 on the USBillboard Hot 100 andCash Box Top 100.
The song features R&B singerDave Hollister and is dedicated to Shakur's godson Elijah, and Corin, daughter ofSalt fromSalt-N-Pepa[2] — the two had met throughTreach ofNaughty by Nature.[3] The song focuses on black womanhood.[2] Additionally, it makes reference toLatasha Harlins, who was shot by a Korean shopkeeper in 1991, increasing tensions between the Black and Korean communities of Los Angeles before the1992 Los Angeles riots.[2] The music video for the song opens up with the words "Dedicated to the memory of Latasha Harlins, it's still on."
The beat is sampled fromZapp's "Be Alright" and the chorus is taken fromThe Five Stairsteps' "O-o-h Child". It was first released in Shakur's 1993 albumStrictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. later appearing after his death in 1998 in hisGreatest Hits compilation. A "sequel" to the song, "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)" was released on 2Pac's posthumous albumStill I Rise in 1999. The song was featured in the Tupac biopicAll Eyez on Me.
The music video for "Keep Ya Head Up" 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 motherAfeni Shakur and close friendJada Pinkett Smith made cameo appearances in the video.[4]
| Publication | Country | Accolade | Year | Rank |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bruce Pollock | United States | The 7,500 Most Important Songs of 1944–2000 | 2005 | * |
| Rock and Roll Hall of Fame | The Songs That Shaped Rock | 2011 | * | |
Alyssa Rosenberg ofBrisbane Times felt the song "weaved together a critique of negligent fathers, an argument for abortion rights and a sharp analysis ofmisogyny."[5]
Weekly charts[edit]
| Year-end charts[edit]
|
| Region | Certification | Certified units/sales |
|---|---|---|
| New Zealand (RMNZ)[13] | 2× Platinum | 60,000‡ |
| United Kingdom (BPI)[14] | Silver | 200,000‡ |
| United States (RIAA)[15] | Platinum | 1,000,000‡ |
‡ Sales+streaming figures based on certification alone. | ||
Remix,
