His second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.AZ had given the controversial Hip-Hop star his first major commercial success. He'd starred in two hit movies, Juice and Poetic Justice, and he had another film on the way (the basketball drama Above the Rim). With his first platinum plaque under his belt, Pac decided that he wanted to help put on some of his homies. And he had the perfect banner to do it.
In 1992, Tupac had gotten "THUG LIFE" tattooed across his torso. The phrase would become synonymous with Tupac Shakur for the remainder of his life. In a famous 1993 interview with Ed Gordon of BET, Shakur defended "thug life" as an ethos -- it was a way to keep him connected to his people in the streets.
"I’m not sayin’ I live [in the same] neighborhood or nothing," Pac explained to Gordon. "But I’m a thug. They’re thugs. They can relate. I don’t have to say that."
Soon, Thug Life would also become a rap group fronted by Shakur. With his star at an all-time high, 2Pac recruited a handful of emcees he was close to for a new project. His follow-up to Strictly... wouldn't be a proper 2Pac album. Instead, he was going to breathe life into Thug Life. He tapped rapper/producer Stretch, as well as rappers Rated R, Pac's stepbrother Mopreme, Macadoshis and Big Syke for the group.
"I met him actually through a guy named Surge," Syke would explain. "Surge’s cousin Wattani was actually 2Pac’s manager at the time. And Surge brought him to the hood, my neighborhood ya know and we hooked up. Surge use to play on my music, so he (2Pac) liked my music so we started hangin’ out and after that we became friends and the next thing ya know we were on tour."