Runnin' (From tha Police)

Infobox Song
Name = Runnin' (From tha Police)
Artist = 2Pac featuring The Notorious B.I.G., Stretch, Dramacydal and Buju Banton
Released = start date|1995
Recorded = 1994
Genre = Hip hop
Length = 3:45
Writer = Tupac Shakur
Label = Black Jam
Producer = Easy Mo Bee

Runnin' is a 1995 song by rapper Tupac Shakur, featuring The Notorious B.I.G., Stretch, Dramacydal and Buju Banton. The song is significant, being one of very few 2Pac and Notorious created together, as later hostility rose between the two rappers, preventing them from recording songs with each other.

Four of the artists on the song have since been murdered, 2pac, Biggie, Yaki Kadafi, and Stretch.

ong meaning

"Runnin' (From tha Police)" deals with the authors' troubles with the police. The lyrics contain verbal abuse toward police officers, and even allusion the possibility of killing them ("***two cops is on the milk box***, missing", or "let's serve these motherfuckers slugs [bullets] as a fucking meal" [http://www.actionext.com/names_0/2pac_lyrics/runnin.html Song lyrics] .

Song's musical style is unusual for 2Pac, having a reggae beat and reggae artist Buju Banton singing the chorus.

Releases

"Runnin' (From tha Police)" was supposed to be featured on Shakur's album "Me Against The World" in 1995, but was cut due to the shooting in 94' that would lead to his bitter rivalry with Biggie.

Instead, it was released a year later, with a different 2Pac verse, as a part of compilation album of original hip-hop entitled "One Million Strong", which also featured songs by Mobb Deep, Dr. Dre, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, Sunz of Man, among others.

Remixes and legacy

In 2003, "Runnin' (Dying to Live)", a remix of this song produced by Eminem, was made a single from the "" soundtrack. This version vastly differs from the original, using a different 2Pac verse, different melody, and not including the performances by Stretch, Dramacydal and Buju Banton at all, instead having a sample of Edgar Winter's "Dying to Live" as the chorus. The remix charted at #19 on The Billboard Hot 100, and arguably is now more known than the original.

In 2006, Ludacris used a sample of Notorious' first words in his verse ("I grew up a fucking screw up / Got introduced to the game / Got an ounce and fucking blew up") as a hook on his single "Grew Up a Screw Up".

Track listing

# "Runnin' (From tha Police)" (Stone's Radio RMX)
# "Runnin' (From tha Police)" (Stone's RMX Full Length)
# "Runnin' (From tha Police)" (Stone's Original Vibe Mix)
# "Runnin' (From tha Police)" (RMX Full TV Track)
# "Runnin' (From tha Police)" (RMX Full Instrumental)

References