THUG LIFE
A phrase born on the streets of Los Angeles. During the early 1990's, several politicians, including Bob Dole had characterized rap artists as Thugs. Indeed, this was taken as an attack on the hip hop community as a whole. Many, including the late Tupac Shakur, had rejected the criminal implication. It was clear to those in the hip hop community that anyone who attempts to rise from despair would be labeled a Thug. Hence, Thug Life became a phrase meaning "the life one must lead in order to rise through the everyday sturggle"; understood by those "in the know" and misunderstood by all others. Today, Thug Life represents a large underground community who's successful members are constantly in the public eye. In several parts of the United States and around the world, small boutiques even carry a "Thug Life" clothing brand, which was founded in Los Angeles in 1996, the year of Tupac Shakur's much publicized shooting. Those wearing the phrase Thug Life are believed to be members of the Thug Life movement. Tupac Shakur's acronym for "Thug Life" is THE HATE U GIVE LIL' INFANTS F**KS EVERYBODY.
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THUG LIFE by thescholar March 27, 2009
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