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.