Brenda's Got a Baby

## Single by 2Pac

"**Brenda's Got a Baby**" is a song by 2Pac, released as the second single and 10th track from his debut album, *2Pacalypse Now* (1991). The song was first released as a promotional single a month prior to album's release and then, in February 1992, it was re-released as a double A-side single with the song "If My Homie Calls". It was included in the compilation albums, *Greatest Hits* (1998) and *Best of 2Pac, Part 2: Life* (2007). The song has been praised for its commentary on teenage pregnancy, social stigmas, lack of resources, and life in the ghetto.

Shakur said of the song, "A true story. A family in New York died when they left the gas on because they were so cold—except for a 12-year-old-girl. She then went to stay with a cousin who molested her and got her pregnant. She had the baby on the bathroom floor before she went to school! Then she threw it in in the incinerator. Fortunately, someone saved the child. But reading that story, the pain really shook me."

## Background

2Pac wrote the song while on the set of *Juice*, where he read in the newspaper a story about a 12-year-old-girl who became pregnant by her cousin and threw the baby in the trash compactor. To *The New Yorker*, Shakur said, "when this song came out, no male rappers at all anywhere were talking about problems that females were having, number one. Number two, it talked about child molestation. It talked about families taking advantages of families. It talked about the effects of poverty. It talked about how one person's problems can affect a whole community of people. It talked about how the innocent are the ones that get hurt. It talked about drugs, the abuse of drugs, broken families how she couldn't leave the baby, you know, the bond that a mother has with her baby. And how women need to be able to make a choice."

## Music video

The official music video was directed by Allen of the Hughes brothers, filmed on January 7, 1992, in Oakland, California. Styled in black-and-white, "Brenda" was portrayed by Ethel Love (née Proctor), who was 17 years old at the time, and also a teenage mother. She explained that her brother was friends with Tupac, which was how they knew each other. 2Pac wanted her to be the lead, knowing right off the bat. The video took around twelve hours to film in one day, where they began at about five-six in the morning and ended at sundown.

## Lyrics

**Lyrics**
[Intro: Dave Hollister]

Brenda's got a baby

Brenda's got a baby

[Verse: 2Pac]

I hear Brenda's got a baby, but Brenda's barely got a brain

A damn shame, the girl can hardly spell her name

"That's not our problem, that's up to Brenda's family"

Well, let me show you how it affects our whole community

Now Brenda really never knew her moms

And her dad was a junkie, puttin' death into his arms

It's sad, 'cause I bet Brenda doesn't even know

Just 'cause you're in the ghetto doesn't mean you can't grow

But oh, that's a thought, my own revelation

Do whatever it takes to resist the temptation

Brenda got herself a boyfriend

Her boyfriend was her cousin, now let's watch the joy end

She tried to hide her pregnancy, from her family

Who really didn't care to see, or give a damn if she

Went out and had a church of kids

As long as when the check came, they got first dibs

Now Brenda's belly's gettin' bigger

But no one seems to notice any change in her figure

She's twelve years old and she's havin' a baby

In love with a molester, who's sexin' her crazy

And yet and all she thinks that he'll be with her forever

And dreams of a world where the two of them are together

Whatever, he left her and she had the baby solo

She had it on the bathroom floor and didn't know, so

She didn't know what to throw away and what to keep

She wrapped the baby up and threw him in a trash heap

I guess she thought she'd get away, wouldn't hear the cries

She didn't realize how much the little baby had her eyes

Now the baby's in the trash heap, bawlin'

Mama can't help her, but it hurts to hear her callin'

Brenda wants to run away

Mama say "You makin' me lose pay

There's social workers here every day"

Now Brenda's gotta make her own way

Can't go to her family, they won't let her stay

No money, no babysitter, she couldn't keep a job

She tried to sell crack but end up gettin' robbed

So now, what's next? It ain't nothin' left to sell

So she sees sex as a way of leavin' hell

It's payin' the rent, so she really can't complain

Prostitute found slain, and Brenda's her name

She's got a baby

[Outro]

Baby

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a baby?

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a baby?

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a baby?

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a baby?

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a baby?

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a—

Don't you know she's got a baby?

## References

1. ↑ Marriott, Rob (November 15, 2018). "The Best Tupac Songs". *Complex*.
2. ↑ "Tupac Shakur's Top 10 Billboard Hits". *Billboard*. September 13, 2011.
3. ↑ Scarano, Ross (November 14, 2016). "Here's Tupac's Song-by-Song Commentary on His Debut, '2Pacalypse Now'". *Complex*.
4. ↑ Bruck, Connie (June 29, 1997). "The Takedown of Tupac". *The New Yorker*.
5. ↑ Brown, Preezy (November 12, 2016). "How '2Pacalypse Now' Marked the Birth of a Rap Revolutionary". *Vibe*.
6. ↑ "2Pac's Brenda's Got A Baby Actor Breaks Her Silence 30 Years Later & Reveals Shocking Details!". *YouTube*. January 29, 2021.