Brenda's Got a Baby
"Brenda's Got a Baby" is a song by American rapper 2Pac from his debut album, 2Pacalypse Now (1991). The song was first released as a promotional CD 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". The song, which features R&B singer Dave Hollister singing background vocals with Roniece Levias, is about a 12-year-old girl named Brenda who lives in a ghetto and has a baby she can't support. The song explores the issue of teen pregnancy and its effect on young mothers and their families. Like many of Shakur's songs, "Brenda's Got a Baby" draws from the plight of the impoverished. Using Brenda to represent young mothers in general, Shakur criticises the low level of support from the baby's father, the government, and society in general. Shakur wrote the song while filming the feature film Juice, after reading a newspaper article about a 12-year-old girl who became pregnant by her cousin and threw the baby into a trash compactor.[1]
| "Brenda's Got a Baby" | ||||
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| Single by 2Pac | ||||
| from the album 2Pacalypse Now | ||||
| B-side | "If My Homie Calls" | |||
| Released | October 20, 1991 | |||
| Recorded | 1991 | |||
| Genre | Conscious hip hop | |||
| Length | 3:55 | |||
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| Songwriter(s) |
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| Producer(s) | The Underground Railroad | |||
| 2Pac singles chronology | ||||
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| Music video | ||||
| "Brenda's Got a Baby" on YouTube | ||||
| Audio sample | ||||
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Music video
The video of the song is in black-and-white. It was made to visualize what the rapper Shakur narrates. The first part shows Shakur and "Brenda" and then the actual story starts. Ethel "Edy" Proctor portrays Brenda.
The video begins with "based on a true story," although the characters themselves are fictitious (actors), Shakur wrote the song after reading a story in the newspaper of a 12-year-old girl getting pregnant by her cousin and trying to dispose of the baby in a trash can.
Parts of the video were included in Tupac: Resurrection, a 2003 documentary on 2Pac's life, in a television show later in the music video of "Ghetto Gospel", in the music video of "Changes" and appears as a bonus in its entirety on the film's DVD. Part of the video and song was played in 2Pac's biopic film, All Eyez on Me, released on June 16, 2017.
The video was filmed on January 7, 1992 and it was directed by the Hughes brothers.[2] The music video was released on January 20, 1992.
Charts
| Chart (1992) | Peak position |
|---|---|
| US Hot Rap Songs (Billboard)[3] | 3 |
| US Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs (Billboard)[4] | 23 |
References
- Hedges, Chris (March 29, 1990). "A Child-Mother in the Jaws of New York". The New York Times. Retrieved July 23, 2016.
- "1992-01-07 / TUPAC FILMING "BRENDA'S GOT A BABY" MUSIC VIDEO". 2PacLegacy. February 2, 2018. Retrieved May 24, 2023.
- "2Pac Chart History (Hot Rap Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2018.
- "2Pac Chart History (Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs)". Billboard. Retrieved June 17, 2018.