The term was popularized in hip-hop culture, where thug life goes hand-in-hand with iconic rapper Tupac Shakur, or 2Pac. In 1993, Shakur joined with friends Big Syke, the Rated R, Mopreme Shakur, and Macadoshis to form the group Thug Life, who released a now certified Gold album, Thug Life: Volume 1 in 1994. As Tupac himself described thug life:
2pac Thug Life Vol 1 Rarl
This is not meant to be a formal definition of thug life like most terms we define on Dictionary.com, but is rather an informal word summary that hopefully touches upon the key aspects of the meaning and usage of thug life that will help our users expand their word mastery.
In 1992, Tupac had gotten "THUG LIFE" tattooed across his torso. The phrase would become synonymous with Tupac Shakur for the remainder of his life. In a famous 1993 interview with Ed Gordon of BET, Shakur defended "thug life" as an ethos -- it was a way to keep him connected to his people in the streets. 2ff7e9595c
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