“Keep Ya Head Up” is a song by American rapper Tupac Shakur from his second studio album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z…(1993). It was released on October 28, 1993 as the album’s third single.
Background
The song features R&B singer Dave Hollister and is dedicated to Shakur’s godson Elijah, and Corin, daughter of Salt from Salt-N-Pepa — the two had met through Treach of Naughty by Nature. The song focuses on black womanhood. Additionally, it makes reference to Latasha Harlins, who was shot by a Korean shopkeeper in 1991, increasing tensions between the Black and Korean communities of Los Angeles before the 1992 Los Angeles riots. The music video for the song opens up with the words “Dedicated to the memory of Latasha Harlins, it’s still on.” Further, the song calls out Marvin Gaye, who “had [Shakur] feeling like black was the thing to be.”
The video has a basic format with Shakur rapping in the middle of a circle surrounded by a crowd of people and in some scenes he is seen holding a young child. His mother Afeni Shakur and close friend Jada Pinkett Smith made cameo appearances in the video.
