Until the End of Time
Runnin' on E
2Pac
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
30
End
283
Internal
170
Multi
365
Slant
6
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Verse 2: 2Pac]
Now ever✦ since mama✦ got fucked✦ and papa✦ ducked✦ out
Look at us (Yo, yo), murderous thugs showin'✦ less love than a drug house
Similar✦ to savages, it's a wonder✦ we manage✦
Bring chaos causin'✦ damage✦ in the quest for cabbage
They ask my style similar✦ to cash when flaunted
Most wanted✦ by the population✦ murder✦ you for it
Exploit your weakness revenge flow deep without release
Criminal orders across✦ the water✦ bringin' war to the streets
Why fear me? Fear the shit I speak
Once this shit drop it's heard on every✦ fuckin'✦ street
Like the sound of police✦
Who run the streets really?✦ In every✦ hood legends grow
From the hustlas up in Harlem✦ to shot callers in O'
And though, Congress don't want us to progress, we stressed
My homie buried✦ at an early✦ age hustled to death
His last breath, a lesson✦ I possess✦ like jewels✦
Stay thugged✦ out keep it movin'✦
[Interlude]
(Hey, where that nigga✦ Kadafi?)✦
[Verse 3: Yaki Kadafi]
Halfway thugs don't budge when we stalk the streets
Sort of like chalk and narcotics when they walk the beat
You speak the beef, pussy,✦ draw down and drop it
Hit you with 6 shots, lay the law down and throw the shells in my pocket✦
Gettin'✦ mines✦ with nine cocked✦ extortin'
Blocks pop with 22's in my socks with the butt hangin'✦ out the chocolate
You never✦ seen time I travel✦ across✦ dream crime
My rolls like a million✦ dollar✦ bill, folded✦ with green lines✦
Wit' my pulse racin';✦ drink my Henny✦ straight, no chasin'✦
Catch my body✦ like cases;✦ 5 minutes from the station✦
[Verse 4: Young Noble]
Hit the hole like Allen✦ Iverson with confidence✦
No finger✦ prints that mean there was no evidence✦ or proof that I was present
At the scene of the crime around✦ 10 niggas✦ bleed
After✦ they made this punk, fag motherfucka✦ bleed
Money✦ was bloody✦ as shit, y'all niggas✦ shoulda seen it
Bust a cap and freak with, bowin'✦ off to one knee shit
The Glock to your head, nigga,✦ don't make no sudden✦ action✦
Hit innocent bystanders when he blastin', dumped✦ fuckin'✦ backwards
Little homies✦ puttin'✦ work for stripes
But is it worth your life and G-rides✦ runnin'✦ red lights?
I wish somebody would have told me then
Since I'm an outlaw✦ like Napoleon ain't no cell they can hold me in
Or cage me in, crazy✦ like Arabians
Hold this spot like them niggas✦ gon' fade me in
Havin'✦ a fiend page me (Page me)
When they want the product, nigga✦ I got the smoke (Smoke)
Got this weed and the coke (Coke), what you need, what you want
What you workin'✦ with? I'm on some ol' immortal shit
Outlawz, we straight hurtin'✦ shit, use artillery to murder✦ with
Put on the block, gangsta partyin' like 'Pac (Haha)✦
Life's✦ hard from the ox, me and my niggas✦ on top (Party)✦
[Bridge: 2Pac]
I know the law hate me dearly,✦ comin'✦ for me
We outlaws,✦ thugged✦ out, niggas✦ runnin'✦ on E
I know the law hate me dearly,✦ comin'✦ for me
We outlaws,✦ thugged✦ out, niggas✦ runnin'✦ on E
I know the law hate me dearly,✦ they comin'✦ for me
We outlaws,✦ thugged✦ out, niggas✦ runnin'✦ on E
I know the law hate me dearly,✦ they comin'✦ for me
We outlaws,✦ thugged✦ out, niggas✦ runnin'✦ on E
[Verse 5: Nuttso]
Runnin'✦ my Glock, put the lead in pop, fuck the law
Carry✦ steel 'cause I live on the nigga✦ side of the law
Ridin'✦ foes 'cause I can't let hoes catch me slippin'✦
Quick to blow and dispose if you plot on hittin'✦
Ridin'✦ high, blazin',✦ kryptonite got a nigga✦ dazin'✦
Burpin'✦ and smirkin' at enemies✦ before✦ I grave 'em
Ride up with the iron✦ up, I see him, he slippin'✦
At a stop light on this lonely✦ night
(This motherfucka✦ trippin')✦
Slide on him, so I can dump and put it in him
(Damn, I guess this motherfucker know the vicinity)
Hit the pedal✦ now we high speedin'✦
With my metal✦ tryna✦ make these motherfuckers die speedin'✦
Up the way I seen him slow down
(Shit! I think I done bucked✦ these hoes down)
Caught 'em runnin'✦ on E, that's kinda✦ funny✦ to me
They knew they was funkin'✦ with me but they dumb to see
[Verse 6: 2Pac]
Open✦ up fire, watch 'em expire✦ when my shells split 'em
Plus all them trick-niggas bitchin' can go to hell with 'em
Fuck 'em, they phony✦ claimin' they homies✦ but they foes
Speakin' on thug niggas✦ daily,✦ while we nailin'✦ they hoes
Explode boldly✦ at my stage shows and formation✦
Words are known to spray blaze as I raise my thug nation✦
A crooked thought, cops get bought, no longer✦ caught
Out on bail, raisin'✦ hell, nigga,✦ fuck what you thought
Did you cry when my girl died?
Put out the hit, politic niggas✦ worldwide, grabbin' my dick
I’ll never✦ learn, take away✦ the pain with sherm
Throwin' gas on my enemies,✦ watchin' 'em burn
Kamikaze, I’m shootin' up the casket,✦ take the body✦
Whip the corpse like a piñata✦ and party✦
His last breath, a straight lesson✦ I possess✦ like jewels✦
Stay thugged✦ out keep it movin'✦
Runnin'✦ on E
[Outro]
Stay thugged✦ out keep it movin'✦
Runnin'✦ on E
(One time, one time for the niggas✦ that stayed down for us)
Runnin'✦ on E
(Smif-n-Wessun the Cocoa✦ Brovaz, Buckshot, BDI, runnin'✦ on E)
The Boot Camp Clik
(What happened, that was it?)
Technical Breakdown
8.1
Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes9.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres6.5
Clever language, metaphors, punchlines
Cadence / Rhythm7.5
Flow variation and timing (data-driven)
Vocabulary Complexity8.0
Range and depth of words used (data-driven)
Delivery / Breath Control8.5
Performance and control
Computed Score8.11
Production
— 2PacBe the first to rate the production
Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
2Pac uses a relentless, aggressive cadence to bridge the gap between systemic social critique and street-level nihilism, characterized by high-density multisyllabic rhyming that prioritizes flow-momentum over complex wordplay.
A
9.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
7.5
Cadence / Flow
8
Vocabulary
6.5
Wordplay
8.5
Delivery
Multisyllabic rhymingInternal rhyme chainsStaccato deliverySociopolitical narrative weaving
Rhyme Architecture: 2Pac utilizes a dense, interlocking scheme primarily centered on 'au' and 'a-e' vowel sounds (ducked out/drug house/cabbage/damage/managed), maintaining a consistent percussive flow that pushes through the end of lines.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"quest for cabbage"
① The literal search for food or survival.② Slang for the pursuit of money.
"hustled to death"
① Died as a result of being involved in the hustle.② Worked oneself to exhaustion through illicit activity.
Commanding vocal presence and emotive urgency
High-density rhyme pockets that maintain a physical groove
Seamless integration of social commentary into street vernacular
Tendency for rhyme-heavy sequences to occasionally obscure metaphorical nuance
Relies on 'hard-knocks' tropes that were common for the era