R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
When I Get Free
2Pac
Lyrics & Rhyme Analysis
44
End
217
Internal
90
Multi
198
Slant
12
Chain
Rhyme Groups — hover to spotlight
[Hook] + [J. Valentine's harmonizing]
When I get free, motherfuckers✦ better✦ watch they ass
Soon as I get released,✦ I'ma✦ clock some cash
Did some time locked✦ down, but I'm back on the street
There'll✦ be trouble when they see me
When I get free, motherfuckers✦ better✦ watch they ass
Soon as I get released,✦ I'ma✦ clock some cash
Did some time locked✦ down, but I'm back on the street
There'll✦ be trouble when they see me
[Verse 2]
Still sittin'✦ in my cell as I dwell on my past
Tryin' to figure✦ how a nigga✦ turned✦ dreams into cash quick
Call her collect, ain't no respect✦ on the other✦ side
My cellmate's suicidal 'cause his mother✦ died
And my C.O. is a lady,✦ and I'm thinkin' maybe
Me and her can hook up a scheme, to be Swayze
'Cause she keep on callin'✦ me baby✦
To a young motherfucker facin'✦ eighty✦ that's enough to make you crazy✦
Now how long will it take, to get her hooked✦
Got her watchin' me liftin'✦ weights, sneakin' looks
I devised a plan, I'm in the trunk while she drives✦ the van
Ain't no disguise I'ma✦ die as a man
If we make it then I'm takin'✦ it to Hell
All them niggas✦ that was frontin' while I sat up in the cell
Locked✦ in jail, I couldn't touch her so I planned your misery✦
The nigga✦ you don't wanna✦ see
[Hook] + [J. Valentine's harmonizing]
When I get free, motherfuckers✦ better✦ watch they ass
Soon as I get released,✦ I'ma✦ clock some cash
Did some time locked✦ down, but I'm back on the street
There'll✦ be trouble when they see me
When I get free, motherfuckers✦ better✦ watch they ass
Soon as I get released,✦ I'ma✦ clock some cash
Did some time locked✦ down, but I'm back on the street
There'll✦ be trouble when they see me
[Verse 3]
Stuck in my cell
The pen' ain't nuttin✦ like the county✦ jail
When will they let me bail?
Walkin'✦ through the yard, I play the guard
First nigga✦ disrespect✦ me, first nigga✦ gettin'✦ scarred
I'm, back on the scene
I'm hittin'✦ knees in the back of a limousine, puffin'✦ on weed
As we game on the drunk hoes
Hit the skunk I reminisce just on the way, we used✦ to play, you punk hoes
What I possess is to be rich, in currency
Paranoid niggas✦ like bitches when they come and see me
Laid out, played out, the nigga✦ barely✦ breathin'
As for that bullshit punk, nigga✦ n-now we're even✦
But I wait, until✦ it's time
And try to find a crooked way to profit✦ off this crime
This life of mine... until✦ I get free
My prophecy is niggas✦ screamin', as if they bleed in agony✦
As soon as they popped✦ my gate
I knew these motherfuckers✦ made a mistake
[Hook] + [J. Valentine's harmonizing]
When I get free, motherfuckers✦ better✦ watch they ass
Soon as I get released,✦ I'ma✦ clock some cash
Did some time locked✦ down, but I'm back on the street
There'll✦ be trouble when they see me
When I get free, motherfuckers✦ better✦ watch they ass
Soon as I get released,✦ I'ma✦ clock some cash
Did some time locked✦ down, but I'm back on the street
There'll✦ be trouble when they see me
When I get free, motherfuckers✦ better✦ watch they ass
Soon as I get released,✦ I'ma✦ clock some cash
Did some time locked✦ down, but I'm back on the street
There'll✦ be trouble when they see me
[Outro]
When I get free
Hahaha..✦ yeah nigga,✦ when I get motherfuckin' free
Pop the gate, I'm back baby!✦
When I get free.. we up out this bitch
Technical Breakdown
9.1
Multisyllabic Rhymes9.5
Complexity of rhyme schemes (data-driven)
Internal Rhymes9.5
Rhymes within a line (data-driven)
Wordplay / Double Entendres7.5
Clever language, metaphors, punchlines
Cadence / Rhythm10.0
Flow variation and timing (data-driven)
Vocabulary Complexity7.0
Range and depth of words used (data-driven)
Delivery / Breath Control9.0
Performance and control
Computed Score9.08
Production
— Ricky Rouse, We Got KidzBe the first to rate the production
Critic Analysis
RAPLEDGER BAROMETER™
The verse excels through narrative coherence and character-driven stakes rather than dense wordplay, utilizing a cinematic structure that shifts from internal rumination to a high-tension escape sequence.
A+
9.5
Multisyllabic
9.5
Internal Rhymes
10
Cadence / Flow
7
Vocabulary
7.5
Wordplay
9
Delivery
Narrative arcCharacter perspectiveInternal monologuingCinematic scene-settingRhythmic escalation
Rhyme Architecture: A dense, fluid AABB-style structure modified by internal multi-syllabic rhyming (past/cash quick/side/died) that anchors the narrative flow.
Verified Doubles & Entendres
"me and her can hook up a scheme, to be Swayze"
① A reference to Patrick Swayze in the film Ghost, implying an ethereal, invisible, or untraceable exit.② A slang term derived from the film, used in 90s urban vernacular to mean 'disappearing' or 'vanishing' completely.
"I'm in the trunk while she drives the van"
① The literal progression of the escape plan being devised in the previous bars.② A structural payoff that concludes the build-up of the 'scheme' established earlier in the verse.
Visceral storytelling capacity
Strong emotional stakes
Exceptional rhythmic integration with thematic content
Clear, believable character progression
Limited reliance on complex linguistic wordplay
Vocabulary remains functional rather than ornate
Literal approach may lack the abstract depth of later work