But in many others, sometimes on the same albums, he portrayed the gangster life as a desperate, self-destructive existence of fear and sudden death.

The Death Row formula makes the gangster life seem like a swank men's club.

He decided to step away from the gangster life and died peacefully in 1973.

"She brought me up north later, and the seed of my liking for the gangster life was planted there, and just kept on growing."

Forced out of his gangster life, he now has to face living in the real world: "I'm an average nobody.

He also put a lot of detail in every frame because the gangster life is so rich.

"There is some synchronous pulse we have with the atavism of gangster life," he continued.

Phat grew up poor and involved in the gangster life.

Removed from the desperate reality, 2Pac glamorizes the gangster life for anyone who'll buy the fantasy.

Tone discovers he has a baby daughter and decides to retire from gangster life.