thug life

English

Etymology

Popularised by American rapper Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) in 1993.

Noun

thug life (countable and uncountable, plural thug lives)

1. (often ironic) A life in which one has to go through many struggles, like that of poor gangstas.

   I didn’t choose the thug life. It chose me.

   • 1996 September 22, Wayne Johnson, “Thug Life – Why This Raised So Much Hell”, in soc.culture.african.american (Usenet):

     Too many young Black men have adopted this thug life pose.

   • 2005, Black Dot, Hip Hop Decoded: From Its Ancient Origin to Its Modern Day Matrix, page 165:

     For all of these rappers claiming to live the thug life, there's really no difference.

   • 2011, Michael Jeffries, Thug Life: Race, Gender, and the Meaning of Hip-Hop, page 107:

     Whether death refers to biological death or serves as a metaphor for oppression and marginalization (social death), the potential for collective reconciliation with death is linked to his identity as a nigga living thug life.