“Brenda’s Got a Baby” by 2Pac

2Pac’s “Brenda’s Got a Baby” is based on a subject which many people, including Tupac, perceived as a problem in African-American communities especially. And that is girls getting pregnant before they have the wherewithal to properly care for a child.

More specifically, Pac was inspired to pen this tune by a real event. This was the story of a real-life 12-year-old who got pregnant via her adult cousin. And just hours after giving birth, this young child threw her newborn baby into a trash compactor. This is why the titular Brenda herself is described as being “12 years old” and in love with a “molester”/“boyfriend” who also happens to be her cousin. But Tupac takes it to another level by trying to explain how her situation “affects our whole community”.

Brenda’s Family

Brenda’s family is portrayed as being unstable and not concerned with the genuine welfare of she nor her child. Rather their primary concern is capitalizing off of benefits Brenda receives from the government as a single mom. And ultimately, due to discontent with her mother, Brenda is compelled to venture out on her own with her child. 

Keep in mind that Brenda is someone who is depicted as ‘barely having a brain’.

So with no marketable skill to speak of as well as a general inability to keep a stable job, she resorts to selling drugs. However, Brenda’s not gangster enough to hold down such an occupation. So eventually she starts prostituting herself, as she perceives such as the only “way of leaving hell”, as in making life better for she and her baby. But the story concludes with her being murdered – as is oft the fate of prostitutes – and her baby being left as an orphan whose fate is uncertain.

Conclusion

So all things considered, this is somewhat an extreme example of the negative effects of teenage motherhood. But again, Tupac was attempting to get certain points across. One is that many young ladies, some of whom live right under our noses, are victims of molestation. And more to the point, when small girls like this get pregnant, the issue extends outside of their homes and goes on to affect entire communities. For at the end of the day even if someone is able to shrug off the struggles of a young, single mother, chances are they will be disturbed by the murder of a prostitute or a rise in the number of orphaned children in their communities.

Facts about “Brenda’s Got a Baby”

“Brenda’s Got a Baby” is one of Tupac Shakur’s earliest tracks. It served as the second single from his maiden album titled “2Pacalypse Now”.

This song was released by Interscope Records on 20 December 1991.

“Brenda’s Got a Baby” made an appearance on Billboard’s Hot Rap Songs chart as well as their Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs listing.

Tupac wrote “Brenda’s Got a Baby” along with the track’s co-producer, Big D the Impossible.

The other co-producer is an entity known as the Underground Railroad. The Underground Railroad was made up of musicians affiliated with the Digital Underground, the crew that. It was this same crew that actually introduced Tupac to the music industry.

There is a conspiracy theory associated with “Brenda’s Got a Baby”. And this theory states that Tupac stole the song from another artist who was affiliated with Death Row Records named Lil ½ Dead. And this story goes on to further insinuate that Pac’s murder was connected to this alleged theft.

Who is the girl in the music video of “Brenda’s Got a Baby”?

In the music video, “Brenda” is portrayed by an actress named “Edy” Proctor”.

The real case of “Brenda”

Residents of Brownsville, a suburb of Brooklyn, were shocked after a newborn baby boy was found in a garbage compactor. It became more shocking after it was discovered that the mother of the baby was a 12-year old girl who lived with her aunt in the neighborhood. The child mother moved to stay with her aunt, who also had a son, at age four after her parents died in a fire accident. Residents suggested that, the home was filled with alcohol and drugs. The then 4-year old girl was enrolled in a class for people who are perceived to be slow learners. Some years later, the girl was said to be pregnant and successfully delivered. Hours after delivery, she wrapped the baby in a rubbish bag and threw him off a four storey into a rubbish compactor. Her neighbors explained that, the girl might have done that due to her situation and the tough times she had been going through at home.

Aftermath

Later, the police arrested her adoptive brother and cousin named Clarence Perry, after he attempted to commit suicide. After a lengthy interrogation, he confessed that he was the father of the baby and was later charged with rape. The girl was also arrested and charged with attempted murder. The child and the mother were handed over to the Child Welfare Administration.