Polo G closes out his second studio album, THE GOAT, by channeling 2Pac on “Wishing For a Hero.” It draws lyrical inspiration from the late rapper’s 1998 classic, “Changes,” while also sharing a sample with the song.
Both tracks flip Bruce Hornsby and the Range’s chart-topping 1986 hit, “The Way It Is,” borrowing from the rock song’s distinctive piano solo and interpolating its chorus.
On Polo G’s chorus, BJ the Chicago Kid sings:
That’s just (That’s just the way it is)
Some things’ll never (Some things’ll never change, no-no-no-no-no)
Yeah, that’s just the way it is (Way it is)
The way it is (Yeah)
This is similar to “The Way It Is” hook:
That’s just the way it is
Some things’ll never change
That’s just the way it is
Ha, but don’t you believe them
“Changes” features R&B singer Talent interpreting the chorus in a slightly different way:
That’s just the way it is
Things’ll never be the same
That’s just the way it is, aww yeah
All three songs cover issues like racism and politics. Polo G opens his verse by addressing police brutality:
You ain’t my color, then you don’t know the struggle of livin' black
Cops kill us and we protest, what type of sh-t is that?
Man, if the police shoot at one of my brothers, I’m blickin' back
We hate each other, so we just wanna score and go tit-for-tat
He continues by referencing the mass incarceration of African Americans:
We seventeen, got forty years in that court when we gettin' cracked
Stuck in the system, they just watchin' us fail while they sittin' back
The government cuttin' checks, but can’t cut a n-gga some slack
It’s hard to get a job, so we hustle and flip a pack
Pac also opens his track by addressing police brutality and the US government failing black communities:
My stomach hurts so I’m lookin' for a purse to snatch
Cops give a damn about a negro
Pull the trigger, kill a n-gga, he’s a hero
‘Give the crack to the kids, who the hell cares?
One less hungry mouth on the welfare!’
He originally recorded “Changes” in the early ‘90s before it was included on his posthumous Greatest Hits compilation in 1998. The song peaked at No. 32 on the Billboard Hot 100 and received a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance.
In an interview with HotNewHipHop, Polo G mentioned listening to Pac’s music to learn hip-hop history.
“I could say probably like 2Pac,” the Chicago rapper said, about listening to artists from the older generation. “Besides him I’ve been listening to Nas. Just trying to really learn my history on hip-hop, and just really feel them out as being real lyricists ‘cause I know I pride myself on being a lyricist.”
Read all the lyrics to Polo G’s “Wishing For a Hero” featuring BJ the Chicago Kid, 2Pac’s “Changes” featuring Talent," and Bruce Hornsby and the Range’s “The Way It Is” on Genius now.
