Released as the second single from his sophomore album, Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z., “I Get Around” was 2Pac’s first big commercial hit as the platinum single peaked at #11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The song appeared on several “best of” lists, including The Source’s list of The 100 Best Rap Singles of All Time.

At first glance, “I Get Around” seems to be of the standard “warning to the ladies: I ain’t gonna be your boyfriend” rap genre. However, 2Pac and his Bay Area homies—Money B and Shock G—approach the theme with a certain tendresse.

According to Money B, Shock G initially created the track for Digital Underground but couldn’t find the right content for the beat. Then Shock offered the beat to Saafir before taking it back for 2Pac, causing further tension between 2Pac and Saafir. Initially, 2Pac wrote the entire song but Money B wrote his own verse while Shock G used the verse 2Pac wrote.

Some of the background vocals and additional drums on “I Get Around” are sampled from the 1985 Zapp song “Computer Love,” while the “Step up” background vocals were sampled from Gang Starr’s “Step in the Arena,” which preceded 2Pac’s song by two years. The percussion is sampled from the 1973 track “Impeach the President” by The Honey Drippers.