# Ghetto Gospel
**Ghetto Gospel** is a posthumous single by the rapper 2Pac ([Tupac Shakur](https://www.edgepedia.org/tupac-shakur)) featuring [Elton John](https://www.edgepedia.org/elton-john), produced by Eminem for the 2004 album *Loyal to the Game* and built on a sample of John's 1971 song "Indian Sunset". Released as a single in 2005, it gave 2Pac the first UK number-one single of his career, nearly nine years after his death.[1](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/2pac-elton-pairing-scores-uk-no-1-62462/)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Artist / featured | 2Pac featuring Elton John[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/2pac-ft-elton-john-ghetto-gospel/) |
| Producer | Eminem, with additional production by Luis Resto[3](https://www.united-tupac.com/en/discografie/singles/ghetto-gospel/) |
| Sample | "Indian Sunset" from Elton John's 1971 album *Madman Across the Water*[1](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/2pac-elton-pairing-scores-uk-no-1-62462/) |
| Album | *Loyal to the Game* (Amaru/Interscope, 2004); also on the *Resurrection* soundtrack[4](https://www.whosampled.com/2Pac/Ghetto-Gospel/) • [5](https://open.spotify.com/track/7jLbTp3qZzah9kMIdW8e5M) |
| UK chart | Number 1 for 3 weeks; 8 weeks in the top 10; 39 weeks in the top 100[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/2pac-ft-elton-john-ghetto-gospel/) |
| Other peaks | Number 1 in Ireland and Australia; number 3 in Germany, Austria, and New Zealand; number 7 in Switzerland (fan-maintained discography)[3](https://www.united-tupac.com/en/discografie/singles/ghetto-gospel/) |
| Streaming | Over 316 million Spotify streams (316,876,514) as of retrieval[5](https://open.spotify.com/track/7jLbTp3qZzah9kMIdW8e5M) |
## Background and recording
The track was put together by Eminem for Tupac's posthumous album *Loyal to the Game* (2004).[6](http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/articles/2005/07/28/gospel_according_to_tupac_feature.shtml) WhoSampled credits Eminem as composer and producer, with 2Pac as lyricist and vocalist, on the 2004 Amaru album *Loyal to the Game*[4](https://www.whosampled.com/2Pac/Ghetto-Gospel/). The BBC described the track as "put together by Marshal Mathers (aka Eminem)" for that posthumous album[6](http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/articles/2005/07/28/gospel_according_to_tupac_feature.shtml).
How much of the finished song dates from Shakur's lifetime is disputed. A fan-maintained discography, United Tupac, states that Tupac recorded the track in 1992, originally intended for the Christmas compilation *A Very Special Christmas 2* but unused because of his legal troubles, and that the original version was faster, had more verses, and was built on [Tracy Chapman](https://www.edgepedia.org/tracy-chapman)'s "Crossroads"[3](https://www.united-tupac.com/en/discografie/singles/ghetto-gospel/). WhoSampled, by contrast, catalogs a separate "Ghetto Gospel (Original Version)" by 2Pac dated 2004[4](https://www.whosampled.com/2Pac/Ghetto-Gospel/). The single was released on 25 January 2005 in the US on Amaru/Interscope, with "Thugs Get Lonely Too" as the B-side[3](https://www.united-tupac.com/en/discografie/singles/ghetto-gospel/).
## Production and the Elton John sample
Eminem paired Tupac's vocal with "Indian Sunset", the ballad from Elton John's 1971 album *Madman Across the Water*[1](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/2pac-elton-pairing-scores-uk-no-1-62462/). According to the United Tupac discography, Elton John approved the result, calling it genius[3](https://www.united-tupac.com/en/discografie/singles/ghetto-gospel/).
## Lyrics and themes
The released lyrics frame the song as an appeal against street violence: "Before we find world peace / We gotta find peace and end the war in the streets"[7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do5MMmEygsY). They reject racial division, "It ain't about black or white 'cause we human", and invoke the murdered activists [Malcolm X](https://www.edgepedia.org/malcolm-x) and Bobby Hutton, asking whether they "died for nothing"[7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do5MMmEygsY). Poverty and addiction appear in concrete images, an old lady "living out of bags" and a woman driven "crazy" by crack, alongside religious language such as "That God isn't finished with me yet" paired with admissions of drinking and smoking[7](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do5MMmEygsY). The BBC summarized the mix as "crime, drugs, poverty and God, blended with samples from some of Elton John's early work"[6](http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/articles/2005/07/28/gospel_according_to_tupac_feature.shtml).
Religious readings of the song have followed. An essay in *America* magazine places "Ghetto Gospel" among Tupac's God-directed songs, in which he "would frequently interrupt his raps with prayers, supplications, wails and Job-like protests unto God", alongside "I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto", "Black Jesus", "Only God Can Judge Me", and "Hail Mary"[8](https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/ghetto-gospel). A peer-reviewed study in *Theologia in Loco* examines the theological meaning of the song, reading the concept of basileia (kingdom) in it as a case of theology in popular culture[9](https://www.theologiainloco.com/ojs/index.php/sttjournal/article/view/279).
## Release and commercial performance
The single was issued in several editions: a 2004 digital release on Amaru/Universal Music, a 2004 CD on Interscope/Polydor (catalog 9883032), and 2005 CD editions on Interscope (catalog 9883248)[10](https://www.allmusic.com/album/ghetto-gospel-mw0001446569). It also appears on *Resurrection (Music From And Inspired By The Motion Picture)*, the soundtrack released 1 January 2004 on Interscope[5](https://open.spotify.com/track/7jLbTp3qZzah9kMIdW8e5M).
In the UK the song debuted at number 1 on the chart dated 26 June 2005, according to Billboard[1](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/2pac-elton-pairing-scores-uk-no-1-62462/); the [Official Charts Company](https://www.edgepedia.org/official-charts-company) records its first chart date as 2 July 2005[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/2pac-ft-elton-john-ghetto-gospel/). It spent 3 weeks at number 1, 8 weeks in the top 10, 14 weeks in the top 40, 22 weeks in the top 75, and 39 weeks in the top 100[2](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/2pac-ft-elton-john-ghetto-gospel/). Its arrival displaced [Crazy Frog](https://www.edgepedia.org/crazy-frog)'s "Axel F" from the top after four weeks and pushed [James Blunt](https://www.edgepedia.org/james-blunt)'s "You're Beautiful" from 2 to 3[1](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/2pac-elton-pairing-scores-uk-no-1-62462/). It was the fifth UK top 10 single to feature the late rapper and the seventh featuring John[1](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/2pac-elton-pairing-scores-uk-no-1-62462/).
## By the numbers
Beyond the UK, the fan-maintained United Tupac discography reports number 1 in Ireland and Australia, number 3 in Germany, Austria, and New Zealand, and number 7 in Switzerland, with Platinum certification in the UK and Australia and Gold in Germany[3](https://www.united-tupac.com/en/discografie/singles/ghetto-gospel/).
On streaming, the track runs 3:58 on *Loyal to the Game* and had accumulated 316,876,514 Spotify streams as of retrieval[5](https://open.spotify.com/track/7jLbTp3qZzah9kMIdW8e5M).
## Critical reception and legacy
The song's standing rests chiefly on its commercial record and its afterlife in other artists' work. In Europe, alongside "Changes" and "[California Love](https://www.edgepedia.org/california-love)", it is considered one of Tupac's best-known songs[3](https://www.united-tupac.com/en/discografie/singles/ghetto-gospel/). Its title became a template in the UK: in 2007 the grime artist Ghetts released a project called *Ghetto Gospel* that fused grime and faith, and The Quietus notes the original's spiritual-street duality behind tracks such as "Blessed With A Gift" and "Touch The Sky"[11](https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/black-sky-thinking/ghetts-stormzy-grime-christianity/).
## References
1. [2Pac, Elton Pairing Scores U.K. No. 1, Billboard (2005)](https://www.billboard.com/music/music-news/2pac-elton-pairing-scores-uk-no-1-62462/)
2. [GHETTO GOSPEL – 2PAC FT ELTON JOHN, Official Charts Company](https://www.officialcharts.com/songs/2pac-ft-elton-john-ghetto-gospel/)
3. [Ghetto Gospel, United Tupac (fan-maintained discography)](https://www.united-tupac.com/en/discografie/singles/ghetto-gospel/)
4. [Ghetto Gospel by 2Pac feat. Elton John – Samples, Covers and Remixes, WhoSampled](https://www.whosampled.com/2Pac/Ghetto-Gospel/)
5. [Ghetto Gospel – song by 2Pac, Elton John, Spotify](https://open.spotify.com/track/7jLbTp3qZzah9kMIdW8e5M)
6. [Faith: Tupac, BBC Leicester (2005)](http://www.bbc.co.uk/leicester/content/articles/2005/07/28/gospel_according_to_tupac_feature.shtml)
7. [2Pac – Ghetto Gospel (official music video, lyrics transcript), YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Do5MMmEygsY)
8. ['Ghetto Gospel': Life lessons from street scriptures, America Magazine](https://www.americamagazine.org/issue/ghetto-gospel)
9. [Discovering the Concept of Basileia in Tupac Shakur's Song "Ghetto Gospel", Theologia in Loco](https://www.theologiainloco.com/ojs/index.php/sttjournal/article/view/279)
10. [2Pac: Ghetto Gospel Tracks & Reviews, AllMusic](https://www.allmusic.com/album/ghetto-gospel-mw0001446569)
11. [Biblical Verse: How Grime And Christianity Intersect, The Quietus](https://thequietus.com/opinion-and-essays/black-sky-thinking/ghetts-stormzy-grime-christianity/)
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*Topic: Encyclopedia › Arts and culture › Music › Musical works and recordings › Compositions and songs › Pop, rock, and metal songs › Hip-hop songs › 2000s hip-hop songs*
*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Edited: Oct 15, 2026; Oct 25, 2026 · Last review: Oct 25, 2026*
*Copyright 2026 EdgeChat AI, a subsidiary of Biostate AI.*
License: Edgepedia Community License 1.0, https://www.edgepedia.org/edgepedia/license