Videos by According2HipHop
2Pac’s “Brenda’s Got A Baby” remains one of hip-hop’s most haunting and unforgettable story songs — a gut-wrenching tale about a teenage girl who becomes pregnant after being raped and, in desperation, disposes of her newborn child. The 1991 track, one of the earliest and most socially charged highlights of Tupac Shakur’s career, painted a vivid picture of poverty, trauma, and neglect in America’s inner cities. Now, over three decades later, journalist and biographer Jeff Pearlman has uncovered the real-life inspiration behind the song.
In an excerpt from Pearlman’s forthcoming book Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur, published by GQ, the author reveals that his fascination with “Brenda’s Got A Baby” led him on a search to find both Brenda and her child. The journey began after Pearlman watched an old interview with actor Omar Epps — Tupac’s costar in Juice — where Epps recalled that Tupac had written the song during filming after reading a New York Daily News article. The article chronicled the story of a teenage girl who became pregnant by an adult cousin, gave birth alone, and attempted to discard her baby.
Determined to trace the origins of the story, Pearlman enlisted the help of a researcher. Their investigation led them to a man named Davonn, whose birth records and background aligned with the child from the original news report.
“Davonn had been raised in the Crown Heights section of Brooklyn until age thirteen,” Pearlman writes. “When his adoptive parents, Robert and Marsha Hodge, relocated to Las Vegas to retire in the desert. Davonn’s mother told him he had been adopted out of a traumatic circumstance, but they never provided details. Then, within a short span of time, his mother and father died — Robert of cardiovascular pulmonary disease, Marsha of a heart attack.”
Years later, driven by curiosity about his past, Davonn took a DNA test — a decision that ultimately led him to his biological mother. Contrary to the tragic ending of Tupac’s song, where Brenda dies shortly after the baby is found, Davonn’s mother, whose real name is Jeanette, was still alive.
When the two finally met, Jeanette revealed a chilling truth: “After they found you in the garbage, they found me,” she told her son.
The emotional discovery adds an unexpected real-world chapter to one of hip-hop’s most powerful narratives. Tupac, known for blending activism and art, used “Brenda’s Got A Baby” to shine light on cycles of abuse and systemic neglect — a story that, as Pearlman’s research shows, was tragically real.
Jeff Pearlman’s Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur will be available on October 21.
