Nas sampled the song for his song "Black President". Polo G interpolated "Changes" on his 2020 song "Wishing for a Hero". “Changes” samples the drum loop from the 1984 song "Set It Off” by Strafe. Overview The song was a number-one hit in Norway and the Netherlands and reached the top ten in the singles charts of several other countries, including number three in the United Kingdom, which gained Tupac a broader audience. Released posthumously on his album Greatest Hits, the song talks about all of the different issues that were related to Tupac's era of influence—notably racism, police brutality, drugs and gang violence. The "Huey" that 2Pac mentions in the song ("two shots in the dark, now Huey's dead") is Huey P. Newton, founder of the Black Panther Party. The song refers to the possibility of a black president of the United States, claiming "we ain't ready". Further, the last verse of the song refers to Tupac's imagining himself being shot to death, mimicking the sound of the gun with the phrase "rat-a-tat-tat-tat-tat". The Chris Hafner-directed music video is a compilation of a number of previous music videos Tupac released in addition to home videos and never-before-seen pictures, similar to the format of The Notorious B.I.G.'s "Dead Wrong", also released in 1999. Critical reception Chuck Taylor of Billboard wrote, "This latest posthumous Tupac Shakur release is an unquestionable smash. Cleverly sampling Bruce Hornsby and the Range's No. 1 "The Way It Is" from 1986, the rapper masterfully talks to his disciples like a pastor delivering a motivating and positive sermon to his congregation. He tells of the trials and tribulations of life in the ghetto and is blunt about the need for change and an end to black-on-black violence, saying that 'misplaced hate makes disgrace to races.' This track is a must for any playlist and ironic in that its all-important message surfaces after the artist became a victim of what his song addresses." The track was selected by the Vatican as part of their 2009 MySpace music playlist. "Changes" is widely regarded as one of Shakur's greatest songs. In 2017, Consequence ranked the song number two on their list of the 20 greatest Tupac Shakur songs, and in 2020, Far Out ranked the song number six on their list of the 10 greatest Tupac Shakur songs. Accolades "Changes" was nominated for Best Rap Solo Performance at the Grammy