The song was first released as a promotional CD single a month prior to album's release and then, in February 1992, it was re-released as a double A-side single with the song "If My Homie Calls".

The song, which features R&B singer Dave Hollister singing background vocals with Roniece Levias, is about a 12-year-old girl named Brenda who lives in a ghetto and has a baby she can't support.

The song explores the issue of teen pregnancy and its effect on young mothers and their families.

The video begins with "based on a true story," although the characters themselves are fictitious (actors), Shakur wrote the song after reading a story in the newspaper of a 12-year-old girl getting pregnant by her cousin and trying to dispose of the baby in a trash can.

Part of the video and song was played in 2Pac's biopic film, All Eyez on Me, released on June 16, 2017.