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Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13,
1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac, Makaveli, or simply Pac, was an
American artist renowned for his rapping and hip hop music, as well as his movie
roles, poetry, and his social activism. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of
World Records as the highest-selling rap artist, with over 75,000,000 albums
sold worldwide, including over 50,000,000 in the United States alone.[1] Most of
Shakur's songs are about growing up around violence and hardship in ghettos,
racism, problems in society, and sometimes qualms with other rappers. Shakur's
work is known for advocating political, economic, social, and racial equality as
well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and conflicts
with the law. Many fans, critics, and industry insiders rank him as the greatest
rapper ever.[2][3]
Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for
the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground. Shakur's debut album,
2Pacalypse Now, gained critical recognition and backlash for its controversial
lyrics. Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal
problems. Later, he was shot five times and robbed in a recording studio lobby
in Manhattan, New York City, New York. Following the occurrence, Shakur grew
suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the
incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West
Coast hip hop rivalry. After serving eleven months of his sentence for sexual
abuse, Shakur was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge"
Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Knight's assistance,
Shakur agreed to release three records under the Death Row label. Shakur's fifth
record, the first double-disc release in hip hop history All Eyez on Me, counted
as two albums. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by
shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, and died six days later of respiratory failure
and cardiac arrest at the University Medical Center.
****
Background information
Also known as 2Pac, Makaveli, Pac
Born June 16, 1971(1971-06-16)
New York City, New York, United States
Origin Los Angeles, California, United States
Died September 13, 1996 (aged 25)
Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Genre(s) Gangsta rap, West Coast hip hop
Occupation(s) Rapper, actor, record producer, poet,
screenwriter, activist
Label(s) Interscope, Out Da Gutta, Death Row,
Makaveli, Amaru
Associated
acts Digital Underground, Live Squad, Biggie
Smalls, Thug Life, Outlawz, Dr. Dre
Website www.2paclegacy.com
****
Biography
Early
life
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in the East Harlem
section of Manhattan in New York City, New York.[4] He was named after Túpac
Amaru II, an Incan revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain
and subsequently received capital punishment. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was an
active member of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early
1970s; Shakur was born just one month after her acquittal on more than 100
charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York
landmarks" in the New York Panther 21 court case.[5] Although officially
unconfirmed by the Shakur family,[6] several sources list his birth name as
either "Parish Lesane Crooks"[7][8] or "Lesane Parish Crooks".[9] Afeni feared
her enemies would attack her son, and disguised their relation using a different
last name, only to change it three months[7] or a year later, following her
marriage to Mutulu Shakur.
Struggle and incarceration surrounded Shakur from
an early age. His godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high ranking Black
Panther, was convicted of murdering a school teacher during a 1968 robbery,
although his sentence was later overturned. His stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, spent
four years at large on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list beginning in
1982, when Shakur was a pre-teen. Mutulu was wanted in part for having helped
his sister Assata Shakur (also known as Joanne Chesimard), Tupac's godmother, to
escape from a penitentiary in New Jersey, where she had been incarcerated for
allegedly shooting a state trooper to death in 1973. Mutulu was caught in 1986
and imprisoned for an attempted robbery of a Brinks armored car in which two
police officers and a guard were killed.[10] Tupac had a half-sister, Sekyiwa,
two years his junior, and an older step-brother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, who
appeared on many of his recordings.
At the age of twelve, Shakur enrolled in Harlem's
famous "127th Street Ensemble." His first major role with this acting troupe was
as Travis in A Raisin in the Sun. In 1984, his family relocated to Baltimore,
Maryland,[11] After completing his second year at Paul Lawrence Dunbar High
School he transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied
acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays, and in the
role of the Mouse King in The Nutcracker.[10] Shakur, accompanied by one of his
friends, Dana "Mouse" Smith, as his beatbox, won most of the many rap
competitions that he participated in and was considered to be the best rapper in
his school.[12] Although he lacked trendy clothing, he was one of the most
popular kids in his school because of his sense of humor, superior rapping
skills, and ability to mix in with all crowds.[12] He developed a close
friendship with a young Jada Pinkett (later Jada Pinkett Smith) that lasted
until Shakur's death. In the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur says, "Jada
is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life," and Smith calls Shakur
"one of my best friends. He was like a brother. It was beyond friendship for us.
The type of relationship we had, you only get that once in a lifetime." A poem
written by Shakur titled "Jada" appears in his book, The Rose That Grew From
Concrete, which also includes a poem dedicated to Smith called "The Tears in
Cupid's Eyes".
In June 1988, Shakur and his family moved once
again, this time to Marin City, California, where he attended Tamalpais High
School. He joined the Ensemble Theater Company (ETC) to pursue his career in
entertainment. His mother's crack addiction led him to move into Leila
Steinberg's home with his friend Ray Luv at the age of seventeen and he
eventually dropped out of high school. Leila Steinberg acted as a literary
mentor to Shakur, an avid reader. Steinberg has kept copies of the books that he
read, which include J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye, Jamaica Kincaid's At the
Bottom of the River, Herman Melville's Moby Dick, Eileen Southern's Music of
Black Americans, and the feminist writings of Alice Walker and Robin Morgan.[13]
Most of these books were read before the age of twenty.[14] It has been said
that Shakur was, in fact, more well-read and intellectually well-rounded at that
age than the average student in the first year class of most Ivy League
institutions.[15] In 1989, Leila Steinberg organized a concert with Shakur's
group, Strictly Dope. The concert lead to him being signed with Atron Gregory
who set him up with Digital Underground. In 1990, he was hired as a back-up
dancer and roadie for up-and-coming rap group Digital Underground.[16]
Early
career
Shakur's professional entertainment career began in
the early 1990s, when he debuted his rapping skills on "Same Song" from the
Digital Underground album This is an EP Release. He first appeared in the music
video for "Same Song". After his rap debut, Shakur performed with Digital
Underground again on the album Sons Of The P. Later, he released his first solo
album, 2Pacalypse Now. Initially he had trouble marketing his solo debut, but
Interscope Records' executives Ted Field and Tom Whalley eventually agreed to
distribute the record.
Shakur claimed his first album was aimed at the
problems facing young black males, but it was publicly criticized for its
graphic language and images of violence by and against law enforcement.[17] In
one instance, a young man claimed his killing of a Texas-based trooper was
influenced by the album. Former Vice President Dan Quayle publicly denounced the
album as having "no place in our society".[citation needed] 2Pacalypse Now did
not do as well on the charts as future albums, spawning no top ten hits. His
second record, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., was released in 1993. The album,
produced mostly in part by Randy "Stretch" Walker (Shakur's closest friend and
associate at the time) and the Live Squad, generated two hits, "Keep Ya Head Up"
and "I Get Around", the latter featuring guest appearances by Shock G and
Money-B of the Digital Underground.
Acting
career
In addition to rapping and hip hop music, Shakur
acted in films. He made his first film appearance in the 1991 motion picture
Nothing But Trouble, as part of a cameo by the Digital Underground. His first
starring role was in the 1992 movie Juice. In this story, he played the
character Bishop, a trigger happy teen, for which he was hailed by Rolling
Stone's Peter Travers as "the film's most magnetic figure."[citation needed] He
went on to star with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice and with Marlon Wayans in
Above the Rim. After his death, three of Shakur's completed films, Bullet,
Gridlock'd and Gang Related, were posthumously released.
He had also been slated to star in the Hughes
brothers' film Menace II Society but was replaced by Larenz Tate after
assaulting Allen Hughes as a result of a quarrel.[citation needed] Director John
Singleton mentioned that he wrote the script for Baby Boy with Shakur in mind
for the leading role.[18] It was eventually filmed with Tyrese Gibson in his
place and released in 2001, five years after Shakur's death. The movie features
a mural of Shakur in the protagonist's bedroom as well as featuring the song
"Hail Mary" in the movie's score.
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Thug
Life
See also: Thug Life
In late 1993, Shakur formed the group Thug Life
with a number of his friends, including Big Syke, Macadoshis, his step-brother
Mopreme Shakur, and Rated R. The group released their first and only record
album Thug Life Vol. 1 on September 26, 1994. The group usually performed their
concerts without Shakur.[19]
The concept of "Thug Life" was viewed by Shakur as
a philosophy for life. He developed the word into a backronym standing for "The
Hate U Give Little Infants Fucks Everybody". He declared that the dictionary
definition of a "thug" as being a rogue or criminal was not how he used the
term, but rather he meant someone who came from oppressive or squalid background
and little opportunity but still made a life for themselves and were proud.
Controversy
Legal
issues
Even as he garnered attention as a rapper and
actor, Shakur gained notoriety for his conflicts with the law. In October 1991,
he filed a $10 million civil suit against the law enforcement of the Oakland
Police Department, alleging they brutally beat him for jaywalking. The suit was
later settled for $42,000.[20][21]
In October 1993, in Atlanta, Georgia, Shakur shot
two off-duty police officers (one in the leg, one in the buttocks) who were
harassing a black motorist. Charges against Shakur were dismissed when it was
discovered that both officers were intoxicated and were in possession of stolen
weapons from an evidence locker during the occasion.[22]
In December 1993, Shakur and others were charged
with sexually abusing a woman in a hotel room. According to the complaint,
Shakur sodomized the woman and then encouraged his friends to sexually abuse
her. Shakur vehemently denied the charges. He had prior relations days earlier
with the woman who was pressing the charges against him. She performed oral sex
on him on a club dance floor and the two later had consensual sex in his hotel
room. The allegations were made after she revisited his hotel room for the
second time where she engaged in sexual activity with his friends and alleged
that Shakur and his entourage had gang-raped her, saying to him while leaving,
"How could you do this to me?"[23] Shakur stated he had fallen asleep shortly
after she arrived and later awoke to her accusations and legal threats. He later
said he felt guilty for leaving her alone and did not want anyone else to go to
jail, but at the same time he did not want to go to jail for a crime he didn't
commit. Shakur was convicted of sexual abuse. In sentencing Shakur to
one-and-a-half years in a correctional facility, the judge described the crime
as "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman".[24]
In 1994, he was convicted of attacking a former
employer while on a music video set. He was sentenced to 15 days in jail with
additional days on a highway work crew, community service, and a $2000 fine. In
1995, a wrongful death was brought against Shakur for a 1992 shooting that
killed Qa'id Walker-Teal, a six-year old of Marin City, California. The child
had been the victim of a stray bullet in a shootout between Shakur's entourage
and a rival group, though the ballistics tests proved the bullet was not from
Shakur or any members of his entourage's guns. Criminal charges were not sought,
and Shakur settled with the family for an amount estimated between $300,000 and
$500,000.[25][26] After serving part of his sentence upon a conviction, he was
released on bail pending his appeal. On April 5, 1996, a judge sentenced him to
serve 120 days in jail for violating terms of probation.[27]
November 1994 shooting
On the night of November 30, 1994, the day before
the verdict in his sexual abuse trial was to be announced, Shakur was shot five
times and robbed after entering the lobby of the Quad Recording Studios in
Manhattan, New York City, New York, by two armed black men in army fatique. He
would later accuse Puff Daddy, Andre Harrell, and Biggie Smalls — whom he saw
after the shooting — of setting him up. Shakur also suspected his close friend
and associate, Randy "Stretch" Walker, of being involved in the attempt.
According to the doctors at Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted immediately
following the incident, Shakur had received five bullet wounds; twice in the
head, twice in the groin and once through the arm and thigh. He checked out of
the hospital, against doctor's orders, three hours after surgery. In the day
that followed, Shakur entered the courthouse in a wheelchair and was found
guilty of three counts of molestation, but innocent of six others, including
sodomy.
On November 30, 1995, exactly one year to the day
of the shooting, Stretch was killed in an execution-style murder in Queens.
Prison
sentence
Shakur began serving his prison sentence at Clinton
Correctional Facility on February 14, 1995. Shortly afterwards, he released his
multi-platinum album Me Against the World. Shakur is the only artist ever to
have an album at number one on the Billboard 200 while serving a prison
sentence. The album made its debut on the Billboard 200 and stayed at the top of
the charts for five weeks. The record album sold 240,000 copies in its first
week, setting a record for highest first week sales for a solo male rap artist
at the time.[28] He married his long-time girlfriend, Keisha Morris, while
serving his sentence. This marriage was later annulled. While imprisoned, Shakur
read many books by Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu's The Art of War and other works
of political philosophy and strategy.[29] He also wrote a screenplay titled Live
2 Tell while incarcerated, a story about an adolescent who becomes a drug
baron.[30]
In October 1995, Shakur's case was on appeal but
due to all of his legal fees he could not raise the $1.4 million bail. After
serving eleven months of his one-and-a-half year to four-and-a-half year
sentence,[31] Shakur was released from the penitentiary, due in large part to
the help and influence of Marion "Suge" Knight, CEO of Death Row Records. Knight
posted $1.4 million bail pending appeal of the conviction, in exchange for which
Shakur was obligated to release three albums for the Death Row label.[32]
Life on
Death Row Records
Upon his release from Clinton Correctional
Facility, Shakur immediately went back to song recording. He began a new group,
The Outlawz, and with them released the diss track "Hit 'Em Up", a scathing
lyrical assault on Biggie Smalls and others associated with him. In the track,
Shakur claimed to have had intercourse with Faith Evans, Biggie's wife at the
time, and attacks Bad Boy's street credibility. Though no hard evidence suggests
so, Shakur was convinced that some members associated with Bad Boy had known
about the shooting beforehand due to their behavior that night and what his
sources told him.
Shakur aligned himself with Death Row's CEO Suge
Knight, who was already bitter toward Combs and his successful Bad Boy label;
this added fuel to building an East Coast-West Coast conflict. Both sides
remained bitter enemies until Shakur's death.
In February 1996, Shakur released his fourth solo
album, All Eyez on Me. This double album was the first and second of his
three-album commitment to Death Row Records. It sold over nine million
copies.[33] The record was a general departure from the introspective subject
matter of Me Against the World, being more oriented toward a thug and gangsta
mentality. Shakur continued his recordings despite increasing problems at the
Death Row label. Dr. Dre left his post as house producer to form his own label,
Aftermath. Knight was under investigation for illegal and unethical activities
and business practices.[citation needed] Despite these problems, Shakur produced
hundreds of tracks during his time at Death Row, most of which would be released
on posthumous albums such as Better Dayz and Until the End of Time. He also
began the process of recording an album with the Boot Camp Clik and their label
Duck Down Records, both New York-based, entitled One Nation.
Makaveli
While incarcerated in Clinton Correctional
Facility, Shakur read and studied Niccolò Machiavelli and other published works,
which inspired his pseudonym "Makaveli" under which he released the record album
The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The album presents a stark contrast to
previous works. Throughout the album, Shakur continues to focus on the themes of
pain and aggression, making this album one of the emotionally darker works of
his career. Shakur wrote and recorded all the lyrics in only three days and the
production took another four days, combining for a total of seven days to
complete the album (hence the name). The album was completely finished before
Shakur died and Shakur had complete creative input on the album from the name of
the album to the cover, which Shakur chose to symbolize how the media had
crucified him. The record debuted at number one and sold 663,000 copies in the
first week.[34] Shakur had plans of starting Makaveli Records which would have
included the Wu-Tang Clan, The Outlawz, Big Daddy Kane, Big Syke, and Gang
Starr.
September 1996 shooting
On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur attended
the Mike Tyson - Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas,
Nevada. After the fight, one of Suge Knight's associates spotted 21 year-old
Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips, in the MGM Grand
lobby and had Shakur notified. Shakur rushed Anderson and knocked him to the
ground. Shakur's entourage, as well as Knight and his followers assisted in
beating down Anderson. The event was captured on the hotel's video surveillance.
A few weeks earlier, Anderson and a group of Crips robbed a member of Death
Row's entourage in a Foot Locker store, precipitating Shakur's onset. After the
brawl, Shakur went to rendezvous with Knight to go to Death Row-owned Club 662
(now known as restaurant/club Seven). He rode in Knight's 1996 black BMW 750i
sedan as part of a larger convoy with some of Shakur's friends, The Outlawz, and
bodyguards.
At 10:55 p.m., while paused at a red light, Shakur
rolled down his window and a photographer took their photo.[35] At around
11:00-11:05 p.m., they were halted on Las Vegas Blvd. by Metro bicycle cops for
playing the car stereo too loud and not having license plates. The plates were
then found in the trunk of Knight's vehicle; they were released without being
fined a few minutes later.[36][35] At about 11:10 p.m., while stopped at a red
light at Flamingo Road near the intersection of Koval Lane in front of the Maxim
Hotel, a vehicle occupied by two women pulled up on their right side. Shakur,
who was standing up through the sunroof, exchanged words with the two women, and
invited them to go to Club 662.[35] At approximately 11:15 p.m., a white,
four-door, late-model, Cadillac driven by unknown person(s) pulled up to the
sedan's right side, rolled down one of the windows, and rapidly fired around
twelve to thirteen shots. Shakur was fatally struck by four rounds; one hit him
in the chest, the pelvis, and his right hand and thigh.[37][35] One of the
rounds apparently ricocheted into Shakur's right lung.[38] Knight was hit in the
head by shrapnel, though it is thought that a bullet grazed him.[39] According
to Knight, a bullet from the gunfire had been lodged in his skull, however,
medical reports later contradicted this statement.[40]
At the time of the shooting, Shakur was riding
alongside Knight, with his bodyguard following behind in a vehicle belonging to
Kidada Jones, Shakur's then-fiancée. The bodyguard, Frank Alexander, stated that
when he was about to ride along with the rapper in Knight's car, Shakur asked
him to drive Kidada Jones' car instead just in case they were too drunk and
needed additional vehicles from Club 662 back to the hotel. Shortly after the
shooting, the bodyguard reported in his documentary, Before I Wake, that one of
the convoy's cars drove off after the assailant but he never heard back from the
occupants.
After arriving on the scene, police and paramedics
took Shakur and Knight to the University Medical Center. According to an
interview with one of Shakur's closest friends and music video director Gobi,
while at the hospital, he received news from a Death Row marketing employee that
the shooters had called the record label and were sending death threats aimed at
Shakur, claiming that they were going there to "finish him off".[41] Upon
hearing this, Gobi immediately alerted the Las Vegas police, but the police
claimed they were understaffed and no one could be sent.[41] Nonetheless, the
shooters never arrived.[41] At the hospital, Shakur was in and out of
consciousness; heavily sedated, breathed through a ventilator and respirator,
was placed on life support machines, and was ultimately put under a
barbiturate-induced coma after repeatedly trying to get out of the
bed.[42][41][37]
Despite having been resuscitated in a trauma center
and surviving a multitude of surgeries (as well the removal of a failed right
lung), Shakur had gotten through the critical phase of the medical therapy and
had a 50% chance of pulling through.[38] Gobi left the medical center after
being informed that Shakur made a 13% recovery on the sixth night.[41] While in
Critical Care Unit on the afternoon of September 13, 1996, Shakur died of
internal bleeding; doctors attempted to revive him but could not stop his
hemorrhaging.[42][37] His mother, Afeni Shakur, made the decision to tell the
doctors to stop.[42][38] He was pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m. (PDT)[37] The
official cause of death was respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest in
connection with multiple gunshot wounds.[37] Afterwards, Shakur's body was
cremated; Shakur's ashes were spread over L.A., the Pacific Ocean, his aunt's
land, and his mother's land in North Carolina, and some was mixed with cannabis
and smoked by The Outlawz.[43] Family and friends spread the remaining ashes
during a ceremony in Soweto, South Africa. The ceremony was delayed from
September 13, 2006, to June 16, 2007, which would have been Shakur's 36th
birthday.[44]
Hearsay
of the crime
Due largely to the perceived lack of progress on
the case by law enforcement, many independent investigations and theories of the
murder have emerged. Because of the acrimony between him and rapper Biggie
Smalls, there was speculation from the outset about the possibility of Biggie's
collaboration in the murder. He, as well his family, relatives, and associates,
have vehemently denied the accusation.[45] In a notable 2002 investigation by
the Los Angeles Times, writer Chuck Phillips claimed to have uncovered evidence
implicating Biggie, in addition to Orlando Anderson and the Southside Crips, in
the attack.[46] In the article, Phillips quoted unnamed gang-member sources who
claimed Biggie had ties to the Crips, often hiring them for security during West
Coast appearances. Phillips' informants also state that Biggie gave the gang
members one of his own guns for use in the slaying of Shakur, and that he set
out a $1,000,000 contract on Shakur's life. By the time Phillips' specific
allegations were published, Biggie himself had been murdered.[47]
In support of their claims, Biggie's family
submitted documentation to MTV insinuating that he was working in a New
York-based recording studio the night of the shooting. His manager Wayne Barrow
and fellow rapper James "Lil' Cease" Lloyd made public announcements denying
Biggie's partaking in the crime and claimed further that they were both with him
in the recording studio during the night of the event.
The high profile nature of the killing and ensuing
gang violence caught the attention of British filmmaker Nick Broomfield, who
made the documentary film Biggie & Tupac which examines the lack of progress in
the case by speaking to those close to the two slain rappers and the
investigation. Shakur's close childhood friend and member of The Outlawz, Yafeu
"Yaki Kadafi" Fula, was in the convoy when the shooting occurred and indicated
to police that he might be able to identify the assailants. He was shot and
killed shortly thereafter in a housing project in Irvington, New Jersey.[48]
In the first few seconds of the song "Intro/Bomb
First (My Second Reply)" on the record album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day
Theory, Shakur can be heard saying "Shoulda shot me".[49][50] While some
believed that Suge Knight may have orchestrated Shakur's murder, theorists
mistook the statement in the song as "Suge shot me" or "Suge shot 'em" until
confirmation by multiple audio tests and confirmation from members of The
Outlawz. This, along with reports of Knight's strong-arm tactics with artists
and other illegal business tactics including involvement with the Mob Piru
Bloods street gang gave rise to a theory that Knight was complicit in the
homicide, as it was supposedly reported that Knight owed Shakur up to
$17,000,000 in back royalties, but no evidence has been provided to support this
theory.
Other theories have been put forth, including a
conspiracy theory that Shakur is alive and well, but in hiding. Supporters of
these theories point to the symbolism in Shakur's The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day
Theory album and in the music video for "I Ain't Mad at Cha". Efforts exposing
these conspiracy theories include 2Pac Lives The Death of Makaveli / The
Resurrection of Tupac Amaru (Volume 1) released in 2005.
A new DVD titled Tupac Revelation will be released
on October 23, 2007, more than eleven years after Shakur's murder. It will
explore aspects circulating the shooting and provide new insight about the cold
case with details by Shakur's bodyguard, Frank Alexander.
Euphanasia
Near the end of his life, Shakur founded a movie
development company called Euphanasia.[51] He wore the company chain (a silver
chain with a medallion depicting the Black Angel of Death) on September 4, 1996,
during the 1996 MTV Video Music Awards. He wore it again on September 7, 1996,
during the Mike Tyson vs. Bruce Seldon bout and when he was shot later that
night.[51] Shakur was evidently planning to start writing and directing his own
films which would be developed by Euphanasia; the company never did anything due
to his death.[51]
Style
and influences
Shakur's first record album, 2Pacalypse Now,
revealed the socially conscious side of Shakur. On this album Shakur attacked
social injustice, poverty and police brutality on songs "Brenda's Got a Baby",
"Trapped" and "Part Time Mutha". His style on this album was highly influenced
by the social consciousness and Afrocentrism pervading hip hop in the late 1980s
and early 1990s. On this initial release, Shakur helped extend the legacy of
such rap groups as Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, X-Clan, and
Grandmaster Flash, as he became one of the first major socially conscious
rappers from the West Coast.
On his second record, Shakur continued to rap about
the social ills facing African-Americans, with songs like "The Streetz R
Deathrow" and "Last Wordz." He also showed his compassionate side with the
inspirational anthem "Keep Ya Head Up", while simultaneously putting his
legendary aggressiveness on display with the title track from the album Strictly
4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. he added a salute to his former group Digital Underground by
including them on the playful track "I Get Around". Throughout his career, an
increasingly aggressive attitude can be seen pervading Shakur's subsequent
albums.
The contradictory themes of social inequality and
injustice, unbridled aggression, compassion, playfulness, and hope all continued
to shape Shakur's work, as witnessed with the release of his incendiary 1995
album Me Against the World. In 1996, Shakur released All Eyez on Me. Many of
these tracks are considered by many critics to be classics, including "Ambitionz
Az a Ridah", "I Ain't Mad at Cha", "California Love", "Life Goes On" and
"Picture Me Rollin'".; All Eyez on Me was a change of style from his earlier
works. While still containing conscious songs and themes, Shakur's album was
heavily influenced by party tracks and tended to have a more "feel good" vibe
than his first albums. Shakur described it as a celebration of life.
Nonetheless, the record was critically and commercially successful.
Shakur was a voracious reader. He was inspired by a
wide variety of writers, including Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Goines, Sun Tzu,
Kurt Vonnegut, Mikhail Bakunin, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Khalil Gibran.
In his book, Dyson describes the experience of visiting the home of Shakur's
friend and promoter Leila Sternberg to find "the sea of books" once owned by
Shakur.[52]
Shakur's work has insinuated many modern hip hop
artists. Eminem,[53] Nas,[54] Lloyd Banks,[55] Rick Ross,[56] Ja Rule, The Game,
and 50 Cent[57] all acknowledge his influence on their work. The likes of Snoop
Dogg, Diddy, Pharrell, Ghostface Killah, Lil' Scrappy, DMX, Lil' Jon, Mary J.
Blige, Juvenile, Outkast, Jermaine Dupri, WC, Sean Paul, Ice Cube, Missy
Elliott, Mike Tyson and Nelly have all named songs by Shakur that they
personally enjoyed.[58]
Legacy
Shakur has one of the largest personal legacies of
any music artist in history. The music and messages in his work pervaded the
styles of the following generations and his music had great impact all over the
nation and world. At a Mobb Deep concert following the death of the famed icon
and release of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, Cormega recalled in an
interview that the fans were all shouting "Makaveli",[59] and emphasized the
influence of the The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and of Shakur himself
even in New York at the height of the media-dubbed 'intercoastal rivalry'.
About.com named Shakur the most influential rapper ever.[60]
To preserve Shakur's legacy, his mother founded the
Shakur Family Foundation (later re-named the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation or
TASF) in 1997. The TASF's stated mission is to "provide training and support for
students who aspire to enhance their creative talents." The TASF sponsors essay
contests, charity events, a performing arts day camp for teenagers and
undergraduate scholarships. The Foundation officially opened the Tupac Amaru
Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) in Stone Mountain, Georgia, on June 11, 2005.
On November 14, 2003, a documentary about Shakur
entitled Tupac: Resurrection was released under the supervision of his mother
and narrated entirely in his voice. It was nominated for Best Documentary in the
2005 Academy Awards. Proceeds will go to a charity set up by his mother, Afeni
Shakur.
On April 17, 2003, Harvard University co-sponsored
an academic symposium entitled "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for
the Modern Folk Hero." The speakers discussed a wide range of topics dealing
with Shakur's impact on everything from entertainment to sociology.[61]
Many of the speakers discussed Shakur's status and
public persona, including State University of New York English professor Mark
Anthony Neal who gave the talk "Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity
Gramscian" in which he argued that Shakur was an example of the "organic
intellectual" expressing the concerns of a larger group.[62] Professor Neal has
also indicated in his writings that the death of Shakur has left a "leadership
void amongst hip-hop artists."[63] Neal further describes Tupac as a "walking
contradiction", a status that allowed him to "make being an intellectual
accessible to ordinary people".
Professor of Communications Murray Forman, of
Northeastern University, spoke of the mythical status surrounding Shakur's life
and death. He addressed the symbolism and mythology surrounding Shakur's death
in his talk entitled "Tupac Shakur: O.G. (Ostensibly Gone)". Among his findings
were that Shakur's fans have "succeeded in resurrecting Tupac as an ethereal
life force".[64] In "From Thug Life to Legend: Realization of a Black Folk
Hero", Professor of Music at Northeastern University, Emmett Price, compared
Shakur's public image to that of the trickster-figures of African-American
folklore which gave rise to the urban "bad-man" persona of the post-slavery
period. He ultimately described Shakur as a "prolific artist" who was "driven by
a terrible sense of urgency" in a quest to "unify mind, body, and spirit".[65]
Michael Dyson, University of Pennsylvania Avalon
Professor of Humanities and African American Studies and author of the book
Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur[52] indicated that Shakur
"spoke with brilliance and insight as someone who bears witness to the pain of
those who would never have his platform. He told the truth, even as he struggled
with the fragments of his identity."[52] At one Harvard Conference the theme was
Shakur's impact on entertainment, race relations, politics and the
"hero/martyr".[66] In late 1997, the University of California, Berkeley offered
a student-led course entitled "History 98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur."[67]
In late 2003, the Makaveli Branded Clothing line
was launched by Afeni Shakur.
In 2005, Death Row released Tupac: Live at the
House of Blues. The DVD was the final recorded performance of Shakur's career,
which took place in July 4, 1996, and features a plethora of Death Row artists.
In August 2006, Tupac Shakur Legacy was released.
The interactive biography was written by Jamal Joseph. It features unseen family
photographs, intimate stories, and over 20 removable reproductions of his
handwritten song lyrics, contracts, scripts, poetry, and other personal papers.
Shakur's sixth posthumous studio album, Pac's Life,
was released on November 21, 2006. It commemorates the 10th anniversary of
Shakur's death. He is still considered one of the most popular artists in the
music industry as of 2006.[68]
Buy this Photo at AllPosters.com
Discography
Main article: Tupac Shakur discography
Studio
albums
1991: 2Pacalypse Now
1993: Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
1995: Me Against the World
1996: All Eyez on Me
1996: The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
1997: R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
1999: Still I Rise
2001: Until the End of Time
2002: Better Dayz
2004: Loyal to the Game
2006: Pac's Life
Soundtracks
1993: Poetic Justice (Original Soundtrack)
1994: Above the Rim (Original Soundtrack)
1994: Thug Life: Volume 1
1997: Gridlock'd (Original Soundtrack)
1997: Gang Related (Original Soundtrack)
1998: Greatest Hits
2000: The Rose that Grew from Concrete
2003: The Prophet: The Best Of The Works
2003: Nu-Mixx Klazzics
2003: Tupac: Resurrection (Original Soundtrack)
2004: 2Pac Live
2005: The Rose, Vol. 2
2005: Tupac: Live at the House of Blues
2007: Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988-1991
2007: Nu-Mixx Klazzics Vol. 2
2007: Best of 2Pac Part 1: Thug[69]
2007: "Best of 2Pac Part 2: Life[70]
Top 10
Billboard singles
1991: "Brenda's Got a Baby"
1991: "If My Homie Calls"
1993: "I Get Around"
1993: "Keep Ya Head Up"
1995: "Dear Mama"
1995: "Old School"
1995: "So Many Tears"
1996: "California Love" (ft. Dr. Dre)
1996: "How Do You Want It" (ft. K-Ci & Jojo)
1997: "To Live & Die in L.A."
1997: "Made Niggaz"
1997: "Do for Love" (ft. Eric Williams)
1998: "Changes"
2002: "Thugz Mansion"
2003: "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" (ft. Biggie Smalls)
2005: "Ghetto Gospel"
2006: "Pac's Life"
Filmography
Films
Year Title Role Notes
1991 Nothing But Trouble Himself (Brief appearance)
1992 Juice Bishop First starring role
1993 Poetic Justice Lucky Co-starred with Janet
Jackson
1994 Above the Rim Birdie Co-starred with Marlon
Wayans
1996 Bullet Tank Released one month after Shakur's
death
1997 Gridlock'd Ezekiel 'Spoon' Whitmore Released
several months after Shakur's death
1997 Gang Related Detective Rodríguez Shakur's last
performance in a film
2003 Tupac: Resurrection Himself Official
documentary
2008 Live 2 Tell Himself Expected in 2008
2009 Untitled Tupac Shakur Biopic Himself
(Announced)[71]
Documentaries
Shakur's life has been recognized in big and small
documentaries each trying capture the many different events during his short
lifetime, most notably the Academy Award-nominated Tupac: Resurrection, released
in 2003.
1997: Tupac Shakur: Thug Immortal
1997: Tupac Shakur: Words Never Die (TV)
2001: Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake...
2001: Welcome to Deathrow
2002: Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel: The Life of an
Outlaw
2002: Biggie & Tupac
2002: Tha Westside
2003: 2Pac 4 Ever
2003: Tupac: Resurrection
2004: Tupac vs.
2004: Tupac: The Hip Hop Genius (TV)
2006: So Many Years, So Many Tears
2007: Tupac: Assassination
Books
Biographical
Tupac: Resurrection (2003) ISBN 0-7434-7435-X
Tupac Shakur Legacy (2006) ISBN 0-7432-9260-X
Tupac Remembered (2007) ISBN 1-9328-5576-9
Thru My Eyes: Thoughts on Tupac Shakur in Pictures
and Words
Rebel for the Hell of It: The Life of Tupac Shakur
Death Rap Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur (They Died Too Young)
Got Your Back: The Life of a Bodyguard in the
Hardcore World of Gangsta Rap
Back in the Day: My Life and Times With Tupac
Shakur
The Killing of Tupac Shakur
Jesus and the Hip-Hop Prophets: Spiritual Insights
from Lauryn Hill and Tupac Shakur
How Long Will They Mourn Me?: The Life and Legacy
of Tupac Shakur
Holler If You Hear Me
Dear 2Pac
All Eyez on Me: The Life and Times of Tupac Shakur
Tupac (Hip Hop)
Tupac: A Thug Life
Tough Love: Cultural Criticism & Familial
Observations on the life and death of Tupac Shakur (Black Words Series)
Tupac Shakur (Just the Facts Biographies)
Tupac Shakur (People in the News)
Tupac Shakur (Rock Music Library)
Tupac and Elvis (Inevitably Restless)
Tupac Shakur (Hip-Hop Stars)
Static: My Tupac Shakur Story
Tupac Shakur: 2Pac in the Studio (The Studio Years
(1989 - 1996))
Poetry
The Rose That Grew From Concrete (1999) ISBN
0-671-02844-8
Inside a Thug's Heart (2004) ISBN 0-7582-0789-1
Trivia
Trivia sections are discouraged under Wikipedia
guidelines.
The article could be improved by integrating
relevant items and removing inappropriate ones.
Although Shakur's life was cut short in 1996, he
still manages to hold and break new records even to this day.
In 1995, with the release of Me Against the World
Shakur became the first music artist to be incarcerated and have a number one
album on the Billboard 200 album at the same time. Me Against the World was
written during Shakur's incarceration at Clinton Correctional Facility.
With the release of All Eyez on Me in 1996, Shakur
became the first rapper ever to release a two-disc album.
In 1996, Shakur also became the first rap artist to
release two number one albums on the Billboard 200 in the same year. Shakur's
All Eyez on Me, released February 13, 1996, and his first record album released
under the pseudonym, Makaveli, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, also
released that year on November 5.
With over seventy-five million albums sold to date,
Shakur is the highest selling rap artist of all-time. With very few updates on
his sales, new albums still being released and the continued sales of his prior
albums, this number continues to rise.
During his lifetime, and since his death, Tupac's
body of work has always been highly regarded by his fans and entertainment
industry insiders alike.
At the American music awards held on January 29,
1996, he was awarded favorite rap/hip hop artist.
Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame
in 2002.[72]
In 2003, MTV's "22 Greatest MCs" countdown listed
Tupac as the "number 1 MC", as voted by the viewers.[73]
In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Shakur was
honored along with DJ Hollywood, Kool Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Rock
Steady Crew, and Sugarhill Gang.[74]
A Vibe magazine poll in 2004 rated Shakur "the
greatest rapper of all time" as voted by fans.
In 2005, Top Soundtrack Song of the Year: "Runnin'
(Dying To Live)" from Tupac: Resurrection by Shakur featuring Biggie Smalls at
the 18th Annual SCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Awards.
Also in 2005, MTV listed Tupac's The Don
Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (released under the pseudonym "Makaveli") as one
of the "Top 10 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time."
At the First Annual Turks & Caicos International
Film Festival held on Tuesday, October 17, 2006, Tupac Shakur was honored for
his undeniable voice and talent and as a performer who crossed racial, ethnic,
cultural and medium lines; his mother, Afeni Shakur, accepted the award on
Tupac's behalf.[75]
References
1.
^ XXL magazine October 2006.
2.
^ Tupac Shakur's Legacy Continues. Vibe.
Accessed August 11, 2007.
3.
^ MTV2 Presents: 22 Greatest MC's broadcast
July 2003
4.
^ Tupac:Resurrection, published by Atria
Books, 2003, ISBN 0-7434-7434-1
5.
^ Afeni Shakur, brief biography in PDF
format, published 2002 by Amaru Entertainment
6.
^ Baltake, Joe. "Tupac taps into cultural
marvel", Sacramento Bee, November 14, 2003, p. TK26. Retrieved on March 19.
7.
^ a b Thompson, Ericka. "Remembering
hip-hop's most influential", Recorder, pp. A1. Retrieved on March 19.
8.
^ Call & Post. "Tupac: Resurrection'
explores myths surrounding rap icon", Cincinnati, Ohio: November 19, 2003. Vol.
87, Iss. 46; pg. 2B
9.
^ Tupac Coroner's Report. Cathy Scott.
Retrieved on 2007-07-24.
10.
^ a b LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates
the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Biggie Smalls, the Implication of Death Row
Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal by
Randall Sullivan, Publisher: Atlantic Monthly Press, 2002. ISBN 0-87113-838-7 pg
76
11.
^ published by Atria Books, 2003, ISBN
0-7434-7434-1' Pg 17
12.
^ a b Back in the Day: My Life and Times
with Tupac Shakur
13.
^ Tupac's Book Shelf: "All Eyez on Me: Tupac
Shakur and the Search for a Modern Folk Hero," W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for
Afro-American Research, Harvard University, April 17, 2003
14.
^ Tupac's Book Shelf: "All Eyez on Me: Tupac
Shakur and the Search for a Modern Folk Hero," W.E.B. Du Bois Institute for
Afro-American Research, Harvard University, April 17, 2003
15.
^ Tupac's Book Shelf, Mark Anthony Neal
16.
^ Thug Angel
17.
^ Top 100 Albums. Recording Industry
Association of America (2006-03-08). Retrieved on 2006-04-20.
18.
^
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0126,tate,25915,1.html
19.
^ Tupac: A Thug Life
20.
^ Jones, J., "Tupac Comes to Life for Bay
Area Teens". Northgate News Online, U.C.-Berkeley Graduate School of Journalism.
November 18, 2003. Retrieved from
http://journalism.berkeley.edu/ngno/stories/001588.html on April 9, 2006.
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^ D., Davey. "Tupac Shakur: Online With
Tupac" (Interview). nd. Retrieved from http://www.allhiphop.com/features/?ID=587
on April 9, 2006.
22.
^ Smothers, R. "Rapper Charged in Shootings
of Off-Duty Officers". New York Times. November 2, 1993.
23.
^ http://www.thuglifearmy.com/news/?id=19
24.
^ James, George, "Rapper Faces Prison Term
For Sex Abuse", New York Times, B1 (February 8, 1995); also Olen, Helaine,
"Rapper Shakur Gets Prison for Assault", Los Angeles Times, A4 (February 8,
1995); Romano, Lois, "The Reliable Source", Washington Post, B3 (February 8,
1995)
25.
^ "Marin slaying case against rapper opens",
San Francisco Chronicle, November 3, 1995
26.
^ "Settlement in Rapper's Trial for Boy's
Death". San Francisco Chronicle. November 8, 1995.
27.
^ "Rapper Is Sentenced To 120 Days in Jail".
New York Times. April 5, 1996.
28.
^ "Timeline: 25 Years of Rap Records". BBC
News. October 11, 2004. Retrieved on April 10, 2006, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/3734910.stm
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^ Au, W. J. "Yo, Niccolo!". December 11,
1996. Salon.com. Retrieved on April 10, 2006, from
http://archive.salon.com/media/media2961211.html
30.
^ Live 2 Tell at the Internet Movie Database
31.
^ Info from StreetGangs.com, from
http://www.streetgangs.com/topics/tupac/091496passes.html
32.
^ "Biography: Suge Knight". AOL Music. nd.
Retrieved on April 10, 2006, from
http://music.aol.com/artist/main.adp?tab=bio&artistid=279843&albumid=0
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^ The Top Selling Record Albums of All Time
34.
^ XXL magazine October 2006
35.
^ a b c d
http://www.thugz-network.com/Tupac~Shakur~LV~Shooting.php
36.
^
http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/s/tupacshakur/tupacshakur.htm
37.
^ a b c d e Tupac Shakur's death certificate
details reported by Cathy Scott. Retrieved on 2007-10-05.
38.
^ a b c Detailed information on the fatal
shooting at http://www.alleyesonme.com/
39.
^
http://www.donkilluminati.com/archivedarticles.htm
40.
^
http://www.2pacworld.co.uk/sugeknightInfo.html
41.
^ a b c d e Interview with Gobi at
http://www.hitemup.com/
42.
^ a b c Tupac shooting in Las Vegas at
http://www.hitemup.com/
43.
^ Tupac Shakur Legacy
44.
^
http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=6135 Tupac's life after death
45.
^ "Rapper's family denies murder theory".
BBC News. September 9, 2002. Retrieved on April 10, 2006, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2246862.stm
46.
^ "Paper investigates rapper murder". BBC
News. September 6, 2002. Retrieved on April 10, 2006, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/music/2240857.stm
47.
^ "Fresh probe over rapper's murder". BBC
News. March 18, 2006. Retrieved on April 10, 2006, from
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4820224.stm
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^ Jones, S. "The Truth is Being Covered Up".
Philadelphia Weekly. September 18, 2002.
49.
^ MTV's Big Urban Myths
50.
^ October 2006, XXL magazine
51.
^ a b c Vibe magazine, November 1996 issue.
52.
^ a b c Dyson, M. Holler If You Hear Me:
Searching for Tupac Shakur. BasicCivitas Books. 2001.
53.
^ MTV, Eminem: Reconstructing Tupac
54.
^ MTV, They Told Us
55.
^ Crave Music Lloyd Banks: The Savior
56.
^ Rick Ross on Tupac: Hell 4 A Hustler
57.
^ Rolling Stone, Tupac Shakur by 50 Cent.
58.
^ All Ears On Me: Essential Tupac
59.
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60.
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61.
^ Gewertz, K. "Symposium analyzes,
celebrates 'Thug'". Harvard University Gazette. April 24, 2003. Retrieved from
news.harvard.edu/ on April 16, 2006.
62.
^ Neal, M. "Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac
as Celebrity Gramscian". Harvard University. 2003.
63.
^ Neal, M. "New Black Man". Retrieved on
April 16, 2006, from newblackman.com
64.
^ Forman, M. "Tupac Shakur: O.G. (Ostensibly
Gone)". Harvard University. 2003.
65.
^ Price, E. "From Thug Life to Legend:
Realization of a Black Folk Hero". Harvard University. 2003.
66.
^ Harvard Gazette May 1, 2003 edition,
writer Ken Gewertz
67.
^ Berkeley University Offers Class On Tupac
at VH1 (September 10, 1997). Retrieved on July 26, 2006.
68.
^ Top Musical Artists for 2006
69.
^ http://www.tla-pronline.com/news/?id=3739
Best of 2Pac announced
70.
^ http://www.tla-pronline.com/news/?id=3739
Best of 2Pac announced
71.
^ Recently announced biopic in the works
72.
^ BET.com - Notorious B.I.G., Tupac Shakur
To Be Inducted Into Hip-Hop Hall Of Fame
73.
^ MTV2 Presents: 22 Greatest MC's broadcast
July 2003
74.
^ VH1 Hip Hop Honorees 2004 at VH1
75.
^ Turks and Caicos International Film
Festival - Festival To Honor John Debney and Tupac Shakur, Friday, October 13
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