View Poster

• Born: 16 June 1971
• Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
• Died: 13 September 1996 (shot to death)
• Best Known As: Late rapper of 2Pacalypse Now

Tupac Shakur was a member of the hip-hop group Digital Underground, whose 1990 album featured the hits "Humpty Dance" and "Doowutchyalike." In 1992 he began his solo career, and his debut album 2Pacalypse Now propelled him to stardom and made him one of the more prominent practitioners of gangsta rap. His other albums and appearances in movies such as Juice (1992) and Poetic Justice (1993) helped him to become a mainstream pop artist. Shakur made headlines over a string of run-ins with the law, and in 1994 he was robbed and shot five times. He recovered and in the next year released the successful albums Me Against The World and All Eyez on Me. Embroiled in a complicated feud with fellow gangsta rappers, Shakur was murdered in Las Vegas in 1996.

Nikki Giovanni's poem "All Eyez on Me" is about Shakur... As with the fans of Elvis Presley, some fans of Tupac maintain that the rapper never really died. Although the rumor is widespread, no evidence exists that it is true.

• Birth Name: Lesane Parish Crooks
• Alternative Name: Tupac Shakur
• Genre: Rap
• Active: '90s, 2000s
• Instrument: Vocals

Biography

2Pac became the unlikely martyr of gangsta rap, and a tragic symbol of the toll its lifestyle exacted on urban black America. At the outset of his career, it didn't appear that he would emerge as one of the definitive rappers of the '90s -- he started out as a second-string rapper and dancer for Digital Underground, joining only after they had already landed their biggest hit. But in 1992, he delivered an acclaimed debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, and quickly followed with a star-making performance in the urban drama Juice. Over the course of one year, his profile rose substantially, based as much on his run-ins with the law as his music. By 1994, 2Pac rivaled Snoop Dogg as the most controversial figure in rap, spending as much time in prison as he did in the recording studio. His burgeoning outlaw mythology helped his 1995 album Me Against the World enter the charts at number one, and it also opened him up to charges of exploitation. Yet, as the single "Dear Mama" illustrated, he was capable of sensitivity as well as violence. Signing with Death Row Records in late 1995, 2Pac released the double-album All Eyez on Me in the spring of 1996, and the record, as well as its hit single "California Love," confirmed his superstar status. Unfortunately, the gangsta lifestyle he captured in his music soon overtook his own life. While his celebrity was at its peak, he publicly fought with his rival, the Notorious B.I.G., and there were tensions brewing at Death Row. Even with such conflicts, however, 2Pac's drive-by shooting in September 1996 came as an unexpected shock. On September 13, six days after the shooting, 2Pac passed away, leaving behind a legacy that was based as much on his lifestyle as it was his music.

The son of two Black Panther members, Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in New York City. His parents had separated before he was born, and his mother moved him and his sister around the country for much of their childhood. Frequently, the family was at the poverty level, but Shakur managed to gain acceptance to the prestigious Baltimore School of the Arts as a teenager. While he was at the school, his creative side flourished, as he began writing raps and acting. Before he could graduate, his family moved to Marin City, CA, when he was 17 years old. Over the next few years, he lived on the streets and began hustling. Eventually, he met Shock-G, the leader of Digital Underground. The Oakland-based crew decided to hire him as a dancer and roadie, and as he toured with the group, he worked on his own material. 2Pac made his first recorded appearance on the group's spring 1991 record, This Is an EP Release, and he also appeared on their second album, Sons of the P. The following year, he released his own debut, 2Pacalypse Now. The album became a word-of-mouth hit, as "Brenda's Got a Baby" reached the R&B Top 30 and the record went gold. However, its blunt and explicit lyrics earned criticisms for moral watchdogs, and Vice President Dan Quayle attacked the album while he was campaigning for re-election that year.

Shakur's profile was raised considerably by his acclaimed role in the Ernest Dickerson film Juice, which led to a lead role in John Singleton's Poetic Justice the following year. By the time the film hit theaters, 2Pac had released his second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., which became a platinum album, peaking at number four on the R&B charts and launching the Top Ten R&B hit singles "I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up," which peaked at number 11 and 12, respectively, on the pop charts. Late in 1993, he acted in the basketball movie Above the Rim. Although Shakur was selling records and earning praise for his music and acting, he began having serious altercations with the law; prior to becoming a recording artist, he had no police record. He was arrested in 1992 after he was involved in a fight that culminated with a stray bullet killing a six-year-old bystander; the charges were later dismissed. 2Pac was filming Menace II Society in the summer of 1993 when he assaulted director Allen Hughes; he was sentenced to 15 days in jail in early 1994. The sentence arrived after two other high-profile incidents. In October of 1993, when he was charged with shooting two off-duty police officers in Atlanta. The charges were dismissed, but the following month, he and two members of his entourage were charged with sexually abusing a female fan. In 1994, he was found guilty of sexual assault. The day after the verdict was announced, he was shot by a pair of muggers while he was in the lobby of a New York City recordings studio. Shakur was sentenced to four-and-a-half years in prison on February 7, 1995.

Later that month, Shakur began serving his sentence. He was in jail when his third album, Me Against the World, was released in March. The record entered the charts at number one, making 2Pac the first artist to enjoy a number one record while serving a prison sentence. While he was in prison, he accused the Notorious B.I.G., Puffy Combs, Andre Harrell, and his own close friend Randy "Stretch" Walker of orchestrating his New York shooting. Shakur only served eight months of his sentence, as Suge Knight, the president of Death Row Records, arranged for parole and posted a 1.4 million dollar bond for the rapper. By the end of the year, 2Pac was out of prison and working on his debut for Death Row. On November 30, 1995 -- the one-year anniversary of the New York shooting -- Walker was killed in a gangland-styled murder in Queens.

2Pac's Death Row debut, All Eyez on Me, was the first double disc of original material in hip-hop history. It debuted at number one upon its February release, and would be certified quintuple platinum by the fall. Although he had a hit record and, with the Dr. Dre duet "California Love," a massive single on his hands, Shakur was beginning to tire of hip-hop and started to concentrate on acting. During the summer of 1996, he completed two films, the thriller Bullet and the dark comedy Gridlock'd, which also starred Tim Roth. He also made some recordings for Death Row, which was quickly disintegrating without Dre as the house producer, and as Knight became heavily involved in illegal activities.

At the time of his murder in September 1996, there were indications that Shakur was considering leaving Death Row, and maybe even rap, behind. None of those theories can ever be confirmed, just as the reasons behind his shooting remain mysterious. Shakur was shot on the Las Vegas strip as he was riding in the passenger seat of Knight's car. They had just seen the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon fight at the MGM Grand, and as they were leaving the hotel, 2Pac got into a fight with an unnamed young black man. It has been suggested that this was the cause of the drive-by shooting, and it has also been suggested that Knight's ties to the mob and to gangs were the reason; another theory is that the Notorious B.I.G. arranged the shooting as retaliation for 2Pac's comments that he slept with Biggie's wife, Faith Evans. Either way, Shakur was shot four times and was admitted to University of Nevada Medical Center. Six days later, he died from his wounds.

Hundreds of mourners appeared at the hospital upon news of his death, and the entire entertainment industry mourned his passing, especially since there were no leads in the case. Many believed his death would end the much-hyped East Coast/West Coast hip-hop rivalry and decrease black-on-black violence. Sadly, six months after his death, the Notorious B.I.G. was murdered under similar circumstances. As Shakur's notoriety only increased in the wake of his death, a series of posthumous releases followed, among them Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (issued under the alias Makaveli in 1996), R U Still Down? (Remember Me) (1997), Still I Rise (1999), Until the End of Time (2001), and Better Dayz (2002). ~ Stephen Thomas Erlewine, All Music Guide

Pac's Life Buy this CD	Pac's Life [Clean] Buy this CD	Pac's Life [Bonus Track] Buy this CD	All Eyez on Me [DualDisc] Buy this CD	The Rose, Vol. 2: Music Inspired by Tupac's Poetry [Clean] Buy this CD
Live at the House of Blues [DVD] Buy this CD	Live My Life Buy this CD	2Pac Live Buy this CD	2Pac Live [Clean] Buy this CD	Loyal to the Game Buy this CD

Show More Albums Show Fewer Albums

• Born: Jun 16, 1971
• Died: Sep 13, 1996
• Occupation: Actor
• Active: '90s-2000s
• Major Genres: Music, Crime
• Career Highlights: Gridlock'd, Gang Related, Juice
• First Major Screen Credit: Juice (1992)

Biography

Infamous 25-year-old gangsta rapper and actor Tupac Shakur was shot and killed before he had a chance to fulfill the promise of a successful career in both fields. He was born in New York City and his mother Afeni Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party. Shakur spent much of his youth in Oakland, CA, where he first gained notice as a rapper in 1991 with the group Digital Underground. Later that year, he released a solo album, 2Pacalypse Now that earned both notoriety and acclaim from fans of the genre. Shakur began his acting career in the late '80s with an appearance on the television series A Different World. He made his feature film debut in 1992 with the film Juice and followed it up co-starring with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice in 1993. Shakur had a certain charisma that always made him stand out in his films. This was especially true in Gridlock'd (1997) which proved that the versatile young artist had the makings of being a major star. Unfortunately, he was murdered during a drive-by shooting outside a Las Vegas hotel a few months before its release. Just before he died, Shakur was also involved in another film, Gang Related (1997). ~ Sandra Brennan, All Movie Guide

Tupac: Resurrection Buy this Movie	2-Pac 4-Ever Buy this Movie	Biggie and Tupac Buy this Movie	Tupac Vs. Buy this Movie
Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake Buy this Movie	Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel - The Life of an Outlaw Buy this Movie	Thug Immortal Buy this Movie	Black Spring Break Buy this Movie

Show More Movies Show Fewer Movies

rap musician; actor

Personal Information

Born Tupac Amaru Shakur, June 16, 1971 in New York, NY; died September 13, 1996, Las Vegas, NV; son of Afeni Shakur (born Alice Faye Williams), a political activist.
Education: attended Baltimore School for the Arts.

Career

Rapper-film actor, 1991-96. Appeared in play A Raisin in the Sun, c. 1983 with 127th Street Ensemble; joined rap group Digital Underground, 1990, and appeared on recording This Is an EP Release, 1991; signed with Interscope Records and released solo debut 2Pacalypse Now, 1991; appeared in films Juice, 1992, Poetic Justice, 1993, and Above the Rim, 1994; formed group Thug Life and contributed to Above the Rim soundtrack as well as releasing the band's debut, Volume One, 1994; established own recording label, Out Da Gutta, affiliated with Interscope Records; established own production company; convicted of sexual abuse charges and confined to prison, 1995; released in 1996 and signed to Death Row Records; album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory released posthumously under the name Makaveli; subsequent recordings and film work slated for 1997 release.

Life's Work

"Few rap stars filled their music or their lives with as much violence" as Tupac Shakur, proclaimed Time in its obituary for the performer, adding, "his murder forced a culture that glamorized hate to consider the consequences." While Shakur's 1996 death by multiple gunshot wounds certainly inspired reflection in the rap world and beyond, Time's reduction of his life and work to violent content was not the only point of view. Other observers saw Shakur as a much more complex figure, one who struggled with issues of violence, political power and personal commitment in his music and approached greatness in his film work. "He glowed," journalist dream hampton declared in a Request magazine roundtable following Shakur's death. "He was a star, and that's such a rare thing."

Shakur's notoriety among mainstream audiences had much to do with his outlaw image, which was derived in large part from his frequent and high-profile scrapes with the law. Given his upbringing, however, this was perhaps to be expected. He was in prison, he often reminded interviewers, before he was born. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was a member of the militant Black Panther movement; in 1969 she and 20 others in the organization were arrested in connection with an alleged conspiracy to blow up several buildings in New York City. By 1971 she was pregnant and living in the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village. Though she was acquitted, she soon found herself raising her newborn son, Tupac Amaru Shakur--named for an Inca prince--by herself. "My mother was hella real with me," Tupac noted to Vibe interviewer Kevin Powell. "She just told me, 'I don't know who your daddy is.' It wasn't like she was a slut or nothin'. It was just some rough times."

Afeni and Tupac struggled to get by during those rough times, living in the Bronx and Harlem, at times sleeping in homeless shelters. They moved repeatedly, the rapper recalled, and each time "I had to reinvent myself. People think just because you born in the ghetto you gonna fit in. A little twist in your life and you don't fit in no matter what." He admitted to feeling "like my life could be destroyed at any moment." He took refuge in writing poetry; his mother tried to bolster his creative side by enrolling him in Harlem's 127th Street Ensemble, which was the site of Tupac's acting debut, as Travis in the play A Raisin in the Sun. It was here that the acting "bug" bit him. "I remember thinking, 'This is the best shit in the world!'" he remembered.

fter he and Afeni moved to Baltimore, Tupac attended that city's School for the Arts, studying acting and dance. He also wrote his first rap there and felt himself beginning to "fit in," at long last. But by his junior year he was packing up again, moving this time to Marin City, a desolate stretch of northern California known locally as "The Jungle." Moving out of his mother's home, he began selling drugs and establishing himself on the streets of his adopted town. "It was like a 'hood and I wanted to be a part of it," he explained to Powell. "If I could just fit in here, I'm cool. And I thought I did."

At the same time, he began to entertain thoughts of a music career. In 1990 he auditioned for the Bay Area rap group Digital Underground, and was hired as a dancer and roadie. He joined the ensemble's "Sex Packets" tour of the U.S. and Japan, and made his recorded debut on their 1991 This Is an EP Release. His newfound success , however, was tainted by some unwelcome news: "I was on the road with D.U. and called my homies just to say whassup, and they told me my moms was buying dope from somebody," he related to Vibe. "It f---ed me up. I started blocking her out of my mind." Afeni's battle with crack addiction would try their relationship sorely.

By the end of the year he had released his solo debut, 2Pacalypse Now, on the Interscope label. He paved the way for his solo career while touring with D.U. "Everybody knew me even though my album wasn't out yet," he told Vibe. "I never went to bed. I was working it like a job. That was my number-one thing when I first got in the business. Everybody's gonna know me." Soon everyone would, though perhaps not as he might have hoped; his album's tough stance--in the increasingly popular "gansta" mode--created his first major controversy. In April, 1992, a Texas state trooper was shot to death by a young man who later claimed to have been listening to the album and cited the track "Soulja's Story" as the impetus for his violent act. The song narrates a fugitive with "cops on my tail"; pulled over, he decides to "blast [the officer's] punk ass/ Now I got a murder case."

This incident, along with other descriptions of cop-murdering, led a number of politicians, including then Vice-President Dan Quayle, to call for the record's removal from stores. "He changed the direction of hip-hop ~ hijacked it, some would say ~ and ceremonialized its status as the art politicians love to hate," declared RJ Smith in Spin. Of course, such controversy ended up boosting sales of 2Pacalypse. Tupac himself, meanwhile, had filed suit against the Oakland police department, alleging brutality in a jaywalking arrest.

Even as his rap career was heating up, Tupac broke out as a film star in Ernest Dickerson's 1992 film Juice, portraying Bishop, a kid who becomes addicted to the high of violence. Though reviews of the film were mixed, his performance received uniform raves. Soon, however, his name was making headlines attached to another tragedy, an armed confrontation in Marin City; a six-year-old boy was killed in the crossfire between Tupac's posse and their antagonists. Spin reported that many in the rapper-actor's adopted hometown began to refer to him as "Tu-faced."

But controversy sells records, and Tupac's 1993 effort Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... went gold in a matter of months, thanks in part to the hit track "I Get Around". Ironically, given later developments, one of the album's other hit singles was the upbeat "Keep Ya Head Up," a paean to the strength and survival of black women. Meanwhile, his other "rap" sheet--listing his run-ins with the law--continued to pile up: he was arrested after allegedly beating a limo driver, served ten days in jail after attacking another rapper with a baseball bat, and was busted for allegedly shooting two off-duty police officers shortly after relocating to Atlanta. He was acquitted of the latter charge.

He co-starred with pop singer Janet Jackson in John Singleton's 1993 film Poetic Justice, once again receiving accolades even though the film was poorly received at the box office. In November of that year, a young woman with whom Tupac had been involved claimed that he and three of his friends had sodomized and sexually abused her. His troubles continued into 1994; in March he spent 15 days in jail for hitting filmmaker Allen Hughes. But he scored again with critics in the movie Above the Rim; Owen Gleiberman of Entertainment Weekly called Tupac perhaps "the most dynamic young actor since Sean Penn," adding that he "gives each of his characters a unique spiritual temper." With his group Thug Life, Tupac also contributed to the film's soundtrack, which sold 2 million copies.

Thug Life--the words were tattooed on the rapper's stomach--then released its own album, Volume One, which Entertainment Weekly described as "a 10-song meditation about life under the gun. Where [Tupac's] solo releases have often dragged, One crackles with kinetic energy." Yet the Thug Life that he advocated--"Thuggin' against society. Thuggin' against the system that made me," as he put it to Rolling Stone--was taking its toll. Out on bail on the previous sexual abuse and sodomy charges, he was shot several times on the ground floor of a building that housed an acquaintance's recording studio. He was ambushed as he prepared to rap on another rapper's record, shot and robbed. Although he sustained multiple injuries, he survived.

Over the strenuous objections of his doctors, Tupac appeared in court shortly before sentence was passed. Despite whatever mitigating effect the sight of the wheelchair-bound Tupac could have had on the jury, he was found guilty of sexual abuse. Although this was the lesser charge against him, he was sentenced to 1 1/2 to 4 1/2 years in prison. Though he'd previously said that jail would destroy his spirit, he told Vibe's Powell that he now saw his incarceration as "a gift--straight up. This is God's will." Adding that getting clean after years of incessant marijuana smoking had cleared his head, he claimed a new perspective on his work. "If we really are saying rap is an art form," he declared, "then we got to be true to it and be more responsible for our lyrics. If you see everybody dying because of what you saying, it don't matter that you didn't make them die, it just matters that you didn't save them."

Meanwhile, his new album, Me Against the World, began moving up the charts. The first single, "Dear Mama," praised his mother for her strength. Tupac couldn't appear in the video, obviously, but Afeni is featured in the clip, watching clips of her son on television. Having recovered from her addiction, the rapper's mother had been working for Tupac's production company. Though some may have found the sentimental single an attempt to drum up sympathy for its jailed author, Interscope executive Tom Whalley said otherwise. "It wasn't like, 'Well, Tupac's in jail, let's find the most sympathetic song on the record and put it out so that the audience will be sympathetic to him," he asserted to Jerry Crowe of the Los Angeles Times. "I just thought it was a great song, an emotional song."

Me Against the World climbed to the top of the Billboard magazine sales chart, selling half a million copies within weeks. "Dear Mama" also reached the top ten singles chart. Actress Jada Pinkett- -a steadfast friend and supporter who'd allegedly helped, along with superstar singer-actress Madonna and actor Mickey Rourke, to pay Tupac's bail--was slated to direct the video for the album's subsequent single, "Can U Get Away." Shakur had just completed filming with Rourke on the film Bullet.

Writing in the Village Voice, critic and pop-culture analyst Toure limned what she called " massive distance between Tupac's fame and the quality of his work so far." While she praised his acting talent, Toure disliked most of the films Tupac appeared in, and argued that though he remains "along with Snoop [Doggy Dogg] one of the two most famous rappers in the world, he is merely an average vocalist and lyricist, and has yet to record one aesthetically important song." Yet, Toure insisted, Tupac's experiences on the public stage have been remarkable "performances" in their own right, and have lent an air of importance to his otherwise unimpressive records. The Source, however, praised Me Against the World as the rapper's "best so far," while Jon Pareles of the New York Times admired its "fatalistic calm, in a commercial mold."

From prison, Shakur alleged that he had changed his ways, "The addict in Tupac is dead," he vowed to Vibe. "The excuse maker in Tupac is dead. The vengeful Tupac is dead. The Tupac that would stand by and let dishonorable things happen is dead. God let me live for me to do something extraordinary, and that's what I have to do. Even if they give me the maximum sentence, that's still my job." Yet after his release from prison, the rapper-actor showed little sign of change. He threw himself into the East Coast vs. West Coast feud in which his new boss, Death Row Records chief Suge Knight, was embroiled. In typically contradictory fashion, Shakur publicly taunted Knight's rivals, including Bad Boy Records head Sean "Puffy" Combs. This conflict may or may not have led to Shakur's shooting in September, 1996, as he and Knight drove through Las Vegas after a boxing match. Shakur died of his wounds a week later.

An aura of mystery surrounded the shooting; no suspects were ever caught, one alleged witness was apparently murdered a few days after the shooting, and Knight ~ who was barely wounded by the hail of bullets ~ refused to tell the press anything substantive about the incident. He did, however, release Shakur's first posthumous album. Appearing in stores under the name Makaveli ~ suggesting a reference to Niccolo Macchiavelli, a Renaissance Italian who is largely considered the father of political maneuvering ~ The Don Killuminati: Seven Day Theory debuted at the number one on the charts and was immediately a huge success. This commercial success in the immediate wake of Shakur's demise led some to speculate that he had faked his own death to boost his and Knight's careers. The 7 days between his shooting and his death, his many predictions of his own death, and his use of "Makaveli" only added credence to such theories.

In the meantime, the handful of unreleased recordings and films that remained in the vaults suggested that even if Shakur's life had really ended, his career had not. Yet the possibility remained that it was his death that would leave the strongest mark on pop culture; his murder sparked considerable debate about the end of the "Gangsta" era and the futility of the "Thug Life."

Awards

Platinum records for Above the Rim soundtrack and 1993's Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z...; gold record for 2Pacalypse Now.

Works

Selective Discography

• Digital Underground, This Is an EP Release, Tommy Boy, 1991.
• Digital Underground, Sons of the P, Tommy Boy, 1991.
• 2Pacalypse Now (includes "Soulja's Story"), Interscope, 1991.
• Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (includes "I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up"), Interscope, 1993.
• Various, Above the Rim soundtrack (Thug Life appears on "Pour Out A Little Liquor"), Death Row/Interscope, 1994.
• Thug Life, Volume One, Out Da Gutta/Interscope, 1994.
• Me Against the World (includes "Dear Mama" and "Can U Get Away"), Interscope, 1995.
• The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (released posthumously under the name Makaveli), Death Row, 1996.

Further Reading

• Entertainment Weekly, April 8, 1994, pp. 25-26, 39; October 14, 1994, p. 60.
• Los Angeles Daily News, June 26, 1993, p. L17.
• Los Angeles Times, April 4, 1995, p. F1; September 22, 1996, p. M1; November 12, 1996, p. F1.
• New York Times, December 1, 1994, pp. B1, B3; February 8, 1995, pp. B1, B3; April 9, 1995, p. H34.
• Newsweek, December 12, 1994, pp. 62-63; March 27, 1995, p. 66.
• People, December 6, 1993, pp. 89-90.
• Request, January 1997, pp. 23-29.
• Rolling Stone, October 28, 1993, p. 22; June 16, 1994, p. 30.
• Spin, April 1994, pp. 43-47; December 1996, pp. 57-60.
• The Source, February 1995, p. 19; April 1995, pp. 27, 79.
• Time, December 30, 1996, p. 135.
• USA Today, September 16, 1996, p. 1D.
• Vibe, February 1994, pp. 35-37; February 1995, pp. 22-25; April 1995, pp. 51-55.
• Village Voice, December 13, 1994, pp. 75, 85.
• Additional information was provided by Interscope Records publicity materials, 1995.

— Simon Glickman