Tupac Shakur

"Tupac" redirects here. For other uses, see Tupac (disambiguation).

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur (/ˈtuːpɑːk ʃəˈkʊər/ TOO-pahk shə-KOOR; born Lesane Parish Crooks, June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), better known by his stage name 2Pac and later by his alias Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Considered one of the most influential rappers of all time, Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Much of Shakur's music has been noted for addressing contemporary social issues that plagued inner cities, and he is considered a symbol of activism against inequality.

Shakur was born in New York City to parents who were both political activists and Black Panther Party members. Raised by his mother, he relocated to Baltimore in 1984 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. With the release of his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip hop for his conscious rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up albums Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993) and Me Against the World (1995). His Diamond certified album All Eyez on Me (1996), the first double-length album in hip-hop history, abandoned his introspective lyrics for volatile gangsta rap. In addition to his music career, Shakur also found considerable success as an actor, with his starring roles in Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), Above the Rim (1994), Bullet (1996), Gridlock'd (1997), and Gang Related (1997).

During the later part of his career, Shakur was shot five times in the lobby of a New York recording studio and experienced legal troubles, including incarceration. In 1995, Shakur served eight months in prison on sexual abuse charges, but was released pending an appeal of his conviction. Following his release, he signed to Marion "Suge" Knight's label Death Row Records and became heavily involved in the growing East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times by an unidentified assailant in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas; he died six days later. Following his murder, Shakur's friend-turned-rival, the Notorious B.I.G., was at first considered a suspect due to their public feud, but was also murdered in another drive-by shooting six months later in March 1997 while visiting Los Angeles.

Five more albums have been released since Shakur's death, all of which have been certified Platinum in the United States. In 2002, Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone magazine ranked Shakur among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.

EARLY LIFE

Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City. While born Lesane Parish Crooks, at age one he was renamed Tupac Amaru Shakur. He was named after Túpac Amaru II, the descendant of the last Incan ruler, Túpac Amaru, who was executed in Peru in 1781 after his failed revolt against Spanish rule. Shakur's mother explained, "I wanted him to have the name of revolutionary, indigenous people in the world. I wanted him to know he was part of a world culture and not just from a neighborhood."

Shakur had an older stepbrother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, and a half-sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, two years his junior.

Panther heritage

Shakur's parents, Afeni Shakur—born Alice Faye Williams in North Carolina—and his biological father, Billy Garland, had been active Black Panther Party members in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. A month before Shakur's birth, his mother was tried in New York City as part of the Panther 21 criminal trial. She was acquitted of over 150 charges.

Other family members who were involved in the Black Panthers' Black Liberation Army were convicted of serious crimes and imprisoned, including Shakur's stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, who spent four years among the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Mutulu Shakur was apprehended in 1986 and subsequently convicted for a 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored truck, during which police officers and a guard were killed.

Shakur's godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high-ranking Black Panther, was convicted of murdering a school teacher during a 1968 robbery. After spending 27 years in prison, his conviction was overturned due to the prosecution's having concealed evidence that proved his innocence.

Shakur's godmother, Assata Shakur, is a former member of the Black Liberation Army, who was convicted of the first-degree murder of a New Jersey State Trooper and is still wanted by the FBI.

A bird's-eye view of New York City, looking north from 96th Street, along Second Avenue, towards East Harlem. The intersection in view is 97th Street.

The East Harlem neighborhood of New York City where Shakur was born

Education

In the 1980s, Shakur's mother found it difficult to find work and she struggled with drug addiction. In 1984, his family moved from New York City to Baltimore, Maryland. He attended eighth grade at Roland Park Middle School, then ninth grade at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. He transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts in the tenth grade, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare's plays—depicting timeless themes, now seen in gang warfare, he would recall—and as the Mouse King role in The Nutcracker ballet.

At the Baltimore School for the Arts, Shakur befriended actress Jada Pinkett, who would become a subject of some of his poems. With his friend Dana "Mouse" Smith as beatbox, he won competitions as reputedly the school's best rapper. Also known for his humor, he could mix with all crowds. He listened to a diverse range of music that included Kate Bush, Culture Club, Sinéad O'Connor, and U2.

Upon connecting with the Baltimore Young Communist League USA, Shakur dated the daughter of the director of the local chapter of the Communist Party USA.

In 1988, Shakur moved to Marin City, California, an impoverished community in the San Francisco Bay Area. In nearby Mill Valley, he attended Tamalpais High School, where he performed in several theater productions. Shakur did not graduate from high school, but he later earned his GED.

TUPAC SHAKUR MUSICAL CAREER AND CRIME EPISODES

Tupac discovered rap for himself when he lived in Baltimore. Then he became a veteran as MC New York. And in the late 1980s, Shakur awaits in the California group Digital Underground, within which he is on his way to fame. His first composition in his career is recognized as the song of this group "Same Song".

Shakur's debut solo studio album - 2Pacalypse Now - was released in 1991 and caused a loud controversy in the camp of government officials, mainly because of the tracks Trapped and Brenda's Got a Baby, during which the singer recorded an unfair assessment of the United States. Tupac's first compilation was included in MTV's list of certified hip-hop classics and was certified gold by the RIAA.

The 2Pacalypse Now album had a tremendous impact on many hi-hop artists, including Eminem, The Game, Talib Kweli, who later stated that it was this collection that inspired their work.

In 1992, Tupac moved to Los Angeles. Tupac's second studio album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..., was released in the winter of 1993 and proved to be even more successful, developing the first record. It charted on singles producers like I Get Around, Keep Ya Head Up, and then went platinum (over one million copies sold). At the same time, Shakur created the Thug Life group, which presented their only studio album, Thug Life: Volume 1, in the fall of 1994, which received gold certification in the future.

On the way to the top of his fame, the rapper, who was praised for his musical and acting interest and condemned for the content of his damning songs, a very unrighteous life, now and then finds himself behind bars. So, in the fall of 1993, he met 19-year-old Ayanna Jackson, who, a week after meeting Tupac, accused him of rape. On November 30, 1994, the day before the decision was made in the case of another, Shakur, along with a friend, became the victim of a robbery and received five bullet wounds (two in the groin and head, one in the arm). After the incident, the famous war of the coasts began as a result of rap.

The day after the shooting, Tupac was convicted on charges of sexual harassment and arrested pending a final court verdict. The verdict was pronounced on February 7, 1995 - Shakur was imprisoned for a term of 1.5 to 4.5 years. In the doctor, he was working on the next album.

Tupac Shakur made history as the first musician to release an album adapted behind bars. The 1995 collection “I am against the whole world” (“I am against the whole world”), which became the studio project of the provocative rapper. collecting album, considered as one of the greatest and most influential compilations, having received multi-platinum status. In 1996, at the Soul Train Music Awards, he won the title of best rap album. By 2011, Me Against The World had sold 3,524 million copies.

At the end of 1995, Tupac, who made significant financial contributions, entered into a onerous contract for the release of three collections with the Death Row label, whose head Marion "Shug" Knight contributed a pledge of about one and a half million dollars for the singer. Once free after 10 months of listening, the rapper immediately began recording new singles.

In early 1996, Tupac's next creation was released - the double album All Eyez on Me, in which Dr. Dre, Method Man, Tha Dogg Pound Redman, Snup Dogg, George Clinton, E 40, and Shakur's new Outlawz. The fourth collection was certified nine times platinum. By the end of 1996, the record had sold five million copies.

In 1997, as part of the Soul Train Music Awards, this project won the Best Rap Album of the Year nomination. Tupac himself received an award at the 24th American Music Awards as "Most Favorite Hip-Hop Artist of the Year."

Tupac's last, fifth album, released after his death in the fall of 1996, had a double title - The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and was released under the artist's new stage name - Makaveli.

In the summer of 1999, this album was awarded four platinum certifications. In 2005, MTV removed The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory from its "Greatest Hip Hop Albums of All Time" list.

TUPAC SHAKUR DOOM

On September 7, 1996, Shakur and his manager Suge Knight attended a boxing match in Las Vegas between Bruce Seldon and Mike Tyson, who then won. Tupac decided to celebrate the success of his wrestling friend at Club 662, where the rapper was taken in his black BMW 750iL Knight. On the way to the club, Tupac's car was fired upon by unknown intruders who were in a white Cadillac.

Tupac received four bullet wounds (two in the chest, one each in the arm and thigh), and fragments of car glass hit Suga. The victims were taken to the Nevada Medical Center. In the hospital, after a series of unsuccessful attempts to get out of bed, Shakur, who was under the influence of strong painkillers, was connected to an artificial life support apparatus. Then, by means of barbiturates, the singer was immersed in an artificial coma, but he could not survive.

On the afternoon of September 13, 1996, Tupac Shakur died in the intensive care unit. His mother, Afeni Shakur, decided to stop the futile attempts of doctors to bring her son back to life. The rapper's official cause of death was respiratory failure and cardiac arrest due to multiple gunshot wounds. On September 14, Tupac's body was cremated.

The criminals who shot Shakur have not been identified, so the topic of the murder of the great hip-hop artist is the subject of heated discussions. One version of what happened suggests that Tupac died through the fault of representatives of the warring East Coast faction.

The vast majority of Tupac's songs are about the hard life in the ghetto, oppression, violence, racism, poverty, problems of society and politics. In addition, in his singles, Shakur, embroiled in feuds between East Coast and West Coast rappers, insulted enemies. The so-called Two Coast War has sparked feuds between other hip-hop artists and music producers, including East Coast frontman The Notorious B.I.G. and label Bad Boy Records.

TUPAC SHAKUR FILM AND TV CAREER

In 1991, Tupac first appeared on the television screen - in the TV series Solid Trouble directed by Dan Aykroyd, and in 1992 he played the role of Bishop in the crime thriller about the plight of Harlem residents - The Authority with Omar Epps, Vincent Laresca, Samuel L. .Jackson and Queen Latifah. In 1993, he played in an episode of the fifth season of the comedy project about black students "Another World" and starred in John Singleton's drama "Poetic Justice" with Janet Jackson, which received two MTV awards, as well as "Golden Raspberry". At the same time, the picture itself was nominated for an Oscar and a Golden Globe in the Best Song category (Again).

Tupac starred in the films "

" (1994) with Duane Martin, "Bullet" (1995) with Mickey Rourke, as well as the 1997 tapes "Dead End" with Tim Rotomy "Criminal Connections" with James Belushi.

In 2017, the premiere of the biographical drama about the cult rapper Tupac "2pac: Legend" (All Eyez on Me) took place with the participation of such actors as Demetrius Shipp Jr., Danai Jackesay Gurira, Katerina Graham, Bruce Davison, Lauren Cohan, Corey Hardrict and others The film was originally directed by John Singleton, but left the project due to creative differences. However, it was this director who was approved by Shakur's mother during her lifetime to create a biopic. Yet in the director's chair was Benny Boom. When he saw a photo of actor Demetrius Shipp Jr. during the casting for the role of Tupac, he thought that he was Shakur.

As for Singleton, the director intends to shoot his own tape about an influential figure in the world of hip-hop.

After watching the film "2pac: Legend", the singer, actress and writer Jada Pinkett-Smith was dissatisfied with the biopic about her close friend, who could have turned 46 on June 16, 2017. Jada, who met Tupac at the Baltimore School of the Arts and warmly communicated with him until the singer's death, noted that her relationship with the rapper was incorrectly presented in the picture, and some scenes were just fiction. At the same time, Pinkett expressed her gratitude to the leading actor - aspiring actor Demetrius Shipp Jr. - and actress Katerina Graham, who played Jada in the film, assuring both that her dissatisfaction had nothing to do with how they showed themselves in the frame: “Thank you for putting so much soul into your characters. You did a great job with what you were given."

By the way, the free interpretation of director Benny Boom did not please many experts and people who personally knew Shakur. Thus, RogerEbert critic Nick Allen wrote: “This film is one of the worst musical biopics I have ever seen. The tape, perhaps, will confuse and not delight those who are not familiar with the work and life of the rap prophet Tupac Shakur. And the American hip-hop artist 50 Cent dubbed the picture "2pac: Legend" "garbage". In his opinion, the film was supposed to become a classic, like The Voice of the Streets, but in the end it did not live up to the expectations of Tupac fans.

TUPAC SHAKUR PERSONAL LIFE

The rapper's personal life was rich in novels, but the singer, absorbed in his work, did not have a serious relationship. 2Pac still dreamed of a family and children, he wanted to name his daughter Star, and his son Michelangelo, but he did not have time to get offspring.

In 1995, while in prison, Tupac Shakur married actress Keisha Morris, whom he met a few months before the wedding. But the union of the couple was later annulled, while the young people retained friendly communication. Shortly before his death, Tupac became engaged to Kidada Jones.