Tupac Amaru Shakur. A legend in itself. Rap star and actor extrordinaire. What can you say about a man who has been everywhere and done everything? He is the idol of most, enemy to the tricks. Tupac Amaru was a warrior and the last Incan chief to be tortured and murdered by Spanish conquistadors, meaning "shining serpent."Shakur is Arabic for "Thankful to God." Tupac Amaru Shakur, also Lesane Parish Crooks, was born on June 16, 1971 on the mean streets of NYC to Alice Faye Williams aka Afeni Shakur and Billy Garland. They were founding members of the Black Panthers in New York in the late '60s. After being arrested, Afeni was put in jail for a bombing conspiracy. She gave birth to Tupac one month and three days after being acquitted. She was back to being on welfare and living in the ghetto of the Bronx. After Tupac's birth, Garland and Afeni separated. Garland lost touch with Pac after his fifth birthday. Two years after she settled in the Bronx, Afeni gave birth to his half-sister, Sekyiwa, by Mutulu Shakur. In '86, Mutulu was arrested for being behind a robbery in which 3 cops were killed. He is now serving a 60-year sentence. His family later moved to Harlem to live with Afeni's new lover, Legs, who introduce her to crack, and was later jailed for credit card fraud. When Tupac was twelve, his mom enrolled him in a theater group where he played Travis in "A Raisin in the Sun." They moved to Baltimore, MD when Tupac was 15, where he went to a school for the arts. This is where he started rapping. Then they moved to Marin County, CA, the location where Afeni became a crack fiend. Tupac moved out, not being able to stand her addiction and moved in with a group of friends who later formed One Nation Emcees. He soon dropped out of high school at 17 and started selling drugs. When he moved to the Bay Area, he started rapping under the alias of MC New York. In 1986, Tupac formed a rap group called Two from the Crew. Their lyrics revolved around their life, and their main song was Thug "Life," describing themselves as young thugs. Later, he was introduced to Ray Love and formed "Strictly Dope." In 1989, at the age of 18, he was a roadie and tour dancer for Digital Underground. His debut rap lyrics came out on their album on January 3, 1991 in "Same Song." Soon, he got a record deal with Interscope Records and released his debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, on November 12, 1991, which sold $90 million. In '92, he stared in Juice as the character, Bishop. Then as Lucky in Poetic Justice. Soon, he would have a string of felonies charged on him, such as battery of a fan who asked for an autograph, misdemeanor crimes, robbery, and involvement in a wrongful death of a young boy. On October 31, 1993, he was charged in the shooting of two off duty cops in Atlanta, which was dropped after learning the police were intoxicated and shot at Shakur first. He was also charged with raping a young woman at a party club in November of '93, but beat the charge. In 1994, Tupac released Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., which sold another $90 million. On November 30, 1994, before going to a recording session with a fellow rapper, Tupac was gunned down and robbed in the lobby of the recording studio. A group of two men robbed and shot him in the chest, head, thigh, arm, and groin. This is when he started his hateful relationship with Biggie Smalls and Bad Boy record labels, who he thought was behind the incident. Later in 1995, he released his third album, Me Against the World, and later starred in the movie, Bullet. While being jailed for the sexual abuse charge, he married Keisha Morris, but this did not last and they separated. Tupac was bailed out of jail by Death Row Records CEO, Suge Knight for 1.4 million. He promised to sign to Death Row in response to this. His first album for Death Row in February 1996 was All Eyez On Me, which sold $14 million its first week in stores and later went quintuple platinum. Since then, he has release movies such as, Poetic Justice, Gridlock'd and Gang Related. Seven months after the release of his album, the fatal scene came to play. After coming out of a Mike Tyson fight on September 7, 1996, Tupac and his entourage left the scene. On his was to a club, a white Cadillac pulled up beside his car and fired shots through the window. Tupac was hit and Suge Knight was grazed by one bullet to the head. They immediately rushed him to the hospital, but it soon proved to be not enough. Seven days later, Tupac stopped breathing and the doctors were unable to revive him. He was only 25 years old. A major shock to the music industry. Millions of fans were heart broken to hear of his death, but many still think he is alive by convincing evidence. Since his "death," more albums continue to be released such as, The Don Killuminati and the 7 Day Theory, where his new alias was Makaveli, R U Still Down (Remember Me), Greatest Hits, and Still I Rise, which features the Outlawz. Tupac's legend will live forever in the hearts of his fans.
Tupac Facts
