Tupac Shakur (1971-1996)
Eight years after his death,
acclaimed rapper, Tupac Shakur, continues to loom large as a source of
influence and inspiration in the music industry.
Remarkably, new Tupac
albums continue to be released after his death, serving credit to Tupac’s
prolific writing and recording materials.
The new Tupac CD, 2Pac Legacy, will be the seventh album of lost
material released since his shooting death in September of 1996. Tupac had released just four solo albums
during his lifetime. Spokespeople for
both Interscope Records and Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, confirmed that future
releases are on the horizon featuring a new batch of the rapper’s previously
unreleased verses put to beats by some of today’s big hip-hop producers,
including Eminem.
The rapid rise and fall of
Tupac remains one of the most enigmatic stories in rap musical history. Born into poverty in New York City to Afeni
Shakur in 1971, Tupac had always been associated with the Black Panthers, whom
his mother was associated with. This
undoubtedly provided the basis of his perspective on black unity and pride, and
racial equality, which shines through on his albums.
Tupac bounced around along
the East, in New York City and Baltimore, before moving to Marin County,
California when he was 17. Here, Tupac made
friends who helped spark his interest in rap music. He made friends with Ray Luv, and together they started a rap
group called Strictly Dope. Their neighborhood shows brought Tupac enough
acclaim to land an audition with Shock G. of Digital Underground. In 1990 Shakur joined Digital Underground
although it wasn’t until he became a solo artist, when he became more
recognized.
In late 1991, a 20-year old
Shakur rose to stardom with his acclaimed album 2Pacalypse Now, which
showcased his individual talent. Tupac
drew critical acclaim for his ability to mix tracks with powerful individual
messages exemplifying respect for single black mothers such as Brenda’s got
a Baby and Single Black Mutha. Many of the songs dealt with the issues of racism and life in the
ghetto.
He followed his debut record
with 1993’s Strictly For My Niggaz, 1994’s Thug Life: Volume 1, and
1995’s Me Against The World. Me
Against The World, was released while Tupac was in prison –Shakur has the
distinction of being the only artist with an album at #1 on the charts while
serving a prison sentence. Shakur was
serving a prison sentence for sexually abusing a woman, a charge he vehemently
denied. Following his release from
prison, Tupac recorded All Eyez on Me in 1996. This album was Tupac’s most economically and critically
successful release, as the album went multi-platinum (selling over 9-million
copies), and hailed as one of the greatest rap albums ever recorded.
On top of being an
accomplished musician, Tupac Shakur, had entered the world of acting, and was drawing
attention to his remarkable dramatic talents.
His filmography includes the acclaimed movie Juice (1992), Poetic
Justice (1993), Above The Rim (1994) and GridLocked (1997).
Tupac was known not only for
his musical talents, but on his activities out of the recording stage and off
the stage. Poignantly outspoken,
egotistical, and a violent streak were all characteristics of his
personality. He had earlier run-ins
with police, with whom he expressed a fiery hatred for, when he was younger. His stepfather had been a drug dealer, and
on the FBI’s top 10 most wanted list – and was arrested in 1998 for armed
robbery. Tupac had altercations with
the police in 1991, when he was beaten after protesting an arrest. In 1993, Shakur got into a fight with two off-duty police officers
whom he perceived as harassing a black motorist on the side of the road in
Atlanta. Both officers were uncritically
shot and Tupac faced serious charges until it was discovered that both officers
were intoxicated during the incident and were using weapons stolen out of an
evidence locker. The charges against Shakur were dismissed. In early 1995, Tupac was charged with
sexually abusing a fan and sentence to prison, despite vehemently denying any
wrong-doing.
But perhaps most famous, was
Tupac’s rivalry with New York’s rapper, Notorious B.I.G., and his Bad Boy Crew. Shortly before his 1995 verdict on his
pending sexual assault case, Shakur was shot and robbed in New York. Tupac blamed Biggie for the incident and
vowed to get revenge. 1n 1996, Shakur
was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. He died in the University of Nevada Hospital
six days later from the four gunshot wounds. It was reputed that this was act from his rival East Coast rappers
(namely Notorious B.I.G.). The
Notorious B.I.G. would be murdered a month later.
hide
Home
