Information AboutTupac Shakur |
Tupac Amaru Shakur ( 2007 .MTV2 Presents: 22 Greatest MC's broadcast July 2003 In 1990, Shakur was a Roadie and backup dancer for the Alternative Rap 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, Shakur was shot five times in a recording studio lobby in Manhattan and was robbed. Following the incident, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the shooting and did not warn him; the controversy would help spark the East Coast-West Coast Hip Hop Rivalry . After serving eleven months of his sentence, Shakur was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight , the CEO of Death Row Records . In exchange for Suge's assistance, Shakur agreed to release three records under the Death Row label. Shakur's fifth album, 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 University Medical Center, Las Vegas . BIOGRAPHY Early life Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in the 2003 . Vol. 87, Iss. 46; pg. 2B or "Lesane Parish Crooks".3 Afeni supposedly feared her enemies would attack her son, and disguised their relation using a different last name, only to change it three months or a year later, following her marriage to Mutulu Shakur. Struggle and incarceration surrounded Tupac from an early age. Shakur's godfather, "Komani" Shakur, who appeared on many of his recordings. At the age of twelve, Shakur enrolled in '', 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 2003 It has been claimed 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.Tupac's Book Shelf, Mark Anthony Neal 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.''Thug Angel'' Early career Shakur's professional entertainment career began in early 1991, when he debuted his rap skills on the single "Same Song" from the Digital Underground album '' This Is An EP Release ''. Also in 1991, he appeared in the Music Video for "Same Song". In late 1991, after his rap debut, Tupac Shakur performed with Digital Underground again on the album '' Sons Of The P ''. Later that year, 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 police.4 In one incident, a young man claimed his killing of a Texas trooper was inspired by the album. Former Vice President Dan Quayle publicly denounced the album as having "no place in our society". '' 2Pacalypse Now '' did not do as well on the charts as future albums, spawning no top ten hits. His second album, '' Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. '', was released in 1993. Heavily produced by Stretch and the Live Squad , the album generated two hits, "Keep Ya Head Up" and " I Get Around ", the latter featuring guest appearances by members of the Digital Underground . Acting career In addition to rapping, Shakur acted in films. He made his first film appearance in the 1991 film '' Nothing But Trouble '', as part of a cameo by Digital Underground. His first starring role was in the 1992 movie '' Juice '' as Bishop , a trigger happy teen, for which he was hailed by '' Rolling Stone '''s Peter Travers as "the film's most magnetic figure." He went on to star in '' Poetic Justice '' (with Janet Jackson ) and '' Above The Rim ''. After his death in 1996, three of his completed films '' Bullet '', '' Gridlock'd '' and '' Gang Related '' were posthumously released. He had also been slated to star in the 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 "Hail Mary" in the movie's score. 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 album '' Thug Life Vol. 1 '' on September 26 1994 . The group usually performed their concerts without Shakur.Tupac: A Thug Life The concept of "Thug Life" was viewed by Shakur as a philosophy for life. Shakur 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 fame as a rapper and actor, Shakur gained notoriety for his conflicts with the law. In October 1991, he filed a $10 million 2006 . 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 incident.Smothers, R. "Rapper Charged in Shootings of Off-Duty Officers". New York Times. November 2 1993 . In December 1993, Shakur was charged with sexually abusing a woman in his hotel room. According to the complaint, Shakur 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 ) 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 lawsuit was brought against Shakur for a 1992 shooting that left Qa'id Walker-Teal, a six-year old of Marin City, California dead. 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 any members Shakur's entourage's guns. Criminal charges were not sought, and Shakur settled with the family for an amount estimated between $300,000 and $500,000."Marin slaying case against rapper opens", San Francisco Chronicle, November 3 1995 "Settlement in Rapper's Trial for Boy's Death". San Francisco Chronicle. November 8 1995 . After serving part of his sentence on the sexual abuse 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."Rapper Is Sentenced To 120 Days in Jail". New York Times. April 5, 1996. 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 in the lobby of the Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan by two black men in an apparent robbery attempt. He would later accuse Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G. — whom he saw after the shooting — of setting him up. According to the doctors at Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted immediately following the incident, Shakur was shot five times, 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. The day following the shooting, Shakur entered the courthouse in a wheelchair and was found guilty of three counts of sexual abuse, but innocent of six others, including Sodomy . Prison sentence ( March 8 1995 )]] Shakur began serving his titled '' Live 2 Tell '' while incarcerated, a story about a teenager who becomes a drug lord.http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0482538/. In October 1995, Shakur's case was on appeal but due to all of Shakur's 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,Info from StreetGangs.com, from http://www.streetgangs.com/topics/tupac/091496passes.html Shakur was released from prison, 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."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 Life on Death Row , and Suge Knight during Tupac's tenure on Death Row Records. (1996)]] After his release from prison, Shakur immediately went back to work recording. He began a new group, The Outlawz , and with them released the notorious " Diss Track " " Hit 'Em Up ", a scathing lyrical attack on The Notorious B.I.G (Christopher Wallace) and others associated with him. In the track, Shakur claims to have had sex with Faith Evans , Wallace's wife at the time, and attacks Wallace's street credibility. Though there is no hard evidence suggesting that they did, Tupac was convinced that Wallace and Sean "Puffy" Combs had known about the shooting beforehand based on their behavior that night and what his sources told him. Shakur aligned himself with Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight, who was already bitter toward Combs and his successful Bad Boy label; this added fuel to the building East-West feud. Wallace and Shakur remained bitter enemies until Shakur's death. In February 1996, Shakur released his fourth solo album, '' left his post as house producer to form his own label, Aftermath . CEO Suge Knight was under investigation for illegal and unethical activities and business practices. 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 in prison Shakur read and studied ''. 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 album debuted at number one and sold 663,000 copies in the first week.XXL Magazine October 2006 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 September 7 1996 , Shakur attended the Mike Tyson - Bruce Seldon Boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After the boxing match, Shakur spotted twenty-one year-old Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson , a member of the Southside Crips in the MGM Grand lobby. Shakur rushed him and knocked Anderson down, and Shakur's entourage beat him. The incident was captured on the hotel's video surveillance. Anderson and a group of Crips had beaten up a member of Death Row's entourage in a Foot Locker store a few weeks earlier, precipitating Shakur's attack. After the fight with Anderson, Shakur rendezvous with Suge Knight to go to Death Row-owned Club 662 (now known as restaurant/club Seven). Shakur rode with Knight in Knight's 1996 black BMW 750i sedan as part of a larger convoy of cars including 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 picture.http://www.thugz-network.com/Tupac~Shakur~LV~Shooting.php At about 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, which were then found in the trunk of Knight's vehicle and he was not fined, being released a few minutes later.http://www.findadeath.com/Deceased/s/tupacshakur/tupacshakur.htm At approximately 11:10 p.m., while stopped by a red light at Flamingo Road near the intersection of Koval Lane in front of the Maxim Hotel, a vehicle accompanied by two women pulled over to an intersection on the right side of Shakur, whom was standing up through the turned over to Shakur's side and rapidly fired thirteen shots; Shakur was shot several times in a Drive-by Shooting , being struck by four bullets out of the thirteen fired at him; he was hit twice in the chest, and once each in his left arm and thigh. Knight was grazed in the head by shrapnel, though some sources claim that a bullet grazed him.http://www.donkilluminati.com/archivedarticles.htm According to Knight, a bullet from the gunfire had been lodged in his skull, which medical reports later contradicted.http://www.2pacworld.co.uk/sugeknightInfo.html At the time of the shooting, Shakur was riding alongside with Suge 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 Suge 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 shootings, 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 one of Shakur's closest friends and music video director Gobi, while at the hospital he received news that the shooters were sending death threats aimed at Shakur; one of Death Row's marketing employees received a call from the shooters, who told him they were coming to the hospital to kill Shakur and upon hearing this, he immediately alerted the Las Vegas police, but the police were understaffed and no one could be sent.http://www.hitemup.com/interviews/gobi-feb04.html Interview with Gobi Although the shooters never came to the hospital, Shakur was later placed on at the age of twenty-five. The official cause of death was Respiratory Failure and Cardiac Arrest . After his death, Shakur's body was Cremated . His ashes were spread over Los Angeles, the Pacific Ocean, Shakur's aunt's land, and his mother's land in North Carolina , and some was mixed with Cannabis and smoked by The Outlawz .Tupac Shakur Legacy Family and friends plan to 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.http://www.allhiphop.com/hiphopnews/?ID=6135 Tupac's life after death Due largely to the perceived lack of progress on the case by law enforcement, many independent investigations and theories of the crime have emerged. Because of the acrimony between Christopher Wallace (aka 2006 . Retrieved on April 10 2006 , from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4820224.stm Wallace's family and associates have vehemently denied Wallace's involvement in Shakur's death."Rapper's family denies murder theory". BBC News. indicating that Wallace was working in a New York recording studio the night of Shakur's murder. Wallace's manager Wayne Barrow and rapper James "Lil' Cease" Lloyd made public announcements denying Wallace's involvement in the murder and claiming further that they were both with Wallace in the recording studio the night of the shooting. 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 Wallace, Shakur, and the investigation. Shakur's close childhood friend and member of The Outlawz, Yafeu "Yaki Kadafi" Fula , was in the convoy when the shooting happened and indicated to police that he might be able to identify the assailants. He was killed shortly thereafter in a housing project in Irvington, New Jersey .Jones, S. "The Truth is Being Covered Up". Philadelphia Weekly. September 18 2002 . In the first few seconds of the song "Intro/Bomb First (My Second Reply)" on the album '''', Shakur can be heard saying "Shoulda shot me".MTV's Big Urban MythsOctober 2006 XXL Magazine Many theorists mistook the statement 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 Shakur's murder, as it was reported that Suge Knight owed Tupac up to seventeen million dollars 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. Many supporters of these theories point to the symbolism in Shakur's ''The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory'' album and in the video for the single "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 September 7 2007 , eleven years after the shooting. It will explore the murder and provide new information about the murder case with the help of Shakur's bodyguard, Frank Alexander. STYLE AND INFLUENCES ,'' Shakur's 1996 album]] Shakur's first 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 heavily 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 even Grandmaster Flash, as he became one of the first major socially conscious rappers from the West Coast. On his second album, 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 even 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 ''. With many tracks on the album considered to be classics, including "Ambitionz Az a Ridah", " I Ain't Mad At Cha ", " California Love (RMX) {Link without Title} ", "Life Goes On" and "Picture Me Rollin'", many critics consider this album to be a classic. ''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 earlier albums. Shakur described it as a celebration of life. Nonetheless, the album was critically and commercially successful. Shakur was a voracious reader. He was influenced 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 Tupac's friend and promoter Leila Sternberg to find "the sea of books" once owned by Shakur. Shakur's work has influenced many modern rap artists. , Diddy , Pharrell , Ghostface Killa , 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. All Ears On Me: Essential Tupac
LEGACY art of Tupac and Biggie ]] Tupac 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 '' album, Cormega recalled in an interview that the fans were all shouting "Makaveli" Tupac Shakur: A Roundtable Discussion , 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 Tupac the most influential rapper ever. 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 '', was released under the supervision of his mother and narrated entirely in his voice. The movie was nominated for Best Documentary in the 2005 Academy Awards . Proceeds will go to a charity set up by Afeni Shakur . On 2006 . Many of the speakers discussed Shakur's status and public persona, including 2006 , from http://newblackman.blogspot.com/2005/09/race-ing-katrina.html Neal further describes Tupac as a "walking contradiction", a status that allowed him to "make being an intellectual accessible to ordinary people". in Blacksburg, Virginia ]]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".Forman, M. "Tupac Shakur: O.G. (Ostensibly Gone)". Harvard University. 2003. 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".Price, E. "From Thug Life to Legend: Realization of a Black Folk Hero". Harvard University. 2003. 2006 , from http://www.vh1.com/artists/news/1171/09101997/2pac.jhtml In late 2003, the Makaveli Branded Clothing line was launched by Afeni Shakur . In 2005, Death Row released . The DVD was the final recorded performance of Shakur's career, which took place in July 4th, 1996 and features other 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 to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Shakur's death. Even ten years after his death he is still considered one of the most popular artists in the music industry. Top Musical Artists for 2006 DISCOGRAPHY See Also: Tupac Shakur discography Studio albums
Posthumous studio albums
Top 10 ''Billboard'' singles
FILMOGRAPHY Films Documentaries See Also: Tupac Shakur documentaries Tupac 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 '''', released in 2003.
BOOKS Biographical
Poetry
RECORDS AND AWARDS Although Tupac Shakur's life was cut short in 1996, he still manages to hold and break new records even to this day.
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. Here are some of the industry and fan awards Tupac has received for his work:
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