   #copyright

Tupac Shakur

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Performers and composers

   Tupac Shakur
   Background information
   Birth name Parish Lesane Crooks ^Later changed to Tupac Amaru Shakur
   Also known as 2Pac, 'Pac, Makaveli
   Born June 16, 1971 - New York City, New York
   Origin Oakland, California (1991-1992)
   Los Angeles, California(1992-1996)
   Died September 13, 1996 - Las Vegas, Nevada
   Genre(s) Rap
   Occupation(s) Rapper, Actor, Producer, Poet, Screenwriter, Activist
   Years active 1991–1996
   Label(s) Interscope Records (1991–present)
   Death Row (1995–2002)
   Amaru (1997–present)
   Associated
   acts Outlawz, Thug Life, Digital Underground
   Website 2PacLegacy.com

   Tupac Amaru Shakur ( June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996) was an
   American rap artist, actor, activist, and poet. He is known by various
   alias such as: 2Pac, Makaveli and Pac. He is known in the Guinness Book
   of World Records as the top-selling hip-hop artist, having sold over 73
   million albums worldwide. This includes over 44.5 million sales in the
   United States alone. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up around
   violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society, and
   sometimes his feuds with fellow rappers. Shakur is known for the
   political, economic, and messages of racial equality found in much of
   his work. He has been ranked by many fans, critics, and industry
   insiders as the greatest rapper ever.

   Born in New York City, Tupac frequently found his family changing place
   of residence. In 1988, his family moved to California, where he would
   reside for the rest of his life. In 1990, he was hired as a backup
   dancer for the alternative rap group Digital Underground. Tupac's debut
   album, 2Pacalypse Now, gained critical recognition and backlash for its
   controversial lyrics. Shakur became the target of various lawsuits, and
   experienced legal troubles. Most notably, he was convicted of sexually
   assaulting a woman in 1993 (although he vigorously denied the claims).
   The day before the guilty verdict was issued, Shakur was shot five
   times in a recording studio lobby in Manhattan, wounding him. 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 later East Coast-West Coast feud.
   After serving eleven months of his sentence, Shakur was released from
   prison on bail by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records.
   In exchange, Shakur would release three records under the label, with
   his fifth album, the first ever double-disc album in hip hop history
   All Eyez on Me counting as two albums. On September 7, 1996, Tupac was
   shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada. On
   September 13, 1996, six days after the shooting, Tupac died of
   respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at University Medical Centre,
   Las Vegas.

   Tupac's music addresses such topics as the hardships of growing up
   around violence in United States ghettos, poverty, racism, and his
   feuds with fellow rappers. He is known for the messages of political,
   economic, and racial equality that pervade his work as well as the "
   Thug Life" that he raps about living in. His music has attracted a
   large amount of controversy and was showcased in the media a number of
   times.

Biography

Early life

   Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in
   New York City. He was named after Túpac Amaru II, an Incan
   revolutionary who led a Peruvian uprising against Spain and was
   subsequently sentenced to death. His last name Shakur comes from the
   Arabic word thankful (to God). Out of fear of someone hurting her son,
   Afeni Shakur put the name Parish Lesane Crooks on the birth
   certificate, but changed his name one year later. Shakur's mother Afeni
   was an active member of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late
   1960s and early 1970s; Shakur was born just one month after his
   mother's acquittal on more than 100 charges of "conspiracy against the
   United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York
   Panther 21 court case.

   Shakur's godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, was convicted of murdering
   a schoolteacher during a 1968 robbery. His stepfather, Mutulu Shakur,
   spent four years at large on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list
   beginning in 1982, when Tupac was a pre-teen. Mutulu was wanted in part
   for having aided his sister Assata Shakur, Tupac's godmother, to escape
   from prison in New Jersey, where she had been incarcerated for the
   murder and wounding of two state troopers in 1973. Mutulu was caught in
   1986 and imprisoned after being found guilty of the attempted robbery
   of a Brinks armored car in which two police officers and a guard were
   killed. Tupac has a half-sister, Sekyiwa, two years his junior, and an
   older step-brother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, who appeared on many of
   his recordings.

   At age 12, Shakur was enrolled in Harlem's famous " 127th Street
   Ensemble". His first major role with this acting troupe was as Travis
   in the play A Raisin in the Sun. In 1984, his family relocated to the
   Roland Park section of Baltimore where he befriended noise artist
   "Panda Bear" (now a member of the musical group Animal Collective) who
   grew up in the neighbourhood just 1 block away from Shakurs. After his
   sophomore year he transferred from Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School to
   the Baltimore School for the Arts. At the School for the Arts, he
   studied acting, poetry, and jazz, and performed in Shakespeare plays
   and landing the role of the Mouse King in The Nutcracker. One friend of
   Tupac, Dana "Mouse" Smith, was Tupac's beatbox in the many rap
   competitions that Tupac participated in. Shakur won the majority of the
   competitions he was in and was considered to be the best rapper in his
   school. Despite his lack of trendy clothing he was one of the most
   popular kids in his school because of his sense of humor and superior
   rapping skills, he mixed in with all crowds. He also befriended a young
   Jada Pinkett (later Jada Pinkett Smith). The two developed a close
   friendship. In one interview that appears on the documentary Tupac:
   Resurrection, Shakur says, "Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for
   my whole life." Also in this documentary, 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."
   In Tupac's book, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, there is a poem
   written by Shakur titled "Jada" including another one titled "The Tears
   in Cupid's Eyes" which is dedicated to her. The two remained close
   friends until Shakur's death in 1996.

   In June 1988, he and his family moved once again, this time to Marin
   City, California, where he attended Tamalpais High School and was a
   member of Ensemble Theatre Company (ETC) and where Shakur continued to
   pursue his career in entertainment. Due to his mother's crack addiction
   Shakur moved into Leila Steinberg's home with his friend Ray Luv at the
   age of 17. Leila Steinberg acted as a literary mentor to Shakur, who
   was an avid reader at the time. Steinberg has kept copies of the books
   that Tupac read, which include J.D. Salinger's Catcher in the Rye,
   Jamaica Kincaid's At the Bottom of the River, Herman Melville's Moby
   Dick, Eileen Southern's Music of Black Americans, and the feminist
   writings of Alice Walker and Robin Morgan .. Most of which were read
   before the age of 20. 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.. In
   1989 Leila Steinberg organized a concert with Tupac's group, Strictly
   Dope, the concert lead to him to 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.

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" and made a brief appearance as himself
   in the movie Nothing But Trouble. 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. 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 other
   members of the Digital Underground crew. His sophomore album did better
   than his first, eventually going platinum.

Acting career

   In addition to rapping, Shakur began acting in films. His first
   starring role was in the 1992 movie Juice as Bishop a trigger happy
   teen, in 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), Above the Rim, Gridlock'd (with Tim Roth),
   Bullet, and Gang Related. He had also been slated to star in the Hughes
   brothers' Menace II Society but was replaced by Larenz Tate after
   assaulting the directors. Director John Singleton claimed that he wrote
   the film Baby Boy with Shakur in mind for the leading role. It was
   eventually filmed with Tyrese Gibson 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

   In late 1993, Shakur formed the group Thug Life with a few 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: Thug Life Vol. 1 on September 26, 1994. The group usually did
   their concerts without Shakur.

Legal issues

   Even as he garnered fame as a rapper and actor, Shakur gained notoriety
   for his conflicts with the law. On October of 1991 he filed a $10
   million lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department, alleging they
   brutally beat him over a jaywalking incident. The suit was later
   settled for $42,000.

   In October 1993, in Atlanta, Shakur shot two off-duty police officers
   (one in the leg, one in the buttocks) that 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.

   In December 1993, Shakur was charged with sexually abusing a woman in
   his hotel room. According to the complaint, Shakur sodomized the woman
   and then encouraged his friends to sexually abuse her. Shakur
   vehemently denied the charges. He had prior relations days earlier with
   the woman who was pressing the charges against him. She performed oral
   sex on him on a club dance floor and the two later had sex in his hotel
   room. The allegations were made after she revisited his hotel room for
   the second time where she engaged in sexual activity with his friends
   and claimed Tupac's entourage had gang-raped her, saying to him while
   leaving, "How could you do this to me?" Tupac states he had fallen
   asleep shortly after she arrived and later awoke to her accusations and
   legal threats. He later said he felt guilty for leaving her alone, and
   did not want anyone else to go to jail, but at the same time did not
   want to go to jail for a crime he didn't commit. Shakur was convicted
   of "sexual abuse (forcibly touching the buttocks)". In sentencing
   Shakur to one-and-a-half years in prison, the judge described the crime
   as "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman."

   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 in the 1992
   shooting of six-year-old Qa'id Walker-Teal of Marin City, California.
   The child had been the victim of a stray bullet in a shootout between
   Tupac's entourage and a rival group, though the bullet was not from
   Tupac's gun. Criminal charges were not sought, and Shakur settled with
   the family for an amount estimated between $300,000 and $500,000. 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.

The 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 incident, December 1, 1994, 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

   Tupac in a police mugshot (March 8, 1995)
   Enlarge
   Tupac in a police mugshot ( March 8, 1995)

   Shakur began serving his prison sentence at Clinton Correctional
   Facility in February 1995. Shortly afterwards, he released his
   multi-platinum album Me Against the World. Shakur is the only artist
   ever to have an album at number one on the charts while serving a
   prison sentence. The album debuted at number-one and stayed there for
   five weeks and first week sales of 240,000 copies which was the record
   for highest first week sales for a solo male rap artist at the time. He
   married his long-time girlfriend, Keisha Morris, while serving his
   sentence. This marriage was later annulled. While in prison Tupac read
   many books by Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu's The Art of War and other
   works of political philosophy and strategy. He also wrote a screenplay
   titled Live 2 Tell while incarcerated.

   In October 1995, Shakur's case got an 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, 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.

Life on Death Row

   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 his street cred. 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 behaviour 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 would
   remain bitter enemies until Shakur's death.

   In February 1996, Shakur released his fourth solo album, All Eyez on
   Me. This double album was the first and second of his three-album
   commitment to Death Row Records. It sold over 9 million copies. The
   album was a general departure from the introspective subject matter of
   Me Against the World, being more oriented toward a thug and gangsta
   mentality. Shakur continued his recordings despite increasing problems
   at the Death Row label. Dr. Dre 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. The goal of this
   project was to bring closure to the East Coast-West Coast feud by
   bringing together what Shakur thought were the best rappers from both
   coasts. This project remains unreleased, though some of Tupac's
   contributions to the album have been used in various other posthumous
   releases.

   By the end of his life, Tupac was in the middle of starting his film
   development company Euphanasia, and was going to start writing and
   directing films. Tupac wanted to host concerts that would be free for
   students who get a C or above, and wanted to build community centers
   and start baseball and football leagues for inner-city children. Tupac
   and Johnny "J" were starting up 24/7 Productions and Tupac was starting
   up Non-Stop Productions. Thug Passion was a drink that Tupac was
   planning on bottling and selling; the song "Thug Passion" was made to
   be a theme song for the drink. Tupac was going to step back from
   rapping by releasing albums every five years or so on his new record
   label, Makaveli Records, which would have been distributed by Death Row
   Records. Tupac and Suge Knight were in the process of expanding Death
   Row to the East, establishing a Death Row East. Tupac died before this
   could be fulfilled.

Makaveli

   While in prison Shakur read and studied Niccolò Machiavelli and his
   works, which inspired his pseudonym "Makaveli" under which he released
   the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The Don Killuminati:
   The 7 Day Theory 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 has crucified him. The album debuted
   at #1 and sold 663,000 copies in the first week. Tupac had plans of
   starting Makaveli Records which would have included the Wu-Tang Clan,
   The Outlawz, Big Daddy Kane, Big Syke, and Gang Starr.

Fatal 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 21 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
   a few weeks earlier, precipitating Shakur's attack. After the fight
   with Anderson, Shakur met up 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 approximately 11:15 PM, while stopped at the intersection of East
   Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, Shakur was shot in a drive-by shooting.
   Shakur was hit four times, twice in the chest, and once each in his arm
   and thigh, while Knight was scratched in the head by a piece of flying
   glass.

   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 while he was about to ride along with the rapper in Suge
   Knight's car, Shakur asked him to drive Kidada Jones' car 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 Centre. Shakur was placed on life
   support until his death six days later, on September 13, 1996, at 4:03
   PM PDT at the age of 25. 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
   has been mixed with marijuana and smoked by The Outlawz. Family and
   friends plan to spread the remaining ashes during a ceremony in Soweto,
   South Africa. The ceremony has been delayed from September 13, 2006, to
   June 16, 2007, which would have been Shakur's 36th birthday.

Theories of the crime

   Although no one has ever been formally charged, nor publicly identified
   by the police as a suspect, police sources have indicated they believe
   that Anderson (who has since been murdered himself) was the killer.
   Officers in the Compton, California Police Department Gang Unit claimed
   in a leaked report the Crips were bragging about the killing soon after
   Anderson returned from Las Vegas. Officers further indicated they were
   disappointed with the lack of initiative shown by the Las Vegas
   Metropolitan Police Department in pursuing Shakur's killer(s).

   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
   Notorious B.I.G.) and Shakur, there was speculation about the
   possibility of Wallace's involvement in the murder from the outset.
   Wallace vehemently denied involvement. However, in a notable (but
   highly disputed) 2002 investigation by the Los Angeles Times, writer
   Chuck Phillips claimed to have uncovered evidence implicating Wallace
   in the murder. In the article, Phillips quoted unnamed gang-member
   sources who claimed Wallace had ties to the Crips, often hiring them
   for security during West Coast appearances. Phillips' informants also
   state that Wallace gave the gang members one of his own guns for use in
   the attack on Shakur, and that he put out a $1 million contract on
   Tupac's life. By the time Phillips' specific allegations were
   published, however, Wallace himself had been murdered.

   Wallace's family and associates have vehemently denied Wallace's
   involvement in Shakur's death. In support of their claims, Wallace's
   family submitted documentation to MTV 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 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.

   It was believed by many listeners that in the first few seconds of the
   song "Intro/Bomb First (My Second Reply) on the album The Don
   Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, a muffled Shakur can be heard saying but
   multiple audio tests and confirmation from a member of The Outlawz
   proved that it was indeed "Shoulda shot me". Many theorist mistook the
   statement as "Suge shot me" or "Suge shot 'em". 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 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". In 2005 a
   book entitled 2Pac Lives The Death of Makaveli / The Resurrection of
   Tupac Amaru (Volume 1) was released which claims that Shakur is still
   alive.

Style and influences

   Shakur's first album, 2Pacalypse Now, revealed the socially conscious
   side of Tupac. 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
   1980's and early 1990's. 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)
   [Remix]", "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's work has influenced many modern rap artists, including Eminem,
   Nas, Lloyd Banks, Rick Ross, Ja Rule, The Game, and 50 Cent all
   acknowledge his influence on their work. The likes of Snoop Dogg,
   Diddy, Pharrell, Ghostface Killa, Lil' Jon, Mary J. Blige, Juvenile,
   Big Boi, Andre 3000, Jermaine Dupri, WC, Sean Paul, Ice Cube, Missy
   Elliot, Mike Tyson and Nelly have all named songs by Shakur that they
   personally enjoyed.

Legacy

   Tupac Shakur has perhaps one of the largest personal legacies of any
   hip hop 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 Mobb Deep concert following the
   death of the famed icon and release of his '7 day theory' album,
   Cormega recalled in an interview that the fans were all shouting
   'Makaveli', and emphasised the influence of Tupac even in New York at
   the height of the media-dubbed 'Inter-coastal rivalry'.

   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 Centre for the Arts (TASCA) in Stone
   Mountain, Georgia on June 11, 2005.

   On November 14, 2003, a documentary about Shakur entitled Tupac:
   Resurrection, 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 April 17, 2003, Harvard University co-sponsored an academic
   symposium entitled "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the
   Modern Folk Hero." The speakers discussed a wide range of topics
   dealing with Shakur's impact on everything from entertainment to
   sociology.

   Many of the speakers discussed Shakur's status and public persona,
   including State University of New York English professor Mark Anthony
   Neal, who gave the talk "Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity
   Gramscian" in which he argued that Shakur was an example of the
   "organic intellectual" expressing the concerns of a larger group.
   Professor Neal has also indicated in his writings that the death of
   Shakur has left a "leadership void amongst hip-hop artists." Neal
   further describes Tupac as a "walking contradiction", a status that
   allowed him to "make being an intellectual accessible to ordinary
   people."

   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." 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."

   Michael Dyson, University of Pennsylvania Avalon Professor of
   Humanities and African American Studies and author of the book Holler
   If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur indicated that Shakur "spoke
   with brilliance and insight as someone who bears witness to the pain of
   those who would never have his platform. He told the truth, even as he
   struggled with the fragments of his identity." At one Harvard
   Conference the theme was Shakur's impact on entertainment, race
   relations, politics and the "hero/martyr". In late 1997, the University
   of California, Berkeley offered a student-led course entitled "History
   98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur."

   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.

   To commemorate the 10th anniversary of Shakur's death, Shakur's album
   Pac's Life was released on November 21, 2006. It is the 6th studio
   album to be created after Shakur's death.

Awards

   Since his death, Tupac's body of work remains 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:
     * Tupac was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002.
     * In 2003, MTV's "22 Greatest MCs" countdown listed Tupac as the
       "number 1 MC", as voted by the viewers.
     * In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honours Tupac was honored along with DJ
       Hollywood, Kool Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-DMC, Rock Steady
       Crew, and Sugarhill Gang.
     * Also in 2004, a VIBE magazine poll rated Tupac "the greatest rapper
       of all time" as voted by fans.
     * In 2005, Top Soundtrack Song of the Year: "Runnin' (Dying To Live)"
       from Tupac: Resurrection by Tupac featuring The Notorious B.I.G. at
       the 18th Annual [SCAP Rhythm and Soul Music Awards].
     * Also in 2005, MTV listed Tupac's The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day
       Theory (released under the pseudonym "Makaveli") as one of the "Top
       10 Greatest Hip-Hop Albums of All Time."

Discography

Albums

Studio albums

     * 1991 - 2Pacalypse Now (Gold)
     * 1993 - Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (Platinum)
     * 1994 - Thug Life Vol. 1 (Gold)
     * 1995 - Me Against the World (2x Platinum)
     * 1996 - All Eyez on Me (9x Platinum)
     * 1996 - The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (7x Platinum) (28
       million worldwide)

Posthumous created studio albums

     * 1997 - R U Still Down? (Remember Me) (5x Platinum)
     * 1999 - Still I Rise (2x Platinum)
     * 2001 - Until the End of Time (4x Platinum)
     * 2002 - Better Dayz (3x Platinum)
     * 2004 - Loyal to the Game (Platinum)
     * 2006 - Pac's Life ( November 21, 2006)

Other albums

     * 1998 - Greatest Hits (9x Platinum)
     * 2003 - Tupac: Resurrection (Original Soundtrack) (Platinum)

Filmography

 Year        Title                  Role                       Notes
 1991 Nothing But Trouble Himself                  (Brief appearance)
 1992 Juice               Bishop                   First starring role
 1993 Poetic Justice      Lucky                    Co-starred with Janet Jackson
 1994 Above the Rim       Birdie
 1996 Bullet              Tank
 1997 Gridlock'd          Ezekiel 'Spoon' Whitmore
 1997 Gang Related        Detective Rodríguez
 2003 Tupac: Resurrection Himself                  Official documentary
 2007 Live 2 Tell         (Screenwriter)           Expected 2007

Documentaries

     * Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel: The Life of an Outlaw (2001) documentary
     * Biggie & Tupac (2002) documentary
     * Tupac: Resurrection (2003) Academy Award nominated documentary
       about his life

Biographical books

     * Tupac: Resurrection (2003) ISBN 0-7434-7435-X
     * Tupac Shakur Legacy (2006) ISBN 0-7432-9260-X

Poetry books

     * The Rose That Grew From Concrete (1999) ISBN 0-671-02844-8
     * Inside a Thug's Heart (2004) ISBN 0-7582-0789-1

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur"
   This reference article is mainly selected from the English Wikipedia
   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
   of authors and sources) and is available under the GNU Free
   Documentation License. See also our Disclaimer.
