Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971, East Harlem, Manhattan, New York - September 13, 1996, Las Vegas) also known as 2Pac, simply Tupac, was an American rapper and actor. He is considered by many to be one of the most important rappers of all time, and the most influential in rap history. Much of Shakur's work has been noted for addressing the social problems that plagued urban centers, for which he is also considered a symbol of resistance and activism against inequality.

He was born in the Manhattan borough of New York City, but in 1988 he moved to the San Francisco Bay Area. Later, around 1993, she moved to Los Angeles to continue her musical career. Shakur initially toured and was a backup dancer for the alternative hip-hop group Digital Underground. In 1991, after releasing his first album 2Pacalypse Now, he became a central figure in the West Coast hip hop, introducing social themes into the genre at a time when gangsta rap was mainstream. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his following albums: Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993) and his critically acclaimed Me Against the World (1995), which has been considered his masterpiece.

In late 1995, after being convicted of sexual assault and being the victim of a robbery and shooting, Shakur became heavily involved in the growing rivalry between East and West Coast hip hop. His double album All Eyez on Me (1996) was certified Diamond by the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times by an unknown assailant in a drive. -by in Las Vegas; he died six days later and the shooter was never caught. The Notorious B.I.G., Shakur's friend and later rival, was considered a suspect at first, but was also killed in another drive-by several months later. Since his death, five have been released. posthumous albums, all certified platinum.

Shakur is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. In 2002 he was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame during his first year of eligibility. In addition, Rolling Stone magazine included Shakur on its list of the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time., occupying position 86.

Outside of music, Shakur had considerable success as an actor, with starring roles as Bishop in Juice (1992), Lucky in Poetic Justice (1993), where he starred opposite Janet Jackson, Ezekiel in Gridlock'd (1997), and Jake in Gang Related (1997); obtaining critical acclaim in all of them.

Personal life

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York. Although he was born Lesane Parish Crooks, he was renamed at the age of one in honor of Tupac Amaru II. —a descendant of the last Inca ruler, Túpac Amaru—, who was executed in Peru in 1781 after his failed revolt against Spanish rule.

Afeni Shakur with the emergency room of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, was the mother of Tupac.

Shakur's mother explained, "I wanted him to have the name of a revolutionary for the indigenous peoples of the world. I wanted him to know that he was part of world culture and not just a neighborhood." Shakur had an older stepbrother, Mopreme Komani Shakur, and a half-sister, Sekyiwa, two years his junior. His parents, Afeni Shakur—born as Alice Faye Williams in North Carolina—and her biological father, Billy Garland, had been active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s.

Panther Heritage

A month before Shakur's birth, his mother stood trial in New York City as part of the criminal trial against the 21 Panthers. She was acquitted of more than 150 charges, in short: "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York monuments". Other family members who were more involved in the Black Panther Black Liberation Army were convicted. for felonies and incarcerated.

Shakur's godfather, Elmer Geronimo Pratt, who was a high-ranking Panther, was found guilty of murdering a schoolteacher during a robbery in 1968, though his conviction was overturned. In 1982, his stepfather Mutulu Shakur spent four years on the FBI's Top 10 Most Wanted Fugitives for helping Tupac's aunt and godmother, Assata Shakur, escape from a New Jersey prison in 1979. After being captured in 1986, Mutulu He was convicted and jailed for the 1981 Brinks armored car robbery, during which two police officers and a guard were killed.

School Years

In 1984, Shakur's family moved from New York to Baltimore, Maryland. He attended Roland Park High School in eighth grade, followed by two years at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. After transferring to the Baltimore School of the Arts, he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare's plays—he would later recall that they depict timeless themes, now seen in gang warfare—and played the role of the King of the Mice in the ballet The Nutcracker. With his friend Dana Mouse Smith as a beatboxer, he won contests for best rapper in school. His characteristic humor allowed him to blend in with all crowds, and as a teenager he listened to musicians like Kate Bush, Culture Club, Sinéad O'Connor and U2.

At Baltimore High School for the Arts, Shakur became friends with Jada Pinkett, who would become the inspiration for some of his poems. After her death, she would say that Shakur was "one of my best friends. He was like a brother. He went beyond our friendship. The kind of relationship we had, you only get once in a lifetime." Upon contacting the Baltimore Communist Youth League of America, Shakur dated the daughter of the director of the local chapter of the Communist Party USA In 1988, Shakur moved to Marin City, California, a small, impoverished community about five miles (8 km) north of San Francisco, and in nearby Mill Valley, attended the Instituto Tamalpais, where he acted in various theater productions.

Later relationships

In his adulthood, Shakur continued to develop friendships with people of diverse backgrounds; her friends ranged from Mike Tyson and Chuck D to Jim Carrey and Alanis Morissette, who in April 1996 said that she and Shakur planned to open a restaurant together. In April 1995, at the start of her prison sentence, Shakur married his then longtime girlfriend Keisha Morris. The marriage officially ended in March 1996. For four months before his death, Shakur lived with his girlfriend Kidada Jones, daughter of record producer Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton

Shakur's growing success at the time led fashion designers like Gianni Versace to take notice of him. In 1995, Versace personally invited him to walk in his fall/winter 1996-1997 show, and the artist accepted the invitation. A few months before his death, Shakur walked down the Versace catwalk in Milan dressed in a gold velvet collection suit with his girlfriend Kidada Jones, and gave a live performance of "California Love."

In 1994, Shakur had spoken out against interracial marriage —which is why he allegedly broke off his relationship with Madonna, maintained between 1994 and 1995—, but he retracted these comments, since Kidada herself had born of an interracial marriage. It was she who accompanied him during his death. Some of Shakur's song lyrics suggest a belief in a god, perhaps in a deistic sense. He apparently did not believe in Heaven and Hell as portrayed, perhaps he believed in karma.

Musical career

In January 1991, Shakur made his national rapping debut under the stage name 2Pac, guesting on rap group Digital Underground's single "Same Song"; theme that also appeared on the soundtrack of the film Nothing but Trouble from February 1991.

2Pac's first two solo albums, 2Pacalypse Now from November 1991 and Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... from February 1993, preceded his only self-titled album. Side group, Thug Life, launched in September 1994 with his own involvement. Rapper and producer Stretch has been featured on all three of 2Pac's previous albums.

His third solo album, Me Against the World from March 1995, features the rap group Dramacydal, who on 2pac's fourth solo album will become the Outlawz. 2Pac's last living, February 1996's All Eyez on Me, also counts Thug Life member Big Syke among its numerous guests.

However, another solo album was already finished: The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. Released in November 1996 under the stage name Makaveli, it is a studio album that was recorded for a week in the month of August.

The posthumous albums, all archival productions, are as follows: RU Still Down? (1997), Greatest Hits (1998), Still I Rise (1999), Before the End of Time (2001), Better Dayz (2002), Loyal to the Game (2004), Pac's Life (2006).

East Harlem, New York, where Shakur was born.

Beginnings: 1989-1991

Shakur began recording in 1989 using the stage name MC New York. That same year he began to attend the poetry classes of Leila Steinberg, who soon became the representative of the budding musical artist.

Steinberg organized a concert with Shakur's rap group, Strictly Dope, and got the young rapper to sign with Atron Gregory, manager of the rap group Digital Underground. In 1990, Gregory introduced Shakur to the Underground as roadie and backup dancer.

He debuted under the stage name 2Pac on the group's January 1991 single "Same Song", which led the group's EP released that same month under the title This Is an EP Release, and in which 2Pac had an appearance in the music video. The theme was also included on the soundtrack of the film Nothing but Trouble in February 1991, with Dan Akroyd, John Candy, Chevy Chase and Demi Moore.

Rising Star: 1992-1993

2Pac's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now —an allusion to the 1979 movie Apocalypse Now— released in November 1991, had three singles. Some prominent rappers such as Nas, Eminem, Game and Talib Kweli cite him as an inspiration. In addition to "If My Homie Calls", the singles "Trapped" and "Brenda's Got a Baby" poetically describe the individual struggles over socioeconomic inequality. But when a Texas defense attorney with a young client who had shot a state trooper reasoned that the defendant had been listening to the album, which alludes to police brutality, controversy erupted.

Then Vice President of the United States, Dan Quayle, partially reacted: "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. He has no place in our society.” Shakur, finding himself misunderstood, explained, in part, “He just wanted to rap about things that affected young black people. When I said that, I didn't know that I would be tied to taking all the blunt blows directed at black youth, that I would be the center of media attacks on black youth." In any case, 2Pacalypse Now it was certified Gold with half a million copies sold. Overall, the record sits well with socially conscious rap, addressing urban black concerns, which were still prevalent in rap at the time.

2Pac's second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..., arrived in February 1993; a critical and commercial breakthrough, it debuted at number 24 on the Billboard 200 Pop Albums chart. More staunch overall, it emphasizes Shakur's sociopolitical views and has a production quality metal; in fact it features Ice Cube, the famed lead creator of N.W.A.'s "Fuck tha Police," who on his own solo albums had turned militantly political, and Los Angeles gangsta rapper Ice-Cube. T, who in June 1992 had caused controversy with the song "Cop Killer" by his heavy metal band Body Count.

In fact, on its vinyl release, Side A, Tracks 1-8, is labeled "Black Side" [Black Side], while Side B, Tracks 9-16, is labeled "Dark Side" [ Dark side]. However, the album contains the single "I Get Around", a party anthem featuring Digital Underground members Shock G and Money-B, which would represent 2Pac's popular breakthrough; peaking at number 11 on the Billboard Hot 100 pop singles chart. Plus, it carries the upbeat compassion of another hit, "Keep Ya Head Up," rooting for women. This album would go platinum with one million copies sold, and as of 2004, the album Strictly would rank tenth in sales among 2Pac albums, including posthumous and compilation albums, with about 1,366,000 copies.

Stardom: 1994-1995

Test disc of the "Dear Mama" simple: the platinum simple is among the best songs in the history of hip-hop.

In late 1993, Shakur formed the group Thug Life with Tyrus Big Syke Himes, Diron Macadoshis Rivers, his half-brother Mopreme Shakur, and Walter Rated R Burns. Thug Life released a single album, Thug Life: Volume 1, on October 11, 1994, and it was certified gold. It includes the single "Pour Out a Little Liquor", produced by Johnny J Jackson, who would also produce much of Shakur's album All Eyez on Me. Thug Life usually performed live without Shakur. The song "Pour Out a Little Liquor" also appears on the soundtrack of the 1994 film Above the Rim. back then it was getting gangsta rap, the original version of the album was scrapped and the album was remade with mostly new tracks. Still, along with Stretch, Shakur would perform the first planned single, "Out on Bail"—which was never released—at the 1994 Source Awards.

2Pac's third album, which arrived in March 1995 as Me Against the World, is now hailed as his masterpiece and is commonly ranked among the best and most influential rap albums. The album sold 240,000 copies in its first week, setting a first-week sales record for a solo rapper. The first single, "Dear Mama", which arrived in February with the B-side "Old School", was the most successful single from the album, it topped the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart and peaked at number 9 on the Billboard Hot Pop Singles chart. 100. In July, it was certified platinum and ranked 51st on the year-end charts. The second single, "So Many Tears", released in June, peaked at number 6 on the Hot Rap Singles chart and number 44 on the Hot 100. August brought the final single, "Temptations", peaking at number 68 on the Hot Rap Singles chart. the Hot 100, 35 on the Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and 13th on Hot Rap Singles. At the 1996 Soul Train Music Awards, Shakur won for Best Rap Album. In 2001, it ranked fourth among his best-selling albums, with approximately 3,524,567. copies sold in the United States.

Superstar: 1995-1996

Shakur said he barely wrote a song while imprisoned from February to October 1995. Instead, he devoted himself to political theorist Nicholas Machiavelli's treatise The Prince and The Art of War of military strategist Sun Tzu. His wife Keisha Morris contacted Suge Knight of Death Row Records on his behalf to inform him that the rapper, who was in difficult financial straits, was in need of help, as his mother was about to lose her home. In August, after sending her $15,000, Suge began visiting Shakur in prison. In one of his letters to Nina Bhadreshwar, who had recently been hired to edit a planned magazine— Death Row Uncut—, Shakur comments on his plans to start a "new chapter". Finally, music journalist Kevin Powell would say that Shakur, once released, was more aggressive, "seemed like a person completely transformed."

“California Love” is one of Shakur’s most successful and well-known songs, came to head the Billboard Hot 100 and received two nominations for the Grammy Awards.

2Pac's fourth album, All Eyez on Me, was released on February 13, 1996. Comprised of two discs, it was essentially the first rap double album—reuniting two of the three albums. which were to be on Shakur's contract with Death Row—and included five singles, while perhaps marking the peak of 1990s rap. With outstanding production, the album has more party tracks and often a triumphant tone. It was 2Pac's second album to reach No. 1 on both the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and the Pop Albums chart of the Billboard 200, selling 566,000 copies in its first week and being certified 5× Multi-Platinum in April. "How Do U Want It" and "California Love" reached number 1 on the Billboard Hot 100. At the 1997 Soul Train Awards, Shakur won for R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year. At the 24th American Music Awards, Shakur won for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist. The album was certified 9× Multi-Platinum in June 1998, and 10× in July 2014.

Shakur's fifth and final studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, commonly referred to as The 7 Day Theory, was released under a new name artistic, Makaveli. This album was created in a total time of seven days during August 1996. Lyrics were written and recorded in three days, and mixing took another four days. In 2005, MTV.com ranked The 7 Day Theory at number 9 among the greatest hip hop albums of all time, and in 2006 as a classic album. Its singular intensity, through pain and anger, contemplation and revenge, resonates with many fans. But according to George Papa G Pryce, the then director of public relations for Death Row Records, the album was meant to be "underground". >" and "wasn't really going to come out", but eventually "came out after Tupac was murdered". It peaked at #1 on both Billboard's Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart. > how on the Billboard 200, and was the second-highest debut in first-week sales of any album that year. On June 15, 1999, it was certified 4× Multi-Platinum.

Film career

Shakur's first film appearance was in 1991, in a cameo appearance for Digital Underground in the film Nothing but Trouble. However, in 1992, he starred in Juice playing Roland Bishop, a violent gang member who, according to Rolling Stone's Peter Travers, was "the most magnetic figure in the film".

Later in 1993, Shakur starred opposite Janet Jackson in John Singleton's romantic film Poetic Justice. He then played another gangster, Birdie, in Above the Rim. Shortly after Shakur's death, three more films starring him were released: Bullet (1996), Gridlock'd (1997) and Gang Related. (1997).

Director Allen Hughes had cast Shakur as Sharif in the 1993 film Menace II Society, but replaced him after Shakur assaulted him on set. However, in 2013, Hughes estimated that Shakur would have outshone the other actors, "because he was more popular than the movie". Furthermore, director John Singleton had originally intended Shakur for the lead role in his eventual film. Baby Boy from 2001, but ended up being played by Tyrese Gibson. Ultimately, the set design features a mural of Shakur in the protagonist's bedroom, and the film's soundtrack includes the song " Hail Mary" by 2Pac.

Criminal cases

In October 1991, Shakur filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Oakland Police Department for allegedly brutalizing him after jaywalking. The case was settled for around US$43,000. However, thereafter, he would be involved in a series of cases in which he was accused of inflicting damage.

Qa'id Walker-Teal shot at

On August 22, 1992, Shakur performed at an outdoor festival in Marin City. An hour or so later, he signed autographs and posed for photos.

Once the conflict broke out, Shakur allegedly pulled out and dropped a legally carried Colt Mustang, but someone with him picked it up and accidentally fired it; 100-90 meters away, Qa'id Walker-Teal, a 6-year-old boy, was fatally shot in the forehead while riding his bicycle in a school yard.

Police found a match between the bullet and a.38-caliber handgun registered to Shakur. His half-brother Maurice Harding was arrested, but no charges were filed, as a lack of witnesses hampered the prosecution. In 1995, Qa'id's mother filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Shakur, which was settled in a settlement of between $300,000 and $500,000.

Shooting with two policemen

In October 1993 in Atlanta, brothers Mark Whitwell and Scott Whitwell, both off-duty police officers, were out with their wives to celebrate one of their wives' passing the state bar exam. The officers, possibly intoxicated, crossed the street as a vehicle carrying Shakur passed and allegedly nearly ran them over... The Whitwells, who were later found to have stolen their weapons, argued with the occupants of the vehicle, and soon they were joined by a second vehicle. Ultimately, Shakur shot one officer in the buttocks and the other in the leg, back, or abdomen. Shakur was charged with the shooting, and Mark Whitwell was charged with shooting at Shakur's vehicle and lying in the investigation. Prosecutors dropped all charges against the parties.

Assault Convictions

On April 5, 1993, Shakur was charged with felony assault for allegedly throwing a microphone and attempting to hit M.A.D. rapper Chauncey Wynn with a baseball bat during a concert at Michigan State University. On September 14, 1994, Shakur pleaded guilty to a misdemeanor charge and was sentenced to 30 days in jail; twenty of them were suspended and he was sentenced to 35 hours of community service.

Shakur was set to star as Sharif in the Hughes brothers' 1993 film Menace II Society, but was replaced by actor Vonte Sweet after he allegedly assaulted Allen Hughes, one of its directors. Shakur served 15 days in jail after he was convicted of assault in early 1994. Prosecution evidence included an interview with Yo! MTV Raps where Shakur boasts about "beating up the director of Menace II Society".

Sexual assault conviction

In November 1993, Shakur and three other men were charged in New York with sexually assaulting a woman in her hotel room. The woman, Ayanna Jackson, alleged that after performing consensual oral sex on Shakur in her hotel room, she returned a day later but was raped by him and other men. During an interview on The Arsenio Hall Show, Shakur said he was hurt that "a woman accused me of taking something from her."

On December 1, 1994, denying that he himself raped her, Shakur was found guilty of first-degree sexual assault, but was acquitted of associated sodomy and weapons charges. In February 1995, he was sentenced from eighteen months to four and a half years in prison by a judge who alleged that it was "an act of brutal violence against a defenseless woman". On October 12, 1995, pending judicial appeal, Shakur was released from the Clinton Correctional Center after Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records, agreed to post his $1.4 million bail. On April 5, 1996, Shakur was sentenced to 120 days in jail for violating his terms of release after failing to report for a job cleaning roads. But on June 8, his sentence was stayed on pending appeals in other cases.

90s New York Scene

In 1991, 2Pac debuted on the new record label Interscope Records, which knew little about rap. Until that year, it was Ruthless Records, the label formed in 1986 in Compton, Los Angeles County, that had prioritized rap, and its group N.W.A. it had driven gangsta rap to platinum sales. But N.W.A.'s outrageously violent lyrics impeded a mainstream breakthrough. On the other hand, New York City label Profile Records, also specializing in rap, had a pop breakthrough in 1986: Run-D.M.C.'s "Walk This Way". In April 1991, N.W.A. was dissolved by Dre, who after his departure founded Death Row Records with Suge Knight in the city of Los Angeles. With its first two albums, Death Row became the first record label that, in addition to prioritizing rap, regularly released pop hits within the genre.

Dre's The Chronic album released by Death Row in late 1992—with its "Nuthin';" but a 'G' Thang" — ubiquitous on pop radio and the Grammy-winning "Let Me Ride" — was followed by Snoop Dogg's Doggystyle in late 1993. None other than the Doggystyle i>gangsta rap first propelled the West Coast ahead of New York in the mainstream rap scene. Meanwhile, in 1993, Andre Harrell of Uptown Records in New York fired his star man from A&R, Sean Puff Daddy Combs, later known as P. Diddy. Puffy, while leaving behind notable R&B projects Jodeci and Mary J. Blige, incorporated his own new record label, Bad Boy Entertainment, to up-and-coming gangsta rapper Biggie Smalls, who would soon also be known as The Notorious B.I.G. His debut album, released in late 1994 as Ready to Die, quickly brought rap's attention back to New York.

Rap World

Stretch and Live Squad

In 1988, Randy Stretch Walker along with his brother, nicknamed Majesty, and a friend, debuted with an EP as a rap group and production team, under the name Live Squad, in Queens, New York. During his early days with Digital Underground, Shakur met Stretch, who had featured on a song from the group's 1991 album Sons of the P. After becoming fast friends, Shakur and Stretch recorded and performed together often. Both Stretch and the Live Squad contributed tracks on 2Pac's first two albums, first in November 1991, then in February 1993, and on 2Pac's side group's only album, Thug Life, released in September 1993. 1994.

The end of the friendship between Shakur and Stretch in late 1994 shocked the New York rap scene. 2pac's follow-up album, released in March 1995, does not feature Stretch, and the follow-up album in February from 1996, has lines suggesting Stretch's imminent death for treason. No objective public evidence would emerge to tangibly incriminate Stretch for the shooting of Shakur, who was with Stretch and two others, on November 30, 1994 at 12:30 AM. m. approximately. In any case, following a Live Squad production session for the Queens rapper's second album, Nas, Stretch's vehicle was chased and fatally shot around 12:30am. m. on November 30, 1995.

Biggie and Junior M.A.F.I.A.

Between 1993 and 1994, Biggie Smalls contributed verses to several guest singles, often R&B, such as "What's the 411? Remix »by Mary J. Blige, creating great expectations for her debut album. The perfectionism of Puffy, who was still forming his Bad Boy label, extended the recording to 18 months. In 1993, when he visited Los Angeles, Biggie asked a local drug dealer to introduce him to Shakur, who then welcomed him and his friends to his home, treating them to food, marijuana and entertainment. Biggie would stay at Shakur's house during his subsequent visits to Los Angeles, and when Shakur went to New York, he would visit Brooklyn and spend time with Biggie and his circle.

In this period, Shakur would invite Biggie on stage during his live shows to rap with him and Stretch. They recorded the songs "Runnin'" together. from the Police" and "House of Pain." Reportedly, Biggie asked Shakur to represent him, but Shakur advised him that Puffy would make him a star. Meanwhile, Shakur's lifestyle was comparatively lavish, while Biggie seemed to keep wearing the same pair of boots for perhaps a year. Shakur welcomed Biggie to join his secondary group Thug Life, but Biggie would instead form his own secondary group, Junior M.A.F.I.A., with his friends from Brooklyn Lil & # 39; Cease and Lil' Kim, in Bad Boy.

Underworld

Despite the "bizarre" episode of Stretch's shooting death, there is a theory that Ronald Tenad Washington was the perpetrator of this and the murder of Jam Master Jay of Run- D.M.C. in 2002. According to the unverified theory, Kenneth Supreme McGriff would have punished the rap mentor for having recorded 50 Cent -despite having forbidden it-, after the young rapper's 1999 song "Ghetto Qu'ran" mentioned the activities of Supreme's drug gang in Queens, known as "Supreme Team". Supreme was more of a friend of Irv Gotti, co-founder of Murder Inc Records, whose rapper Ja Rule would vie for a place among New York rappers. following Biggie's death in a Los Angeles shooting in March 1997.

Haitian Jack

By some accounts, the role of Birdie, played by Shakur in the 1994 film Above the Rim, had been modeled on New York underworld thug Jacques Haitian Jack Agnant, a manager and promoter of rappers. Shakur reportedly met him at a Queens nightclub, where, noticing him among women and champagne, Shakur asked for an introduction. Apparently, Biggie advised Shakur to avoid it, but Shakur ignored the warning.

In November 1993, Shakur received a visit from a woman in his Manhattan hotel room. Shortly thereafter, the woman alleged that she had been sexually assaulted by him and three other men at the venue: her tour manager, 24-year-old Charles Fuller, one Ricardo Brown, 30, and one "Nigel", who would later be understood as Haitian Jack. In November 1994, Jack's case was cleared and closed with a misdemeanor plea without incarceration. In 2007, he would be deported for shooting someone. However, in November 1994, A. J. Benza reported in the Daily News from New York that Shakur had spoken of Jack in unfriendly terms.

Jimmy Henchman

Through Haitian Jack, Shakur met James Jimmy Henchman Rosemond, another formidable underworld figure turned music manager. Bryce Wilson's group Groove Theory were one of his first clients. The Game and Gucci Mane were later clients. In 1994, a lesser-known client, signed to Uptown Records, was rapper Little Shawn, a friend of Biggie and Lil' Stop. Eventually, Jack and Henchman would get into a fight, allegedly shooting each other in Miami. Henchman would be sentenced to life in prison for his large drug ring. But allegedly, in the early 1990s, Jack and Henchman shared interests, including a specialty in robbing and extorting music artists.

Shooting against Shakur

November 1994

On November 29, 1994, Shakur was in New York City recording verses for a Ron G mixtape. He was distracted several times by calls from music manager James Jimmy Henchman i> Rosemond, who had reportedly offered him $7,000 to stop by Quad Studios in Times Square that night and record a verse for his client Little Shawn. Shakur was wary, but since he needed money to offset his legal costs every older time accepted the job. Arriving in the studio lobby with Stretch and one or two other subjects, three men started an armed robbery and Shakur was shot after resisting. After the incident, Shakur speculated that the main motive for the assault was to shoot him.

Three hours after surgery, Shakur was released from Bellevue Hospital Center against doctor's orders. The next day, blindfolded and in a wheelchair, he received the jury's verdict in a Manhattan courtroom in his ongoing criminal case for the incident that occurred in his hotel room in November 1993: he was convicted of three counts of sexual assault and acquitted of six other charges, including sodomy and possession of weapons.

In an interview conducted by Vibe magazine in 1995, Shakur accused, among others, Sean Combs, Jimmy Henchman, and Biggie of organizing or knowing about the robbery and shooting of November 1994. Vibe revealed the names of the defendants. When Biggie's entourage descended the stairs, Shakur was being carried on a stretcher while giving onlookers the finger.

In March 2008, Chuck Philips reported in the Los Angeles Times on an alleged ordered hit on Shakur. The newspaper retracted the article, as it was based in part on FBI documents—which it later emerged that they were fakes—supplied by a man convicted of fraud. In June 2011, Dexter Isaac, a convicted murderer incarcerated in Brooklyn, confessed that he had been one of the muggers who, on Henchman's orders, had robbed and shot to Shakur. Philips then named Isaac as one of his own anonymous sources for the retracted article.

Shakur became convinced that Stretch was aware of the impending coup. Present during its course, Stretch had shown unusual tolerance and exemption according to Shakur. But Shakur instead accused James Jimmy Henchman Rosemond of organizing the coup. In addition, Shakur was convinced that the inner circle of the Bad Boy record label was aware, especially its star rapper Christopher Biggie Wallace and label boss Sean Puffy Combs, who apparently they were his friends.

Death Row signs with Shakur

In 1995, Shakur, who was incarcerated, broke, and with his mother about to lose their home, asked his wife Keisha Morris to contact Marion Suge Knight, the head of Death Row Records in Los Angeles.. Shakur was reportedly promptly given $15,000. After a visit to the Clinton Correctional Center in upstate New York in August, Suge traveled to New York City to join Death Row's entourage for the second annual induction ceremony. the Source Awards. Already known for his intimidation tactics in the Los Angeles rap scene, Suge used his brief time on stage to primarily disparage Sean Puff Daddy Combs, head of Bad Boy Entertainment—the label then leading the New York rap scene—who regularly performed with his own artists. Before closing with a brief comment in support of Shakur, Suge invited artists seeking the spotlight to join Death Row. Eventually, Puff remembered that to avoid severe retaliation from his Bad Boy orbit, he quickly confronted Suge, whose response—referring to Jermaine Dupri of So So Def Recordings in Atlanta—was positive enough. political as to appease the conflict.

Even so, among the fans, the previously diffuse rivalry between America's only two rap scenes had instantly flared up. And while in New York, Suge visited Uptown Records, where Puff, under the management its founder Andre Harrell, had gotten his start in the music business through an internship. Apparently without paying Uptown, Suge obtained releases from Puff's top recruits at the label, Jodeci, his producer DeVante Swing, and Mary J. Blige, and all of them signed to Suge's management company. On September 24, 1995, during a party for Jermaine Dupri at the Platinum House nightclub in Atlanta, a Bad Boy circle got into a heated dispute with Suge. and his friend Jai Hassan-Jamal Big Jake Robles, a member of the Bloods gang and Death Row bodyguard. According to eyewitnesses, including a Fulton County sheriff who worked as a bouncer for the club nocturnal, puff h He had had a heated argument with Suge inside the club, and several minutes later, outside the club, it was Puff's childhood friend and bodyguard, Anthony Wolf Jones, who reportedly pointed a gun at Big Jake and shot him. fatally while getting into Suge's car.

Puff's lawyers and his bodyguard denied any involvement of their clients, while Puff added that he had not even been with his bodyguard that night. More than twenty years later, the case remains officially unsolved. However, Suge immediately and persistently blamed Puff, cementing the feud between the two bosses whose record labels dominated the two main centers of the rap genre. would dispel the East-West paradigm. But in the meantime, in October 1995 Suge again visited Shakur in prison in violation of his probation. Suge posted US$1.4 million bail for Shakur, who, on appeal by his December 1994 sentence still pending, he returned to Los Angeles and joined Death Row. On June 4, 1996, the B-side "Hit 'Em Up" by 2Pac was released. In this venomous tirade, the self-proclaimed "Bad Boy Killer" threatened violent revenge on all things Bad Boy—Biggie, Puffy, Junior M.A.F.I.A., and company—and anyone in the New York rap scene, such as the duo rapper Mobb Deep and rapper Chino XL, had allegedly spoken against him during the dispute.

Murder

East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane, where the murder occurred.

On the evening of September 7, 1996, Shakur was in Las Vegas, Nevada, celebrating the birthday of his business partner Tracy Danielle Robinson, and attended the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson at the MGM Grand. Later, someone in his group saw Orlando Baby Lane Anderson, an alleged Southside Compton Crip member, in the lobby, whom he accused of recently trying to wrest the Death Row Records medallion chain from his neck in a shopping mall. Surveillance footage from the hotel shows the resulting assault on Anderson. Following the incident, Shakur stopped by his hotel room and then drove with Knight to the Death Row nightclub, Club 662, in a black BMW 750iL sedan, forming part of a larger convoy.

At around 11:00 p.m., police officers on bicycles stopped the vehicle on Las Vegas Boulevard for loud music and missing license plates. These were found in the trunk, so he was released without a ticket. At approximately 11:15 a.m., while stopped at a traffic light, a late-model white Cadillac four-door sedan pulled up to the right side of the vehicle. of Knight, and an occupant who was on board quickly fired at Shakur, who received four bullet wounds, one in the arm, one in the thigh, and two in the chest; one of the bullets entered his right lung. The fragments struck Knight in the head. Shakur's bodyguard, Frank Alexander, who was not in the vehicle, had been tasked, according to him, with driving the vehicle of Shakur's girlfriend, Kidada Jones.

Shakur was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada heavily sedated and placed on life support. Later, to avoid harmful involuntary reactions, he was placed in a barbiturate-induced coma. On the afternoon of September 13, 1996, Shakur died of internal bleeding in the intensive care unit. He was pronounced dead at 4: 3 pm The official causes of death were respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest associated with multiple gunshot wounds. Shakur's body was cremated the following day. The Outlawz members, mindful of a line from their song "Black Jesus" and not sure the artist's intent had a literal meaning, opted to take the request seriously and smoked some of the ashes from his body after mixing it with marijuana.

In 2011, through the Freedom of Information Act, FBI documents revealed their investigation of the Jewish Defense League for making death threats against Shakur and other rappers. In 2002, investigative journalist Chuck Philips reported in the Los Angeles Times, after a year of work, that Anderson, a Southside Compton Crip who had been attacked by Suge and Shakur's entourage at the MGM Hotel after the boxing match, had been the perpetrator of the fatal shots; but that Las Vegas police had interviewed him only once, briefly, before his death in an unrelated shooting. The 2002 Philips article also alleges the involvement of Christopher "The Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and several of the New York criminal underworld. Both Anderson and Wallace denied involvement, while Wallace offered a confirmed alibi. Music journalist John Leland qualified the evidence in the New York Times as "inconclusive".

Legacy and memory

Statue of Shakur at the entrance of the museum MARTa, Herford, Germany.

Monument of Tupac shakur; In the USA. U.S.

In 2007, the online rap magazine AllHipHop held a panel discussion where, among several New York rappers, Cormega cited his experience touring with New York rap duo Mobb Deep, giving a broad assessment: “Biggie ran New York. 'Pac ran America. /i>, where Shakur is listed at number 86, and assessed: "Every rapper who grew up in the '90s owes something to Tupac. He didn't sound like anyone who came before him." Dotdash, formerly About.com, while ranking him fifth among the greatest rappers, notes: "Tupac Shakur is the most influential hip-hop artist of all time.. Even in death, 2Pac is still a transcendental figure in rap." However, to some, he was a "father figure" who, according to rapper YG, "makes you want to improve, on every level."

According to music journalist Chuck Philips, the late artist "had helped elevate rap from a gritty street fad to a complex art form, setting the stage for the current global phenomenon of hip-hop." Philips further writes, "The murder silenced one of the most eloquent voices in modern music: a ghetto poet whose stories of urban alienation captivated young people of all races and backgrounds." perceived as a martyr, despite their questionable conduct, Michael Eric Dyson admits that "diminishing the martyr makes it cheaper to use". of Tupac in the eyes of those who have been let down by the more traditional martyrs." Or more simply, his posthumously published writings inspired the YG rapper to go back to school and earn his GED.

Afeni Shakur

In 1997, Shakur's mother founded the Shakur Family Foundation—later renamed the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, or TASF—and was launched with the stated mission of “providing training and support to students who aspire to improve their creative talents.” TASF sponsors writing contests, charity events, a teen performing arts camp, and undergraduate scholarships. In June 2005, TASF opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, or TASCA, in Stone Mountain, Georgia, which operated until August 2015. Afeni is also the narrator of the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, released in November 2003 and nominated for Best Documentary at the 2005 Academy Awards. Meanwhile, Forbes ranked Tupac Shakur 10th among the highest-earning dead celebrities of 2002, and Afeni Shakur launched the Makaveli Branded Clothing line in 2003.

Academic assessment

Tupac Shakur graphite drawing wearing a sweatshirt.

In late 1997, the University of California at Berkeley offered the student-led course "History 98: Tupac Shakur's Poetry and History". However, in April 2003, Harvard University co-sponsored the symposium "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero» All Eyes on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero. The works featured cover his wide-ranging influence from entertainment to sociology. English scholar Mark Anthony Neal called him a "Thug Nigga Intellectual", or "organic intellectual", and assessed his death as a "leadership vacuum among hip-hop artists", since this "walking contradiction" helps, Neal explained, to "to make an intellectual accessible to common people". Tracing Shakur's mythical status, Murray Forman spoke of him as an "O.G." or "Ostensibly Gone" among fans, who have managed to "resurrect Tupac as an ethereal life force" through digital media. Music scholar Emmett Price called him a "black folk hero" and tracked his character to the tricksters of American black folklore who, after abolition, evolved into the urban "bad man." However, in Shakur's "terrible sense of urgency", Price instead identified a quest to "unify mind, body and spirit".

Graphitis of Tupac Shakur

East Harlem, New York

Ipanema, Rio de Janeiro

Carmagnola, Italy

Multimedia releases

In 2005, Death Row released the DVD, Tupac: Live at the House of Blues, their last live performance occurring on July 4, 1996. In August 2006, a “ interactive biography” by Jamal Joseph, Tupac Shakur Legacy, featuring never-before-seen family photos, intimate stories, and more than twenty tear-off copies of his handwritten lyrics, contracts, screenplays, poetry, and other documents. In 2006, the posthumous album Pac & # 39; s Life was released and, like its predecessor, it was among the most popular releases in the recording industry.In 2008, the estate of him gained around of US$15 million.

In 2014, BET explained that “his confusing mix of womanizer, thug, revolutionary, and poet has forever altered our perception of what a rapper should look like, sound like, and act like. Whether it's 50 Cent, Ja Rule, Lil Wayne, newcomers like Freddie Gibbs and even Biggie, his friend turned rival, it's easy to see that Pac is the most copied MC of all. the times. There are murals with his image in New York, Brazil, Sierra Leone, Bulgaria and many other places; he even has statues in Atlanta and Germany. Simply put, no other rapper has captured the world's attention like Tupac did and continues to do."

On April 15, 2012, rappers Snoop Dogg and Dr. Dre performed alongside a 2Pac hologram at the Coachella Music Festival and performed the 2Pac songs "Hail Mary" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted". as a partially virtual trio. There was talk of a tour, but Dre refused. Billboard 200 pop albums, returned to the chart and peaked at number 129, while 2Pac's other albums and singles also made sales gains. Additionally, in early 2015, the Grammy Museum opened an exhibit dedicated to Tupac Shakur.

Cinema and theater

In 2008, the play Holler If Ya Hear Me, based on Shakur's lyrics, ran on Broadway, but it only lasted six weeks among the best-selling Broadway musicals of recent years. years. In December 2015, a Tupac biopic that had been in development since 2013, All Eyez on Me, began filming in Atlanta. Tupac Shakur's 46th issue, albeit to generally negative reviews. In August 2019, a docuseries directed by Allen Hughes, Outlaw: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur, was announced.

Awards and Honors

In 2003, MTV viewers voted 2Pac the best MC. In 2005, Vibe magazine received a user inquiry on their message boards online for the "Top 10 Greatest of All Time". The Vibe staff, then, "ranking, averaging and expending a lot of energy", resolved that "Tupac comes in first". In 2006, the MTV staff ranked him second. In 2012, The Source magazine ranked him fifth in their ranking of the best lyricists of of all time. In 2010, Rolling Stone ranked him number 86 on the "100 Greatest Artists".

In 2007, the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ranked All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World at number 90 and 170 on their selection of "Ultimate 200 Albums"; a choice that has incidentally upset some. In 2009, the Vatican added the posthumous 1998 song "Changes" to its online playlist and received praise. On June 23 In 2010, the Library of Congress submitted "Dear Mama" to the National Recording Registry; making it the third rap song, after Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy, to reach there.

In 2002, Tupac Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. Two years later, the cable music television channel, VH1, held its first Hip Hop Honors, honoring: "2Pac, Run-DMC, DJ Hollywood, Kool Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Rock Steady Crew, Sugarhill Gang". On December 30, 2016, during his first year of eligibility, Tupac was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, and on the following April 7 he was among five inductees.

Discography

Studio Albums

• 1991: 2Pacalypse Now
• 1993: Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
• 1995: Me Against the World
• 1996: All Eyez on Me

Posthumous albums

• 1996: The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (like Makaveli)
• 1997: R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
• 2001: Until the End of Time
• 2002: Better Dayz
• 2004: Loyal to the Game
• 2006: Pac's Life

Collaborative Albums

• 1994: Thug Life: Volume 1 (with Thug Life)

Posthumous Collaboration Albums

• 1999: Still I Rise (with Outlawz)

Filmography

Movies

Biographical representations in the cinema

Documentaries

Shakur's life has been explored in several documentaries; each trying to capture the many different events that took place during his short life. The most notable has been Tupac: Resurrection, released in 2003 and nominated for an Oscar.

• 1997: Tupac Shakur: Thug Immortal
• 1997: Tupac Shakur: Words Never Die (TV)
• 2001: Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake...
• 2001: Welcome to Deathrow
• 2002: Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel
• 2002: Biggie & Tupac
• 2002: Tha Westside
• 2003: 2Pac 4 Ever
• 2003: Tupac: Resurrection
• 2004: Tupac vs.
• 2004: Tupac: The Hip Hop Genius (TV)
• 2006: So Many Years, So Many Tears
• 2007: Tupac: Assassination
• 2009: Tupac: Assassination II: Reckoning
• 2010: 2Pac Shakur: Shakurspeare
• 2013: Lokotam Hildrid II
• 2015: Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders
• 2017: Who killed Tupac?
• 2017: Who Shot Biggie & Tupac?
• 2018: Unsolved: Murders of Biggie and Tupac?
• 2020: Who killed Tupac? (TV: A fakeE)
• 2021: Unnecessary Stories, with Damian Kuc ⋅ Who Killed Tupac? (History Latin America)