Tupac Amaru Shakur(/ˈtuːpɑːkʃəˈkʊər/ⓘTOO-pahk shə-KOOR; bornLesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names2PacandMakaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Considered to be one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time,[2][3][4]academics regard him as one of the most influential music artists of the 20th century and a prominent political activist forBlack America.[5][6]In addition to his music career, Shakur also wrote poetry and had numerous starring roles in movies. Shakur is among thebest-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide.[7]His lyrical content has been noted for addressing social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of otherAfrican-Americans,[8][9]but he was also synonymous withgangsta rapand violent lyrics.[10]
Shakur's double-length posthumous album Greatest Hits (1998) is one of his two releases—and one of only nine hip hop albums—to have been certified Diamond in the United States.[20]Five more albums have been released since Shakur's death, including his critically acclaimed posthumous album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996)[21] under his stage name Makaveli, all of which have been certified multi-platinum in the United States.[22] In 2002, Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame.[23] In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.[24]Rolling Stone ranked Shakur among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[25] In 2023, he was awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.[26] His influence in music, activism, songwriting, and other areas of culture has been the subject of academic studies.[27][28]
Early life
East Harlem, the neighborhood of New York City where Shakur was born
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City.[29][30][31][32] While born Lesane Parish Crooks, at age one he was renamed Tupac Amaru Shakur.[33][34][35][36] He was named after Túpac Amaru II, a descendant of the last Incan ruler, who was executed in Peru in 1781 after his revolt against Spanish rule.[37] Shakur's mother Afeni Shakurexplained, "I wanted him to have the name of revolutionary, indigenous people in the world. I wanted him to know he was part of a world culture and not just from a neighborhood."[33] Tupac's surname came from Lumumba Shakur, a Sunni Muslim, whom his mother married in November 1968. Their marriage fell apart when it was discovered that Lumumba was not Tupac's biological father.[38][39][40]
Shakur had an older stepbrother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, and a half-sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, two years his junior.[41]
Panther heritage
Shakur's parents, Afeni Shakur—born Alice Faye Williams in North Carolina—and his biological father, William "Billy" Garland, had been active Black Panther Party members in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[42] A month before Shakur's birth, his mother was tried in New York City as part of the Panther 21 criminal trial. She was acquitted of over 150 charges.[43][44]
Shakur's godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high-ranking Black Panther, was wrongly convicted of murdering a schoolteacher during a 1968 robbery. After he spent 27 years in prison, his conviction was overturned due to the prosecution's having concealed evidence that proved his innocence.[46][47]
In the 1980s, Shakur's mother found it difficult to find work and she struggled with drug addiction.[50] In 1984, his family moved from New York City to Baltimore, Maryland.[51] Beginning in 1984 when Shakur was 13, he lived in the Pen Lucyneighborhood with his mother and younger sister at 3955 Greenmount Ave.[52] The home was a two-story rowhouse that had been subdivided into two separate rental units; the Shakur family lived on the first floor.[53] After his death, the block was renamed "Tupac Shakur Way."[54]
At the Baltimore School for the Arts, Shakur befriended actress Jada Pinkett, who became a subject of some of his poems.[58] With his friend Dana "Mouse" Smith as beatbox, he won competitions for the school's best rapper.[59] Also known for his humor, he could mix with all crowds.[60] He listened to a diverse range of music that included Kate Bush, Culture Club, Sinéad O'Connor, and U2.[61]
Shakur began recording under the stage name MC New York in 1989.[72] That year, he began attending the poetry classes of Leila Steinberg, and she soon became his manager.[73][67]Steinberg organized a concert for Shakur and his rap group Strictly Dope. Steinberg managed to get Shakur signed by Atron Gregory, manager of the rap group Digital Underground.[67] In 1990, Gregory placed him with the Underground as a roadie and backup dancer.[67][74]
At the request of Steinberg, Digital Underground co-founder Jimi "Chopmaster J" Dright worked with Shakur, Ray Luv and Dize, a DJ, on their earliest studio recordings. Dright recalls that Shakur did not work well as part of a group, and added, "this guy was on a mission. From day one. Maybe he knew he wasn't going to be around seven years later."[75]
From 1988 to 1991, Dright and Digital Underground produced Shakur's earliest work with his crew at the time, Strictly Dope.[76] The recordings were rediscovered in 2000 and released as The Lost Tapes: Circa 1989.[77] Afeni Shakur sued to stop the sale of the recordings but the suit was settled in June 2001 and rereleased as Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988–1991.[77][78]
Shakur's early days with Digital Undergroundmade him acquainted with Randy "Stretch" Walker, who along with his brother, dubbed Majesty, and a friend debuted with an EP as a rap group and production team, Live Squad, in Queens, New York.[79] Stretch was featured on a track of the Digital Underground's 1991 album Sons of the P. Becoming fast friends, Shakur and Stretch recorded and performed together often.[79]
Shakur's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now—alluding to the 1979 film Apocalypse Now—arrived in November 1991. Some prominent rappers—like Nas, Eminem, Game, and Talib Kweli—cite it as an inspiration.[80] Aside from "If My Homie Calls", the singles "Trapped" and "Brenda's Got a Baby" poetically depict individual struggles under socioeconomic disadvantage.[81]
U.S. Vice President Dan Quayle said, "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society." Tupac, finding himself misunderstood,[57] explained, in part:
I just wanted to rap about things that affected young black males. When I said that, I didn't know that I was gonna tie myself down to just take all the blunts and hits for all the young black males, to be the media's kicking post for young black males.[82][83]
2Pacalypse Now was certified Gold, half a million copies sold. The album addresses urban Black concerns said to remain relevant to the present day.[67]
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Tupac Amaru Shakur
