Tupac Shakur (1971 - 1996) was an American rapper, songwriter and actor who became one of the best-selling and most widely studied artists in hip hop. [1] Recording as 2Pac and later as Makaveli, he released albums including Me Against the World (1995) and All Eyez on Me (1996) that paired vivid accounts of urban poverty and violence with political commentary. [2] He was shot in Las Vegas in September 1996 and died six days later at the age of 25.
Early life and education
Born Lesane Parish Crooks in East Harlem, New York, on 16 June 1971, he was renamed Tupac Amaru Shakur as a child after the eighteenth-century Andean leader Túpac Amaru II. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was a member of the Black Panther Party who had been acquitted in the Panther 21 conspiracy trial shortly before his birth, and the family's political history shaped his later work. [1]
The family moved to Baltimore, where he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, studying acting, poetry and ballet. A further move took him to Marin City, California, and Tamalpais High School. He did not complete a diploma, and by his late teens was writing and performing his own material.
Recording career
Shakur joined the Oakland group Digital Underground as a dancer and roadie, appearing on their 1991 track "Same Song" before releasing his debut solo album, 2Pacalypse Now, later that year. Its unflinching treatment of police violence and poverty drew political criticism but established his voice. Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. followed in 1993, yielding the hits "Keep Ya Head Up" and "I Get Around". [2]
Me Against the World, released in March 1995 while he was serving a prison sentence, entered the Billboard 200 at number one. After his release he signed with Death Row Records and issued All Eyez on Me (1996), a double album that sold in the millions and produced "California Love" and "How Do U Want It". A final album recorded under the name Makaveli, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, appeared posthumously in November 1996. [3]
Acting and public profile
Shakur built a parallel screen career, appearing in Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993) opposite Janet Jackson, Above the Rim (1994) and Gridlock'd (1997). Critics noted the naturalism of his performances, and further roles had been planned at the time of his death.
His public life was also marked by repeated conflict with the law. He was shot and robbed in a New York recording studio lobby in November 1994, and in 1995 was convicted of sexual abuse and served time in prison, from which he was released on bail pending appeal. The period was dominated by a bitter and heavily publicised rivalry between artists associated with the East and West Coast hip hop scenes. [1]
Death and legacy
On 7 September 1996 Shakur was shot several times in a drive-by attack on the Las Vegas Strip. He died at the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada on 13 September 1996. The case remained unsolved for decades and has been the subject of extensive investigation and speculation.
Posthumous releases have kept his catalogue among the best-selling in hip hop, with worldwide sales estimated at more than 75 million records. [2] He was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2017 and received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2023, and his lyrics are widely taught in university courses on American literature, race and popular culture. [3]
