Tupac was born, Lesane Parish Crooks on June 16, 1971, in Harlem, NYC. After joining the Black Panther Party, his mother changed his name to Tupac Amaru Shakur. As a child, his family struggled with money, and eventually, the family moved to Baltimore. In Baltimore, he attended the prestigious Baltimore School of the Arts, where he succeeded academically and felt the freest.
Tupac was a world-renowned hip-hop artist, but his interest in the arts spread beyond just rap. Tupac listened to a variety of artists and genres and participated in theatre productions. Tupac also loved poetry. He constantly wrote poetry, almost obsessively.
After crime began to take over the community, his family moved to California, leading him to eventually join the East Coast vs. West Coast rap feud. Tupac became part of the group, Digital Underground, and performed on two of their albums, but his solo career is where Tupac really soared.
In 1991, Tupac released his first studio album, 2Pacalypse Now, which was beyond different from his work with Digital Underground. His albums, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., Me Against The World, and All Eyez On Me, followed with commercial success. During his career, Tupac also tried his hand at acting, starring in films like Juice and Poetic Justice.
Tupac adopted the stage name 2Pac and joined the gangsta rap subgenre amongst fellow rappers like N.W.A. and Public Enemy. In addition to gangsta rap, he often used his music to talk about his mother and promote change, but Tupac often claimed that he felt completely misunderstood and that his more sensitive music went unnoticed.
Tupac had some legal troubles throughout his career, even spending time in jail, but maintained his fan base. His feud with East Coast rapper, Biggie Smalls, also led to trouble. Tupac claimed that the incident that led to him being shot in a lobby in November 1994 had to do with the rivalry.
On September 7, 1996, while leaving a Las Vegas Casino, Tupac was shot four times when a car pulled up next to them at a stoplight, and someone fired rapidly at the car. The damage was irreversible, and Tupac Shakur was pronounced dead six days later on September 13th at the young age of 25. The murder remains unsolved as of today.
Tupac Shakur remains one of the most beloved rappers in history. After his death, a number of studio albums were released. His unique sound and immense creativity cemented his legacy as one of the greatest rappers of all time. He is remembered through his music and appearance in his films.
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Kassidy Garland has had a great appreciation for reading and writing since she was young. She graduated from West Chester University in 2017 with a Bachelor’s Degree in English & Women and Gender Studies. With a concentration in creative writing, Kassidy has 5 years of experience writing blogs, articles, and for social media. Kassidy is also pursuing a Master’s degree in IT with a concentration in Web Development. Based out of Philadelphia, Kassidy loves to write about a number of topics and looks forward to sharing her passion with those at FunTimes Magazine.
