Tupac Amaru Shakur (/ˈtuːpɑːkʃəˈkʊər/ⓘTOO-pahk shə-KOOR; bornLesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names2Pac andMakaveli, was an American rapper and actor. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers of all time, one of the most influential musical artists of the 20th century, and a prominent political activist forBlack America.[1] He is among thebest-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide.[2] Some of Shakur's music addressed social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization ofAfrican Americans,[3][4] but he was also synonymous with gangsta rap and violent lyrics.[5]
Shakur's double-length posthumous albumGreatest 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.[14] Five more albums have been released since Shakur's death, including the acclaimedThe Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996)[15] under the stage name Makaveli, all of which have been certified multi-platinum in the United States.[16] In 2002, Shakur was inducted into theHip-Hop Hall of Fame.[17] In 2017, he was inducted into theRock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.[18]Rolling Stone ranked Shakur among the100 Greatest Artists of All Time.[19] In 2023, he was awarded a posthumous star on theHollywood Walk of Fame.[20] His influence in music, activism, songwriting, and other areas of culture has been the subject of academic studies.[21][22]
Early life
East Harlem, the neighborhood of New York City where Shakur was born
Birth and ancestry
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, inEast Harlem, Manhattan, New York City, toAfeni Shakur andBilly Garland.[23][24][25][26] Born Lesane Parish Crooks, at age one he was renamed Tupac Amaru Shakur.[27][28][29][30] He was named afterTúpac Amaru II, a descendant of the lastInca ruler, who was executed in Peru in 1781 after hisrevolt againstSpanish rule.[31] Shakur's motherAfeni Shakur explained, "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."[27] 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.[32][33][34]
Shakur's parents, Afeni Shakur—born Alice Faye Williams (January 10, 1947 – May 2, 2016) in North Carolina—and his biological father, William "Billy" Garland (born March 14, 1949), had been activeBlack Panther Party members in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s.[35] A month before Shakur's birth, his mother was tried in New York City as part of thePanther 21 criminal trial. She was acquitted of over 150 charges.[36][37]
In the 1980s, Shakur's mother found it difficult to find work and struggled with drug addiction.[45] In 1984, his family moved from New York City toBaltimore, Maryland.[46] Beginning in 1984, when Shakur was 13, he lived in thePen Lucy neighborhood with his mother and younger sister at 3955 Greenmount Ave.[47] The home was a two-storyrowhouse that had been subdivided into two separate rental units; the Shakur family lived on the first floor.[48] After his death, the block was renamed Tupac Shakur Way.[49]
While living in Baltimore, Shakur attended eighth grade at Roland Park Middle School, then ninth grade atPaul Laurence Dunbar High School.[46] He transferred to theBaltimore School for the Arts in the tenth grade, where he studied acting, poetry,jazz, and ballet.[50][51] He performed inShakespeare plays—the themes of which he identified in patterns of gang warfare[52]—and as the Mouse King inThe Nutcracker ballet.[53] At the Baltimore School for the Arts, Shakur befriended actressJada Pinkett, who became the subject of some of his poems ("Jada" and "The Tears in Cupid's Eyes").[54] With his friend Dana "Mouse" Smith as abeatbox, he won competitions for the school's best rapper.[55] Known for his humor, he was popular with all crowds of students.[56] He listened to a diverse range of music that includedKate Bush,Culture Club,Sinéad O'Connor, andU2.[57]
Shakur began recording under the stage name MC New York in 1988.[68] That year, he began attending the poetry classes ofLeila Steinberg, and she soon became his manager.[69][70] 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 groupDigital Underground.[70] In 1990, Gregory placed him with the Underground as aroadie andbackup dancer.[70][71] 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."[72] From 1988 to 1991, Dright and Digital Underground produced Shakur's earliest work with his crew at the time, Strictly Dope.[73] The recordings were rediscovered in 2000 and released asThe Lost Tapes: Circa 1989.[74] Afeni Shakur sued to stop the sale of the recordings but the suit was settled in June 2001 and rereleased asBeginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988–1991.[74][75]
Shakur debuted under the stage name 2Pac onDigital Underground, under a new record label,Interscope Records, on the group's January 1991 single "Same Song". The song was featured on the soundtrack of the 1991 filmNothing but Trouble, starringDan Aykroyd,John Candy,Chevy Chase, andDemi Moore.[70] He also appeared with the group in the film, marking Shakur's first film appearance credited as acameo by the Digital Underground. "Same Song" opened the group's January 1991 EP titledThis Is an EP Release,[70] while Shakur appeared in the music video. Shakur's early days withDigital Underground made him acquainted withRandy "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, inQueens, New York.[76] Stretch was featured on a track of the Digital Underground's 1991 albumSons of the P. Becoming fast friends, Shakur and Stretch recorded and performed together often.[76]
1991-1993:2Pacalypse Now
Shakur's debut album,2Pacalypse Now—alluding to the 1979 filmApocalypse Now—arrived in November 1991. Compared to Digital Underground's works, the album explored contemporary social issues in American society at the time, includingracism,police brutality,poverty,gang violence,teenage pregnancy anddrug abuse.[77][78] The album generated controversy whenRonald Ray Howard murdered aTexas Highway Patrol trooper and his defense attorney claimed he was influenced by2Pacalypse Now and its strong theme ofpolice brutality.[79] U.S. vice presidentDan Quayle criticized the album, making the statement, "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society." Tupac, finding himself misunderstood,[80] 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.[81][82]
In 1992, he starred inJuice, marking Shakur's first acting role, in which he plays the fictional Roland Bishop, a militant and haunting individual.Rolling Stone'sPeter Travers calls him "the film's most magnetic figure".[90] Multiple actors had auditioned for the role of Roland Bishop, but none were considered right for the role.[91] Shakur accompanied Money-B to the audition and asked producerNeal H. Moritz to read.[91] He was given 15 minutes to rehearse before the audition and secured the role.[91]
1993-1994:Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..., film career, and The Notorious B.I.G.
Shakur's second album,Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z..., was released in February 1993.[92] A critical and commercial success, it debuted at No. 24 on the pop albums chart, theBillboard 200.[93] An overall more hardcore album, it emphasizes Tupac's sociopolitical views, and has a metallic production quality. The song "Last Wordz" featuresIce Cube, co-writer ofN.W.A's "Fuck tha Police", who in his own solo albums had newly gone militantlypolitical, andgangsta rapperIce-T, who in June 1992 had sparked controversy with his bandBody Count's track "Cop Killer".[92] The album carries the single "I Get Around", a party anthem featuring Digital Underground'sShock G andMoney-B, which became Shakur's breakthrough, reaching No. 11 on theBillboard Hot 100.[94] The album also carries the optimistic compassion of another hit, "Keep Ya Head Up", an anthem forwomen's empowerment,[95] charting No. 12 on theBillboard Hot 100.[94] The album's fourth and final hit, "Papa'z Song", peaked at No. 87 onBillboard 200.[94] The album was certifiedPlatinum by April 1995, with a million copies sold.[96]
That same year, Shakur starred in his second film role alongsideJanet Jackson inJohn Singleton's romance film,Poetic Justice,[97] and played a gangster called Birdie in the 1994 filmAbove the Rim.[98] A growing film career, he was initially selected for a few films. DirectorAllen Hughes had cast Shakur as Sharif in the 1993 filmMenace II Society but replaced him once Shakur assaulted him on set due to a discrepancy with the script. Nonetheless, in 2013, Hughes appraises that Shakur would have outshone the other actors "because he was bigger than the movie".[99] Singleton initially cast Shakur in his 1995 filmHigher Learning, but was fired because the studio would not finance the film following his arrest.[100][101] He also had Shakur in the lead role as mind in the 2001 filmBaby Boy, a role played byTyrese Gibson.[102] Ultimately, after his death, theset design includes a Shakur mural in the protagonist's bedroom, and the film's score includes Shakur's song "Hail Mary".[103]
Thetest pressing single for "Dear Mama": the Platinum single is among the top-ranked songs in hip-hop history.
In 1993, while visiting Los Angeles,the Notorious B.I.G. asked a local drug dealer to introduce him to Shakur and they quickly became friends.[104] The pair would socialize when Shakur went to New York or B.I.G. to Los Angeles.[104] During this period, at his own live shows, Shakur would call B.I.G. onto stage to rap with him and Stretch.[104] Reportedly, B.I.G. asked Shakur to manage him, whereupon Shakur advised him thatSean Combs would make him a star.[104] Yet in the meantime, Shakur's lifestyle was comparatively lavish to B.I.G. who had not yet established himself.[104] Shakur had a falling out with B.I.G. after Shakur was shot at Quad Studios in 1994.[105]
1995:Me Against the World
Shakur's third album,Me Against the World, was released while he was incarcerated in March 1995.[106] It is now hailed as hismagnum opus, and commonly ranks among the greatest, most influential rap albums.[106] The album debuted at No. 1 on theBillboard 200 and sold 240,000 copies in its first week, setting a then record for highest first-week sales for a solo male rapper.[107][108]
The lead single, "Dear Mama", was released in February 1995 with "Old School" as theB-side.[109] It is the album's most successful single, topping theHot Rap Singles chart, and peaking at No. 9 on theBillboard Hot 100.[9] In July, it was certified Platinum.[110] It ranked No. 51 on theyear-end charts. The second single, "So Many Tears", was released in June 1995,[111] reaching No. 6 on the Hot Rap Singles chart and No. 44 on Hot 100.[9] The final single, "Temptations", was released in August 1995.[112] It reached No. 68 on the Hot 100, No. 35 on theHot R&B/Hip-Hop Singles & Tracks, and No. 13 on the Hot Rap Singles.[9] Several celebrities showed their support for Shakur by appearing in the music video for "Temptations".[113]
Shakur won best rap album at the1996 Soul Train Music Awards.[114] In 2001, it ranked 4th among his total albums in sales, with about 3 million copies sold in the U.S.[115]
1995-1996:All Eyez on Me andTha Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
While Shakur was imprisoned in 1995, his mother was about to lose her house. Shakur had his wife Keisha Morris contactDeath Row Records founderSuge Knight in Los Angeles.[116] Reportedly, Shakur's mother promptly received $15,000.[116] After an August visit toClinton Correctional Facility in northern New York state, Knight traveled southward to New York City to attend the2nd Annual Source Awards ceremony. Meanwhile, anEast Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry was brewing between Death Row andBad Boy Records.[117] In October 1995, Knight visited Shakur in prison again and posted $1.4 million bond.[118] Shakur returned to Los Angeles and joined Death Row with the appeal of his December 1994 conviction pending.[118]
Shakur's fourth album,All Eyez on Me, arrived on February 13, 1996.[119] It was rap's first double album—meeting two of the three albums due in Shakur's contract with Death Row—and bore five singles.[120] The album shows Shakurrapping about the gangsta lifestyle, leaving behind his previous political messages. With standout production, the album has more party tracks and often a triumphant tone.[121] Music journalistKevin Powell noted that Shakur, once released from prison, became more aggressive, and "seemed like a completely transformed person".[122]
As Shakur's second album to hit No. 1 on both theTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and the pop albums chart, theBillboard 200,[121] it sold 566,000 copies in its first week and was it wascertified 5× Multi-Platinum in April.[123] The singles "How Do U Want It" and "California Love" reached No. 1 on theBillboard Hot 100.[124] Death Row released Shakur's diss track "Hit 'Em Up" as the non-album B-side to "How Do U Want It". In this venomous tirade, the proclaimed "Bad Boy killer" threatens violent payback on all things Bad Boy — B.I.G., Sean Combs, Junior M.A.F.I.A., the company — and on any in the East Coast rap scene, like rap duoMobb Deep and rapperChino XL, who allegedly had commented against Shakur about the dispute.[125] Posthumously,All Eyez on Me won R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year at the1997 Soul Train Music Awards,[126] Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist at the1997 American Music Awards,[127] and the album was certified 9× Multi-Platinum in June 1998,[128] and 10× in July 2014.[129]
At the time of his death, a fifth solo album was already finished,The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, under the stage name Makaveli. It had been recorded during the summer of 1996 and released that year.[130][131] The lyrics were written and recorded in three days, and mixing took another four days. In 2005, MTV.com rankedThe 7 Day Theory at No. 9 among hip-hop's greatest albums ever,[132] and by 2006 a classic album.[133] Its singular poignance, through hurt and rage, contemplation and vendetta, resonate with many fans.[134] According to George "Papa G" Pryce, Death Row Records' then director ofpublic relations, the album was meant to be "underground", and was not intended for release before the artist was murdered.[135][unreliable source?] It peaked at No. 1 onBillboard'sTop R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart and on theBillboard 200,[136] with the second-highest debut-week sales total of any album that year.[137] On June 15, 1999, it was certified 4× Multi-Platinum.[138]
Before and during his hip-hop career, Shakur wrote dozens of poems.[142][143] Some of the most notable are "Can U C The Pride in The Panther", "If I fail", "Family Tree", and "The Rose that grew from the concrete". In 1993 Tupac played a character named "Lucky" in the film titledPoetic Justice alongsideJanet Jackson. Poet and activistMaya Angelou, who worked withMartin Luther King Jr. andMalcolm X during the civil rights movement, wrote the poems used in the 1993 film.[144][145][146]
In April 2022, handwritten poems written by Tupac when he was 11 years old were up for sale for US$300,000 but only sold for $90,000.[147] The poems were forJamal Joseph and three otherBlack Panther Party members while they were incarcerated atLeavenworth Prison. Even at his young age, Shakur's writing dealt with themes such as black liberation, mass incarceration, race, and masculinity. The poems feature a self-portrait of Shakur sleeping, pen in hand, dreaming of the Black Panthers being freed from prison, and signed with a heart and the phrase "Tupac Shakur, Future Freedom Fighter".[148]
In October, 2023, sexually explicit poems he wrote toJada Pinkett Smith while in prison went public in the book "Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography."[149] Pinkett Smith celebrated Shakur's 50th birthday by showing an unreleased poem on Instagram called "Lost Soulz."[150] According toRolling Stone writer Andy Green: "He was also a poet and activist who became one of his era's most revolutionary voices."[151] Tupac had passion for theater and admiration ofWilliam Shakespeare. Years after Tupac's death,Nas said "I put Tupac beyond Shakespeare."[152]
Personal life
Shakur became close friends with Jada Pinkett while attending the Baltimore School for the Arts.[153] He helped Pinkett land her first movie role in the filmMenace II Society (1993).[154] In turn, Pinkett secured Shakur a guest starring role on the sitcomA Different World in 1993.[155][156] She appeared in his music videos "Keep Ya Head Up" and "Temptations".[157][113] She also came up with the concept for his "California Love" music video and had intended to direct it, but removed herself from the project.[158] In 1995, Pinkett contributed $100,000 towards Shakur's bail as he awaited an appeal on his sexual abuse conviction.[159][160] Pinkett later revealed that she turned down hismarriage proposal while he was incarcerated atRikers Island in 1995.[161][162][163] Speaking about Pinkett, Shakur stated: "Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life. We'll be old together. Jada can ask me to do anything and she can have it."[164] Pinkett said Shakur was "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".[165] Shakur befriended Treach when they were both roadies on Public Enemy's tour in 1990.[166] He made a cameo inNaughty by Nature's music video "Uptown Anthem" in 1992.[167] Treach collaborated on Shakur's song "5 Deadly Venomz" and appeared in the music video for Shakur's "Temptations".[113] Treach was also a speaker at a public memorial service for Shakur in 1996.[168]
In 1993, during a police raid of Shakur's room at New York City'sParker Meridian Hotel, a videotape was confiscated which showed Shakur having sex with his then-girlfriend Desiree Smith. Officers were attempting to build their case against Shakur for the allegedsodomy of Ayanna Jackson. In 2022, Smith insisted she was neither underage nor intoxicated at the time of their tryst.[169] In 2011, asex tape featuring Shakur receivingoral sex from a groupie while rapping and dancing along to one of his own unreleased songs, was sold to a private collector. The video, which was filmed in 1993, also features rapperMoney B fromDigital Underground.[170] That same year, on an interview withThe Source, Shakur criticized record producerQuincy Jones for hisinterracial marriage to actressPeggy Lipton.[171] Their daughterRashida Jones responded with an irate open letter.[172] Shakur later apologized to her sisterKidada Jones, whom he began dating in 1996.[173] Shakur and Jones attendedMen's Fashion Week in Milan and walked the runway together for aVersace fashion show.[174] Jones was at their hotel in Las Vegas when Shakur was shot.[175]
After Shakur was shot in 1994, he recuperated at Jasmine Guy's home.[176] They had met during his guest appearance on the sitcomA Different World in 1993.[176] Guy appeared in his music video "Temptations" and later wrote his mother's 2004 biography,Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary.[177][113] In his 1995 interview withVibe magazine, Shakur listedJada Pinkett,Jasmine Guy,Treach andMickey Rourke among the people who were looking out for him while he was in prison.[178] Shakur also mentioned thatMadonna was a supportive friend.[178] Madonna later revealed that they had dated in 1994.[179][180] Shakur and Rourke formed a bond while filming the movieBullet in 1994.[181] Rourke recalled that Shakur "was there for me during some very hard times."[182] On April 29, 1995, Shakur married his girlfriend Keisha Morris, apre-law student.[10][183] Their marriage was annulled ten months later.[183] Shakur had friendships with other celebrities, includingMike Tyson[184]Chuck D,[185]Jim Carrey,[186] andAlanis Morissette. In April 1996, Shakur said that he, Morissette, Snoop Dogg, and Suge Knight were planning to open a restaurant together.[187][188]
Legal issues
1993 shooting in Atlanta
On October 31, 1993, Shakur was arrested in Atlanta for shooting two off-duty police officers, brothers Mark Whitwell and Scott Whitwell.[189] The Atlanta police claimed the shooting occurred after the brothers were almost struck by a car carrying Shakur while they were crossing the street with their wives.[190] As they argued with the driver, Shakur's car pulled up and he shot the Whitwells in the buttocks and the abdomen.[191][192] However, there are conflicting accounts that the Whitwells were harassing a black motorist and uttered racial slurs.[191][190] According to some witnesses, Shakur and his entourage had fired in self-defense as Mark Whitwell shot at them first.[193]
Shakur was charged with two counts of aggravated assault.[189] Mark Whitwell was charged with firing at Shakur's car and later with making false statements to investigators. Scott Whitwell admitted to possessing a gun he had taken from aHenry County police evidence room.[191] Prosecutors ultimately dropped all charges against both parties.[192] Mark Whitwell resigned from the force seven months after the shooting.[193] Both brothers filed civil suits against Shakur; Mark Whitwell's suit was settled out of court, while Scott Whitwell's $2 million lawsuit resulted in a default judgment entered against the rapper's estate in 1998.[192]
Sexual assault case, prison sentence, appeal and release
In November 1993, Shakur and two other men were charged in New York withsodomizing a woman in Shakur's hotel room. The woman, Ayanna Jackson, alleged that after she performed oral sex on Shakur at the public dance floor of a Manhattan nightclub, she went to his hotel room on a later day, when Shakur, record executiveJacques "Haitian Jack" Agnant, Shakur's road manager Charles Fuller and an unidentified fourth man apprehended and forced her to perform non-consensual oral sex on each of them.[194][195] Shakur was also charged withillegal possession of a firearm as two guns were found in the hotel room.[196] Interviewed onThe Arsenio Hall Show, Shakur said he was hurt that "a woman would accuse me of taking something from her", as he had been raised in a female household and surrounded by women his whole life.[197]
On December 1, 1994, Shakur was acquitted of three counts of sodomy and the associated gun charges, but convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse for "forcibly touching the woman's buttocks" in his hotel room.[194][198] Jurors have said the lack of evidence stymied a sodomy conviction.[193] Shakur's lawyer characterized the sentence as "out of line" with the groping conviction and the setting of bail at $3 million as "inhumane". Shakur's accuser later filed a civil suit against Shakur seeking $10 million for punitive damages which was subsequentlysettled.[5][199]
After Shakur had been convicted of sexual abuse, Jacques Agnant's case was separated and closed via misdemeanor plea without incarceration.[200][201]A. J. Benza reported inNew York Daily News Shakur's new disdain for Agnant who Shakur theorized had set him up with the case.[200][202] Shakur reportedly believed his accuser was connected to and had sexual relations with Agnant andJames "Henchman" Rosemond, who he considered to be behind the 1994 Quad Studios shooting.[203]
Shakur was unable to post the $3 million bond to keep himself free until sentencing so he surrendered himself to authorities at theBellevue Hospital Jail Ward in New York City on December 23, 1994.[204] At the time, he was still recovering from injuries he received on November 30, when he was shot five times and robbed at Quad Studios.[205] In January 1995, Shakur was moved to the North Infirmary Command (NIC) onRikers Island inthe Bronx.[206] On February 7, 1995, he was sentenced to 18 months to4+1⁄2 years in prison by a judge who decried "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman".[196][207]
By October 1995, pending judicial appeal, Shakur was incarcerated in New York.[160] On October 12, he bonded out of the maximum securityDannemora Clinton Correctional Facility in the process of appealing his conviction,[198] onceSuge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records, arranged for the posting of his $1.4 million bond.[213]
1994 Quad Studios shooting
On November 30, 1994, while in New York recording verses for a mixtape of Ron G, Shakur was repeatedly distracted by his beeper.[214] Music managerJames "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond reportedly offered Shakur $7,000 to stop by Quad Studios, in Times Square, that night to record a verse for his clientLittle Shawn.[200][214] Shakur was unsure, but agreed to the session as he needed the cash to offset legal costs. He arrived with Stretch and one or two others. In the lobby, three men robbed and beat him at gunpoint; Shakur resisted and was shot.[215] Shakur speculated that the shooting had been a set-up.[215][205]
Against medical advice, Shakur checked out ofMetropolitan Hospital Center a few hours after surgery and secretly went to the house of the actressJasmine Guy to recuperate.[176][216] The next day, Shakur arrived at a Manhattan courthouse bandaged in a wheelchair to receive the jury's verdict for his sexual abuse case.[216] Shakur spent the next few weeks being cared for by his mother and a private doctor at Guy's home.[176] TheFruit of Islam and former members of the Black Panther Party stood guard to protect him.[176]
Setup accusations involving the Notorious B.I.G.
In a 1995 interview withVibe, Shakur accusedSean Combs,[217]Jimmy Henchman,[215] and the Notorious B.I.G. – who were at Quad Studios at the time – among others, of setting up or being privy to the November 1994 robbery and shooting.[218] The accusations were significant to the East–West Coast rivalry in hip-hop; in 1995, months after the robbery, Combs and B.I.G. released the track "Who Shot Ya?", which Shakur took as a mockery of his shooting and thought they could be responsible, so he released adiss song, "Hit 'Em Up", in which he targeted B.I.G., Combs,their record label,Junior M.A.F.I.A., and at the end of "Hit 'Em Up", he mentions rivalsMobb Deep andChino XL.[219][220][221][222][223]
In March 2008,Chuck Philips, in theLos Angeles Times, reported on the 1994 ambush and shooting.[224] The newspaper later retracted the article since it relied partially on FBI documents later discovered forged, supplied by a man convicted of fraud.[225] In June 2011, convicted murderer Dexter Isaac, incarcerated in Brooklyn, issued a confession that he had been one of the gunmen who had robbed and shot Shakur at Henchman's order.[226][227][228]
Other criminal or civil cases
1991 Oakland Police Department lawsuit
On October 17, 1991, twoOakland Police Department officers stopped Shakur forjaywalking at a downtown intersection.[229] According to Shakur, officers Alex Boyovic and Kevin Rogers asked him for his ID and pressed him about his name before choking him, throwing him to the ground and slamming his head on the concrete.[230][231] Shakur filed a $10 million lawsuit against the officers forpolice brutality.[229] The case wassettled for about $43,000.[213] It was later revealed that this incident was the onset of Shakur's autoimmune diseasealopecia, which led him to shave his head bald.[232][161]
Misdemeanor assault convictions
On April 5, 1993, charged with felonious assault, Shakur allegedly threw a microphone and swung a baseball bat at rapper Chauncey Wynn, of the group M.A.D., at a concert atMichigan State University. Shakur claimed the bat was a part of his show, that he never swung it, and that there was no criminal intent.[233] Nonetheless, on September 14, 1994, Shakur pleaded guilty to amisdemeanor and was sentenced to 30 days in jail, twenty of them suspended on condition that he complete 35 hours of community service.[234][233]
Slated to star as Sharif in the 1993Hughes Brothers' filmMenace II Society, Shakur was replaced by actor Vonte Sweet after allegedly assaulting one of the film's directors, Allen Hughes. In early 1994, Shakur served 15 days in jail after being found guilty of the assault.[235][236] The prosecution's evidence included aYo! MTV Raps interview in which Shakur boasted that he had "beat up the director ofMenace II Society".[237]
Concealed weapon case
In 1994, Shakur was arrested in Los Angeles, when he was stopped by police on suspicion of speeding. Police found a semiautomatic pistol in the car, a felony offense because a prior conviction in 1993 in Los Angeles for carrying a concealed firearm.[238] On April 4, 1996, Shakur was sentenced to 120 days in jail for violating his release terms and failing to appear for a road cleanup job,[239] but was allowed to remain free awaiting appeal. On June 7, his sentence was deferred via appeals pending in other cases.[240]
1995 wrongful death suit
On August 22, 1992, in Marin City, Shakur performed outdoors at a festival. For about an hour after the performance, he signed autographs and posed for photos. A conflict broke out and Shakur allegedly drew a legally carriedColt Mustang but dropped it on the ground. Shakur claimed that someone with him then picked it up when it accidentally discharged.[241][242]
About 100 yards (90 meters) away in a schoolyard, Qa'id Walker-Teal, a boy aged 6 on his bicycle, was fatally shot in the forehead. Police matched the bullet to a.38-caliber pistol registered to Shakur. His stepbrother Maurice Harding was arrested in suspicion of having fired the gun, but no charges were filed. Lack of witnesses stymied prosecution. In 1995, Qa'id's mother filed awrongful death suit against Shakur, which was settled for about $300,000 to $500,000.[241][242]
C. Delores Tucker lawsuit
Civil rights activist and fierce rap criticC. Delores Tucker sued Shakur's estate in federal court, claiming that lyrics in "How Do U Want It" and "Wonda Why They Call U Bitch" inflicted emotional distress, were slanderous, and invaded her privacy.[243] The case was later dismissed.[244]
EastFlamingo Road and Koval Lane, where the murder occurred
On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur was inParadise, Nevada, to attend theBruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match with Suge Knight at theMGM Grand. Afterward in the lobby one of Knight's associates spottedOrlando Anderson, aSouth Side Compton Crip, and told Shakur he had tried to rob them earlier that year. The hotel'ssurveillance footage shows the ensuing assault on Anderson. Shakur soon stopped by his hotel room and then headed with Knight to his Death Row nightclub, Club 662, in a blackBMW 750iL sedan, part of a larger convoy.[245]
At about 11 p.m. onLas Vegas Boulevard, bicycle-mounted police stopped the car for its loud music and lack oflicense plates. The plates were found in the trunk, and the car was released without a ticket.[246] At about 11:15 p.m. at a stop light, a white, four-door, late-modelCadillac sedan pulled up to the passenger side and an occupant rapidly fired into the car. Shakur was struck four times: once in the arm, once in the thigh, and twice in the chest[247] with one bullet entering his right lung.[248] Shards hit Knight's head. Frank Alexander, Shakur's bodyguard, was not in the car at the time. He would say he had been tasked to drive the car of Shakur's girlfriend,Kidada Jones.[249]
In 2002, investigative journalistChuck Philips,[252][253] after a year of work, reported in theLos Angeles Times that Anderson, a Southside Compton Crip, having been attacked by Suge and Shakur's entourage at the MGM Hotel after the boxing match, had fired the fatal gunshots, but thatLas Vegas Metropolitan Police had interviewed him only once, briefly, before his death in an unrelated shooting. Philips's 2002 article also alleges the involvement ofChristopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace and several within New York City's criminal underworld. Both Anderson and Wallace denied involvement, while Wallace offered a confirmed alibi.[254][unreliable source?] Music journalist John Leland, inThe New York Times, called the evidence "inconclusive".[255]
On July 18, 2023, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department executed asearch warrant in connection with Shakur's murder.[259] On September 29, 2023, theAP reported that Las Vegas Metropolitan Police had arrested a suspect,Duane "Keefe D" Davis, in Shakur's murder. Police had two months previously served a search warrant at his wife's home in the Las Vegas suburb ofHenderson.[260] Davis pleaded not guilty on November 2, 2023, inLas Vegas.[261] As of February 2025, Davis' trial is set to start on February 9, 2026.[262] As of January 2025, Davis remains in prison.[263] On September 3, 2025, Davis was ordered to also serve a 16 to 40 month prison sentence for a separate jailhouse fight-related conviction he received in April 2025.[264][265][266][267]
Artistry
Musical style
Shakur's music and philosophical outlook were deeply influenced by a wide range of American,African American, and global influences, including theBlack Panther Party,black nationalism,egalitarianism, and the concept ofliberty. Moreover, Shakur's artistic sensibilities were enriched by his passion for theater and admiration for the works ofWilliam Shakespeare. Notably, he honed his theatrical skills as a student at theBaltimore School for the Arts, where he delved into the psychological complexities inherent in inter-gang warfare and inter-cultural conflicts, reflecting themes explored in Shakespearean dramas.[268]
Continuing his focus on the social challenges faced by African American people, Shakur's second album featured songs like "The Streetz R Deathrow" and "Last Wordz". Simultaneously, he showcased his compassionate side with the empowering anthem "Keep Ya Head Up", and his legendary intensity with the title track from the albumStrictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... Additionally, he paid homage to his former groupDigital Underground by including them on the playful track "I Get Around". Throughout his career, Shakur's subsequent albums reflected a growing assertiveness in his approach.[11]
Shakur's body of work encompassed contrasting themes, includingsocial inequality,injustice, compassion, playfulness, andhope. These elements continued to shape his artistry, exemplified by his explosive 1995 albumMe Against the World.[14] The release ofAll Eyez on Me in 1996 further solidified his reputation, with tracks like "Ambitionz az a Ridah", "I Ain't Mad at Cha", "California Love", "Life Goes On", and "Picture Me Rollin'" being hailed as classics by critics. Shakur describedAll Eyez on Me as a celebration of life, and the album achieved both critical acclaim and commercial success.[12] According toEminem, Tupac is the greatest songwriter of all time.[269]Nas said in 2002: "I put Tupac beyondShakespeare."[270]
Vocal style
Singers can manipulate different parts of their body to create various sounds. For instance, the "head voice" involves singing high-pitched tones resonating from the head, while the "chest voice" utilizes the chest area.[271] In the documentaryTupac Shakur: Thug Angel,Greg "Shock G" Jacobs, one of Shakur's early producers, discusses how rappers also utilize different bodily areas to project their voices.[271] According to him, "Slick Rick rhymed from the nasal palate, Nas from the back of his throat, and Pac from the pit of his stomach, which is where his power came from."[271] Shakur's influences stemmed from powerful orators likeMartin Luther King Jr. andMalcolm X.[271] Despite not being physically imposing, Shakur's voice carried immense weight and power, reminiscent of these influential speakers.[271]
Shakur was also known for his technique of stacking or layering vocals, adding depth and rawness to his voice.[271] This approach, demonstrated notably on tracks like "Dear Mama" from his 1995 albumMe Against the World, involves overlaying multiple vocal lines to highlight rhythms and emphasize words and phrases.[271] Mastering this technique requires precision to maintain flow and clarity, as heard in the lyrics "and even though I act crazy/I gotta thank the Lord that you made me", where Shakur's voice transitions from full to husky, underscoring the emotional depth of the lyrics.[271] Despite its difficulty, Shakur's background in jazz, poetry, and theater endowed him with exceptional rhythm control, enabling him to layer vocals seamlessly while preserving cohesion and flow.[271]
Legacy and remembrance
A statue of Shakur at theMARTa museum inHerford, Germany
Shakur is considered one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time.[272][273] He was listed as one of the greatest artists of all time byRolling Stone.[274] He is widely credited as an important figure inhip-hop culture, and his prominence inpop culture in general has been noted.[275]Dotdash, formerly About.com, while ranking him fifth among the greatest rappers, nonetheless notes, "Tupac Shakur is the most influential hip-hop artist of all time. Even in death, 2Pac remains a transcendental rap figure."[276] Yet to some, he was a "father figure" who, said rapperYG, "makes you want to be better—at every level."[277] In 2023,Billboard ranked Tupac at number 4 among the top 50 rappers of all time.
AllMusic'sStephen Thomas Erlewine described Shakur as "the unlikely martyr ofgangsta rap", with Shakur paying the ultimate price of a criminal lifestyle. Shakur was described as one of the top two American rappers in the 1990s, along withSnoop Dogg.[278] The online rap magazineAllHipHop held a 2007 roundtable at which New York rappersCormega, citing tour experience with New York rap duoMobb Deep, commented that B.I.G. ran New York, but Shakur ran America.[279] Shakur emerged as a celebrated artist, earning recognition for his astonishingly prolific output and unwavering commitment to his craft.[280] According toRolling Stone writer Andy Green: "He was also a poet and activist who became one of his era's most revolutionary voices."[151]
According to British writer Rob Marriott, he deemed the act of tying abandana into rabbit ears as one of the most distinctive and instantly recognizable style choices in the world ofhip-hop. Regarded as asex symbol, his unique style helped shape the fashion landscape of the 1990s and continues to influence artists and fashion enthusiasts to this day.[283][284]
In 2010, writingRolling Stone magazine's entry on Shakur at No. 86 among the "100 greatest artists", New York rapper50 Cent appraised:
Every rapper who grew up in the Nineties owes something to Tupac. People either try to emulate him in some way, or they go in a different direction because they didn't like what he did. But whatever you think of him, he definitely developed his own style: He didn't sound like anyone who came before him.[285]
According to music journalistChuck Philips, Shakur "had helped elevate rap from a crude street fad to a complex art form, setting the stage for the current global hip-hop phenomenon."[286] Philips writes, "The slaying silenced one of modern music's most eloquent voices—a ghetto poet whose tales of urban alienation captivated young people of all races and backgrounds."[286] Via numerous fans perceiving him, despite his questionable conduct, as amartyr, "the downsizing of martyrdom cheapens its use", academicMichael Eric Dyson concedes.[287] But Dyson adds, "Some, or even most, of that criticism can be conceded without doing damage to Tupac's martyrdom in the eyes of those disappointed by more traditional martyrs."[287]
In 2014,BET explained that "his confounding mixture of ladies' man, thug, revolutionary and poet has forever altered our perception of what a rapper should look like, sound like and act like. In50 Cent,Ja Rule,Lil Wayne, newcomers likeFreddie Gibbs and even his friend-turned-rival B.I.G., it's easy to see that Pac is the most copied MC of all time. There are murals bearing his likeness in New York, Brazil, Sierra Leone, Bulgaria and countless other places; he even has statues in Atlanta and Germany. Quite simply, no other rapper has captured the world's attention the way Tupac did and still does."[288] More simply, his writings, published after his death, inspired rapper YG to return to school and get his GED.[277] In 2020, former California Senator and former vice-presidentKamala Harris called Shakur the "best rapper alive", which she explained as being because "West Coast girls think 2Pac lives on".[289][290] According to writerKevin Powell: "He deserves to be put in the same category asBob Dylan,Bob Marley, asJohn Lennon, in terms of his global impact."[291] Tupac is regarded as one of the most influential artists in music and popular culture in general and an icon of activism.[3]
Palestinian rapperTamer Nafar, leader and a founding member ofDAM, became passionate about hip-hop by listening to Tupac, saying, "The imagery in Shakur's videos was similar to our reality inLod."[292]
Final resting place in Soweto
In 2006, on the 10th anniversary of Tupac Shakur's passing, his ashes were laid to rest inSoweto. Shakur's mother Afeni transported them to the "birthplace of his ancestors" and conducted a memorial service in what's considered as one of the most renownedSouth African townships. Afeni Shakur explained that Soweto had been selected due to its significance as the "birthplace of the South African struggle fordemocracy and againstapartheid." TheCity of Johannesburg Metropolitan Municipality donated a five-acre plot of undeveloped land in theZola area of Soweto to build a memorial honoring Shakur. A portion of the land was designated to be transformed into a park for the benefit of local children as well as aimed at promotingenvironmental education, pathways, orphanages, bridges, skateboard ramps and a golf range while plans also included the construction of anamphitheater and a museum showcasing South African music and arts. The project was funded by Johannesburg city authorities and the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation. The memorial was hosted by South African musician and actorZola 7. SingerMacy Gray and members of the Outlawz were amongst the attendees who paid their respects.[293][294]
Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation
In 1997, Shakur's mother founded the Shakur Family Foundation. Later renamed the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, or TASF, it launched with a stated mission to "provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents."[295] The TASF sponsors essay contests, charity events, a performing arts day camp for teenagers, and undergraduate scholarships. In June 2005, the TASF opened theTupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, or TASCA, inStone Mountain, Georgia. It closed in 2015.[296]
Academic appraisal
In 1997, theUniversity of California, Berkeley, offered a course led by a student titled "History 98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur".[297] In April 2003,Harvard University cosponsored the symposium "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero",[298] where Shakur's influence as both an artist and an activist was analyzed.[299]The papers presented cover his ranging influence from entertainment to sociology.[298] Calling him a "Thug Nigga Intellectual", an "organic intellectual",[300] English scholarMark Anthony Neal assessed his death as leaving a "leadership void amongst hip-hop artists",[301] as this "walking contradiction" helps, Neal explained, "make being an intellectual accessible to ordinary people."[302]
Tracing Shakur'smythical status, Murray Forman discussed him as "O.G.", or "Ostensibly Gone", with fans, using digital mediums, "resurrecting Tupac as an ethereal life force."[303] Music scholar Emmett Price, calling him a "Black folk hero", traced his persona to Black American folklore'stricksters, which, afterabolition, evolved into the urban "bad-man". Yet in Shakur's "terrible sense of urgency", Price identified instead a quest to "unify mind, body, and spirit."[303] According to Price, Tupac had surpassed the legacies ofJohn Coltrane andMahalia Jackson within the tradition of black music.[304]
In 2012, the NorwegianUniversity of Oslo organized the course: "Tupac, hiphop og kulturhistorie (Tupac, hip-hop and cultural history)." As Knut Aukrust, Norwegian professor and academic scholar of cultural studies at the University of Oslo, puts it: "Tupac Amaru Shakur (1971–1996) is one of the most famous and controversial representatives of hip-hop culture. He has become an icon with saint status far beyond his fans. References to him and his message appear all over the world, from Barack Obama's slogan about "changes", to Palestinians and Israelis longing for peace in the Middle East, to the people of Groruddalen who want their experiences to be taken on board serious. The course highlights how a single person can fit into a wider network of cultural models and how a local storytelling tradition has become an international cultural phenomenon."[21]
Jeffrey Ogbonna Green Ogbar, professor of History and Popular Music at theUniversity of Connecticut, described Shakur as "one of the most iconic and influential music artists of the 20th century", and also a "politically conscious activist voice for Black America."[305][291]
In 2005, Death Row released on DVD,Tupac: Live at the House of Blues, his final recorded live performance, an event on July 4, 1996. In August 2006,Tupac Shakur Legacy, an "interactive biography" byJamal Joseph, arrived with previously unpublished family photographs, intimate stories, and over 20 detachable copies of his handwritten song lyrics, contracts, scripts, poetry, and other papers. In 2006, the Shakur albumPac's Life was released and, like the previous, was among the recording industry's most popular releases.[306] In 2008, his estate made about $15 million.[307]
On April 15, 2012, at theCoachella Music Festival, rappers Snoop Dogg andDr. Dre joined a Shakur "hologram" (Although the media referred to the technology as a hologram, technically it was a projection created with theMusion Eyeliner),[308][309][310] and, as a partly virtual trio, performed the Shakur songs "Hail Mary" and "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted".[311][312] There were talks of a tour,[313] but Dre refused.[314] Meanwhile, theGreatest Hits album, released in 1998, and which in 2000 had left the pop albums chart, theBillboard 200, returned to the chart and reached No. 129, while also other Shakur albums and singles drew sales gains.[315]
In 2014, the playHoller If Ya Hear Me, based on Shakur's lyrics, played on Broadway, but, among Broadway's worst-selling musicals in recent years, ran only six weeks.[317] In development since 2013, a Shakur biopic,All Eyez on Me, began filming inAtlanta in December 2015.[318] It was released on June 16, 2017, on Shakur's 46th birthday,[319] albeit to generally negative reviews.
In August 2019, adocuseries directed byAllen Hughes,Outlaw: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur, was announced.[320]
Awards and honors
Tupac Shakur's star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
In 2002, Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. In 2004, Shakur was among the honorees at the firstHip Hop Honors.[321]
In 2006, Shakur's close friend and classmate Jada Pinkett Smith donated $1 million to their high school alma mater, the Baltimore School for the Arts, and named the new theater in his honor.[322][323] In 2021, Pinkett Smith honored Shakur's 50th birthday by releasing a never before seen poem she had received from him.[153]
In 2015, theGrammy Museum opened an exhibition dedicated to Shakur.[327] In his first year of eligibility, Shakur was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on April 7, 2017.[18][328][329]
In January 2022, the exhibitionTupac Shakur: Wake Me When I'm Free opened at The Canvas atL.A. Live in Los Angeles.[330]
Section of MacArthur Boulevard named Tupac Shakur Way
On May 16, 2023, Oakland City Council voted to name the section of MacArthur Boulevard between Grand Avenue and Van Buren Avenue "Tupac Shakur Way".[331]
^Tupac Shakur – Thug Angel (The Life of an Outlaw). 2002.
^abAlexander, Leslie M.; Rucker, Walter C., eds. (February 28, 2010).Encyclopedia of African American History. Vol. 1.ABC-CLIO. pp. 254–257.ISBN9781851097692.
^Edwards, Paul (2009).How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC. Chicago Review Press. p. 330.
^"Afeni Shakur"(PDF). 2Pac Legacy. Archived fromthe original(PDF) on April 9, 2008. RetrievedApril 23, 2008.
^Sullivan, Randall (January 3, 2003).LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal. New York City:Grove Press.ISBN0-8021-3971-X.
^Sullivan, Randall (January 3, 2003).LAbyrinth: A Detective Investigates the Murders of Tupac Shakur and Notorious B.I.G., the Implication of Death Row Records' Suge Knight, and the Origins of the Los Angeles Police Scandal. New York City:Grove Press.ISBN0-8021-3971-X.
^Golus, Carrie (December 28, 2006).Tupac Shakur. Lerner Publications.ISBN9780822566090.Archived from the original on December 8, 2020. RetrievedMarch 29, 2012.
^Van Nguyen, Dean (May 18, 2021)."The Hip-Hop Road to Socialism".jacobin.com.Archived from the original on March 15, 2023. RetrievedMarch 15, 2023.Tupac himself appears to have been a member of the Young Communist League at one point, too.
^Sandy, Candace; Marie Daniels, Dawn (2010).How Long Will They Mourn Me?. Random House Publishing Group. p. 10.ISBN9780307757449.Tupac's leadership abilities emerged with his involvement with the Young People's Communist League, where he worked with his then girlfriend, Mary Baldridge, whose father was the head of the Baltimore Communist Party
^McQuillar, Tayannah Lee; Johnson, Fred L. (2010).Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon. Hachette Books.ISBN9780786745937.Tupac and his white girlfriend Mary Baldridge, a student in the high school's dance department.
^Philips, Chuck (September 13, 2012)."Tupac Shakur Interview 1995".The Chuck Philips Post.Archived from the original on October 22, 2013. RetrievedOctober 30, 2013.
^Au, Wagner James (December 11, 1996)."Yo, Niccolo!".Salon. San Francisco, California: Salon Media Group Inc. Archived fromthe original on September 29, 2007. RetrievedDecember 31, 2016.
^Thomas, Chris "Milan" (editor), with Erik Gilroy (reporter), and AllHipHop interviewers,"Tupak Shakur: A roundtable discussion", featuring Pudgee that Phat Bastard,Buckshot,Chino XL, Adisa Bankjoko,Cormega, andDJ Fatal,AllHipHop.com, March 5, 2007: "Cormega: A lot of people think that it was about Biggie on the East Coast and 'Pac on the West Coast. It wasn't like that. Big ran New York. 'Pac ranAmerica. I was in a club with Mobb Deep in North Carolina and n***as in the crowd were shouting "Makaveli!" This is on the East Coast! That shows you how powerful his influence was"archived January 7, 2012].
^Neal, Mark Anthony (September 6, 2005)."NewBlackMan: Race-ing Katrina". Newblackman.blogspot.com.Archived from the original on January 19, 2012. RetrievedJanuary 7, 2012.
^Greatest Hits sold 4 000 copies in the week, up 571% above the prior week.All Eyez On Me did 2 000 units, up 95%, andMe Against the World, 1 000 copies, up 53%. The single "Hail Mary", which opened at Coachella, was second, behind his No. 1Billboard Hot 100 hit "California Love" (featuring Dr. Dre and Roger Troutman), shifting 11,000 downloads (119% increase). His third best-seller was the second Shakur song that was performed at Coachella—"2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" (withSnoop Dogg). It sold 9,000 (up 881%). See "Tupac's virtual Coachella appearance spurs huge sales bump", Billboard.com,archived elsewhere January 21, 2015.
^"HipHop Honors: About the show: Tuesday, October 12, 2004".VH1.com. Viacom International Inc. Archived fromthe original on August 13, 2020. RetrievedMay 19, 2020.VH1's first ever Hip Hop Honors was hosted by Vivica A. Fox and MC Lyte at the Hammerstein Ballroom in NYC. 2Pac, Run-DMC, DJ Hollywood, Kool Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Rock Steady Crew, Sugarhill Gang and The Graffiti Movement were honored. Tributes were performed by Beastie Boys, Common, Fat Joe and Terror Squad, Nas, MC Hammer, Kid Rock and more. Tracy Morgan, Ice-T, Taye Diggs, P. Diddy, Wyclef Jean, Foxy Brown, Debbie Harry and Roselyn Sanchez presented.
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