BiographyTupac Amaru Shakur
1971 - 1996
DOB: June 16, 1971 - Brooklyn, NY
DOD: September 13, 1996 - Las Vegas, NV
Height: 5'10 Weight: 168
Mother: Afeni Shakur
Father: William Garland
Step Father: Jeral Wayne Williams
AKA Mutula Shakur
Half Sister: Sekyiwa Shakur
Half Brother: Maurice Harding
(Mopreme of Thug Life)
Godfather: Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt
Music Groups: One Nation Emcees, Two From The Crew, Strictly Dope, Digital Underground, Thug Life, Outlaw Immortalz/Outlawz
Aliases: MC New York, 2Pac, Makaveli (the don)
Marital Status: Divorced (Keisha Morris) & Engaged (Kidida Jones)
Tupac Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks in Brooklyn, NY in 1971. While still a small child, his mother changed his name to Tupac Amaru after an Inca Indian revolutionary, "Tupac Amaru", meaning "Shining Serpent". "Shakur" means "Thankful To God" in Arabic.
From childhood, everyone called him the "Black Prince." Formisbehaving, he had to read an entire edition of The New York Times. When he was two, his sister, Sekyiwa, was born. This child's father, Mutulu, was a BlackPanther who, a few months before her birth, had been sentenced to sixty years for a fatal armored car robbery.
With Mutulu away, the family experienced hard times. No matter where they moved-the Bronx, Harlem, homeless shelters- Tupac was distressed. "I remember crying all the time. My major thing growing up was I couldn't fit in. Because I was from everywhere. I didn't have no buddies that I grew up with."
By the age of twelve, Tupac had discovered his loves for acting, writing love songs and poetry. As a young teen, his family moved to Baltimore , MD, where he attended The Baltimore School for the Performing Arts studying acting and ballet. At this school, Tupac left a lasting impression on his teachers and was showing tremendous potential. Unfortunately, Tupac was unable to continue his training. He moved to Oakland, California with the rest of his family. That's when Tupac began to, as he called it, "Hang with the wrong crowd."
At age fifteen, he fell into rap; he started writing lyrics, walking with a swagger, and milking his background in New York for all it was worth. People in small towns feared the Big Apple's reputation; he called himself MC New York and made people think he was a tough guy.
By the time he was twenty, Tupac had been arrested eight times, even serving eight months in prison after being convicted of sexual abuse. In addition, he was the subject of two wrongful-death lawsuits, one involving a six-year-old boy who was killed after getting caught in gang-war crossfire between Shakur's gang and a rival group.
Not held back by his lack of formal education, Tupac joined the Rap group Digital Underground as a dancer. Not long before the group achieved award winning success, Tupac released his own album "2Pacalypse Now", which was also a success. The hit single "Brenda's Got A Baby" launched Tupac's career like a rocket. His stunning talent also got him a role in the motion picture, "Juice". Tupac eventually released a second album "Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.Z.," which was an even bigger success and introduced Tupac's music onto the pop charts.
In November of 1994, he was shot five times during a robbery in which thieves made off with $40,000 worth of his jewelry. Shakur miraculously recovered from his injuries to produce his most impressive artistic accomplishments, including 1995's Me Against the World
The highlight of Tupac's acting career came when he appeared in "Poetic Justice" besides Janet Jackson. The role made Tupac a household name and showed the world that music may not be Tupac's #1 attribute. In the midst of a role in the movie "Above the Rim" and a Platinum album "Me against the world," Tupac's rising career was snagged. He was brought up on sexual assault charges by a woman he met at a nightclub. Hours before Tupac would be found guilty, Tupac was robbed at gun point by men whose intent and purpose is still uncertain. Tupac was eventually released at over $1 Million in bail. After his release, Tupac answered his critics by releasing his best album, "All Eyes On Me." "All Eyes On Me" has currently sold over 6 million copies, which is revolutionary for a double CD, especially in Hip Hop music. Tupac also had costarring roles in three other films, "Gridlock'd", "Bullet", and "Gang Related."
On September 7th, Tupac Shakur was shot by unknown gunmen and died on September 13, 1996. Much of what happened on this night remains a mystery to this very day. This picture was taken minutes before the fatal shooting.
Following his passing, Shakur's label released an album, The Don Killuminati, under the pseudonym "Makaveli." The cover depicted Shakur nailed to a cross under a crown of thorns, with a map of the country's major gang areas superimposed on it. In January of 1997, Gramercy pictures released Gridlock'd, a film in which Shakur played the role of a drug addict to mostly good reviews. His final film, Gang Related, was released in 1997.
Shakur has in fact released more songs posthumously than while he was alive. Conspiracies notwithstanding, Shakur was extremely dedicated to his work during his short career. Shock G remembered fondly that Pac would spend entire days in the studio, drinking Hennessy, smoking marijuana, and experimenting with new raps. Much of his work was only dug up and edited after his death, many songs being cuts that he did not feel were worthy of release. His music is still being actively released and remixed.
September 13, 2006 will mark the tenth anniversary of Tupac's passing.
yahoo newsNEW YORK - In the years since hip-hop lost its most dynamic figure, several superstars have embodied the qualities that made Tupac Shakur such a legend.
50 Cent's vicious raps and bullet-scarred body recall Shakur's reckless, dangero us side. Eminem's tortured lyrics remind us of Shakur's dark and depressing images of life. Jay-Z's many hits are reminiscent of Shakur's prolific output.
But 10 years after Shakur died on Sept. 13, 1996, the victim of a drive-by shooting, no rapper is as complex, as multifaceted, as challenging. A handsome and charismatic actor, a violent felon, a brilliant songwriter, a reckless celebrity, a misogynist and a visionary — Shakur still fascinates from the grave.
"I want to be in the future known as somebody," Shakur once said. "I want people to be talking about me, like, 'Remember when he was real bad?'"
They're still talking. Unlike so many other rap stars, Shakur represented an actual character, instead of a caricature.
"His messages were really strong and heartfelt, and he was a real person. He could go from saying 'Keep your head' up to using the word b---- in the next song," Kanye West told The Associated Press. "There was no box that he was put in, and he lived and died by what he said."
Though just 25 when an assailant sprayed his car with bullets as he rode shotgun down a Las Vegas street, Shakur has been the subject of numerous books, film and stage productions have explored his colorful life, and college courses have dissected his songs ranging from the player anthem "I Get Around" to the prophetic "How Long Will They Mourn Me?"
But why? Though some have anointed Shakur as the greatest rapper ever, largely due to his passion that could stir even casual listeners, the assessment is hardly universal. Others would give that title to The Notorious B.I.G., Shakur's foil who was killed months after Shakur. Others say Jay-Z reigns supreme.
As an actor in films like "Juice" and "Poetic Justice," it was clear Shakur was an explosive, raw talent — but one that needed refinement. And his personal life exposed perhaps his most troubling personal traits: In 1994 he was convicted of sexual assault, and though he espoused black empowerment, he spent the last months of his life inciting a rap war through hateful rhymes.
Yet Shakur's fallibility may ultimately explain why he remains so beloved.
"Nothing that I can answer is really going to get at it, or it's going to sound emotional and corny, but the fact of the matter is he was just a very special human being," said Vibe magazine editor in chief Danyel Smith, who knew Shakur before he became a superstar.
"He was the kind of heroic figure — very flawed, very passionate, very handsome, very outspoken, very talented — who comes along once in a lifetime," she said.
"He stood for something and he really talked about life — it wasn't just street life," OutKast's Big Boi told The AP. "He was an intelligent guy."
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born to former Black Panther Afeni Shakur in 1971 — his father wasn't around. Afeni was pregnant and incarcerated while she and other Panthers faced conspiracy charges that were later dismissed.
His mother's revolutionary qualities infused many of Shakur's raps, like the angry "Souljah's Revenge" or "Words of Wisdom." But Shakur's lyrics also reflect his unstable childhood — his mother battled drug addiction and he and his sister lived in poverty. That pain, frustration, anger and bewilderment became the inspiration for some of his most poignant, searing songs.
"He had a view that I think extended to what we would think of various kinds of sociological arguments, humanistic arguments, arguments around morality," said Marcyliena Morgan, a Stanford University associate professor and director of the school's Hiphop Archive.
Though he attended a school for talented teens while living in Baltimore, by the time he reached the California Bay Area, he was dabbling in street life. Soon his rap talent would lead him into another world that would prove just as turbulent.
As Shakur said after one arrest — "(I didn't have) no police record until I made a record."
With each platinum album, trouble found him anew. He was criticized by national figures like C. Dolores Tucker and former Vice President Dan Quayle and involved in a gunfight with off-duty police officers in Atlanta. While his pro-woman anthem "Keep Ya Head Up" scaled the charts, he was accused of leading a group in sexually assaulting a young woman in a hotel. While on trial for those charges, he survived a shooting at a recording studio where Biggie Smalls and Sean "Diddy" Combs were present.
Shakur was convicted of some charges at his sexual assault trial, and spent several months in a maximum security prison before the fearsome Suge Knight got him out on bail pending an appeal and signed Shakur to his Death Row label.
In the last year of his life, Shakur was at his most popular and sensational — and his most reckless. He ignited the so-called East Coast-West Coast war, claiming that Biggie and Diddy were responsible for his shooting (which they denied).
On the last night of his life, Shakur, Knight and their entourage delivered a violent beatdown to a rival gang member in a Las Vegas casino. Hours later, while riding in the passenger seat of Knight's BMW, Shakur was riddled with bullets. Police arrested and questioned the gang member who was stomped in the casino, but no charges have ever been filed.
While other dead celebrities are celebrated as nostalgia acts for what they once represented, Shakur remains a vital presence in today's rap world. Perhaps that's due to the volume of material he left behind. So many albums of previously unreleased songs have been issued since his death, a few people are convinced that he's still alive.
However, it may be the words of Shakur — often overshadowed by the controversy that dogged him — where his brilliance is most notable. Rather than becoming dated, songs like "So Many Tears" and "Changes" still speak to the despair and pain that remain very real in urban America.
"He was one of a kind," said Smith, "and I think whenever you want to ask yourself who Tupac is, as much as I'm a journalist and I live by headlines, don't go to the headlines to find out who Tupac was, go to the music. You will not be disappointed."
BET news Exactly ten years after rap icon Tupac Shakur was struck down in his prime, BET News remembers the "Black Elvis" in a riveting and future thinking TV special. Celebrity friends, peers, family and fans muse on what Tupac might have been doing if he were still alive in 2006. Also, BET News will provide an update on his murder investigation.
Makaveli: The Legend by Karen Murphy-SmithOn Tuesday, November 5, 1996, Death Row Records released the ?final? recording of ?deceased? Rap artist 2Pac Shakur aka Makaveli. At one minute past midnight many fans in our area and around the country waited in lines outside of music stores in order to secure a copy of the much anticipated "Makaveli - the don killuminati - the 7 day theory" recording. It's ironic that on the same day that millions casted ballots for President - millions more were casting votes-of-approval for the ?slain? artist.
According to the Public Relations Department of Death Row Records, "Makaveki...(is) 2Pac's fifth solo album, the second on The New and 'Untouchable' Death Row Record label." Makaveli is said to be Shakur's alter ego, which is steeped in the philosophy of Italian political theorist Niccolo Michiaveli. 2Pac read Machiavelli's The Prince more than once. (Bantam Books, Classics) Poli. Sci. students and political moguls should be familiar with terms like Machiavellianism and Machiavellian, which refers to this political doctrine that denies the relevance of morality in political affairs, and holds that craft and deceit are justified in pursuing and maintaing political power. (American Heritage Dictionary, second college edition)
The name Makaveli or Machiavelli is synonymous with controversy. Niccolo Machiavelli the 14th century Italian high-level functionary and mover and shaker, wrote The Prince as a tool or handbook for rulers during the Florentine era in 1513. In The Prince, Machiavelli presents a ten point plan for aspiring conquerors which includes:
1) Studying and familiarizing one's self with the Kingdom(s) that they wish to conquer.
2) Annihilating or expelling the conquered King(s).
3) Extinguishing all heirs to the throne.
4) Purging the Kingdom(s) of defectors, spies, and traitors.
5) Selecting advisors who will strengthen one's Kingdom(s).
6) Keeping previously established oppressive taxes and laws. Or, establishing them.
7) Intimidating or putting the fear in the hearts of neighboring Kings.
8) Moving to, and residing in the newly conquered Kingdom(s).
9) If one chooses not to reside in or near those Kingdom(s), then establishing colonies there.
10) If one does not reside there, nor establishes colonies there, then sending troops to occupy the area(s). (All the while the Prince must be mindful, that he can never really trust anyone- except for himself; that fearful subjects ae better than loving subjects; and finally, that everything and everyone is expendable for the sake of one's Kingdom.)
This pragmatic belief system which considered morality and ethics incompatible to political objectives, in some respects corresponds to the fiery lifestyle that young Shakur - who survived a near death drive-by shooting attempt on his life, nearly a year incarcerated, and a tragic and untimely ?death? two months ago, had carved out for himself. This charismatic, outspoken, influential, pragmatic, an controversial genius was born in the Bronx, NY. 2Pac produced five albums and starred in several films.
Friends, enemies, and fans alike honored, (not buried him) during candle-light vigils, memorial services, and scheduled events around the country. 2Pac's ?death? appeared to have had a cathartic affect in the Rap Music Industry. Those west-coast/east-coast rivalries seem to have diminished ( for the time being). Was 2Pac Shakur - - Rap's sacrifical lamb? Have the curtains or barriers between rival factions been transformed into common threads? Perhaps 2Pac hoped so, which is why Makaveli is with us today.
Just how alive Makaveli is, can be determined from the rather sketchy information surrounding 2Pac's ?death?, understanding the significance in his name change to Makaveli, listening to the Introduction of the Makaveli recording, listening to the dialogue between some of the songs on the recording, listening to the various sound effects throughout the recording, listening closely to the lyrics of the first song Bomb First, the fifth song - Blasphemy, and the last song -Against All Odds, reading the un-coded message inside the CD/tape cover, reading the words on the CD/tape front cover, and deciphering the religious symbols on the CD/tape front cover.
2Pac's ?death? One need not be a psychic in ordr to figure out that things don't quite add up about the shooting ?death? of 2Pac Shakur. Things like, no witnesses ever surfaced, which in and of itself is strange. Sure, street savvied people like us normally duck or find cover during gun play, but we also tend to ask questions like who - what- and - why when things like this go down. Wasn't a large sum offered in exchange for inforamtion? You mean to tell me that no one came forward?
The general public never got a glimpse of the ?injured? artist before his ?death? In this era of tabloids I find it hard to believe that the Paparazzi (media) couldn't inflitrate the hospital and snap one polaroid? Or, wave carrots in front of the noses of hospital staff who would sell them information? After all, inquiring minds still want to know.
The public was not given an opportunity to say farwell to the ?slain? artist. Reality check: (God forbid!), but if The King of Pop, The Queen of Soul, The Polish Prince, The Godfather of Soul, or "Old Blue Eyes" himself traveled to the next plain (died); wouldn't they have state funerals? After all, 2Pac was controversial, lead a high profile and colorful life, shrouded himself in opulence; but choose not to go out in style? What about his lyrics:
"Bury me smilin' with G's in my pocket
have a party at my FUNERAL
Let every Rapper rock it
Let tha hos that I usta know from way before
Kiss me from my head to my toe
Give me a paper and a pen, so I can write about my life of sin
A couple bottles of Gin In case I don't get in
Tell all my people
I'm a Ridah
Nobody cries when we die
We outlaws"
"Life goes On"
Please! 2Pac was Black. As a black - I can tell you -- that we recognize and honor the dead, it's assumptive. If we lived well, then we're likely to be put away well. (Even if we choose cremation rather then burial.)
Machiavelli/Makaveli I explained who Machiavelli was, what he did, and what his claim to fame was. Now I'll explain who Makaveli is today. Makaveli is a conglomerate in the form of: Makaveli Records, Makaveli the don killuiminati the 7day theory, Makaveli the writer, and Makaveli Shakur's alter ego. Machiavelli wrote a book entitled, The Prince. There's also an artist who was formally known as Prince who re-invented himself. 2Pac too, has re-invented himself. He's gone from 2Pac the artist - to Makaveli the conglomerate. Mortals come and go, but legends are the same today, tomorrow, and forever. (eg: Valentino, Marilyn Monroe, John Wayne, Hendrix, Marvin Gaye)
Death Row's P.R. The New and 'Untouchable' Death Row Records published a Press Release entitled, "2PAC aka Makaveli." Contained in the two and a half paged press release is a biography of Shakur, a list and desсriрtion of his recordings, and a list of his other accomplishments (ie: films and other industry ventures.) A careful read of this press release provides insights about 2Pac and Makaveli. "Just two months after his tragic and untimely death, 2Pac is heard on what he felt was the truest exprеssion of his feeling to date. Makaveli...is in fact, Shakur's alter ego, steeped in the philosophy of the Italian political theorist Niccolo Michiavelli... His recent travails had also reawakened him to the hopes of a world yet to be achieved, yet to be created for and by those who have no voice. 2Pac was a free man not just in body but in spirit..." The release also announced the name change of his label from "Da Gutta" label to "Makaveli Records". In addition, the group formerly known as "Thug Life" have changed their name to "Outlaw Immortalz", consisting of (Kadafi, Hussein, Kastro, E.D.I. Mean, Napolean, Muzaliny, and Komani). 2Pac and many of those around him must have been going through some major changes, if my read of this release is correct.
Listening to the CD The words in the introduction of the Makaveli recording are self explanatory. Every time 2Pac's name is mentioned, the moderator says, "Rather...Makaveli" or "I mean, Makaveli." ( A blurring of 2Pac and his alter ego, if you ask me.) Mentioned also in the introduction are: "a conspiracy", the names of supposed east-coast rivals and enemies of 2Pac and Death Row Records, a prediciton of Makaveli's success, 2Pac's rational for existence, and a challenge to his fans.
How one reacts to Makaveli's Makaveli - the don killumanti - the 7 day theory has a lot to do with the dialogue, sound effects, music, and lyrics itself. The sound of gun shots, a heart monitor, church bells, a 21 gun salute, and an excerpt from one of the Nation of Islam's recordings of The Honorable Minister Louis Farrakan, aids in making this recording a haunting one. While Makaveli conveys anger towards some individuals within the Rap Music Industry; the recording itself is also positive. Fans who may have felt dismayed over 2Pac's ?death? can be re-assured by the lyrics - throughout the recording that Makaveli is alive and well. Paying close attention to the lyrics of Bomb First, Hail Mary, Blasphemy, and the final song Against All Odds, will give listeners a glimpse at the gradual changes and phases of development that Makaveli went through. Makaveli starts off in a fit of rage, turns into a rebellious youth, grow into an adult who is hell bent on revenged and evolves or metamorphosises into a seasoned and savvied supernatural force - which recognizes the importance of racial harmony, higher authorities, and the power of redemption.
"Dear Lord, don't let me die tonight...", "Brothers getting shot - comin' back resurrected...", "He was a friend - now he's a ghost in the dark.", are just a few of the chilling phrases that point to Makaveli's existence. (Not necessarily The Last Word)
With so many unanswered questions surrounding 2Pac's "death", as well as difficulties at Death Row Records due to the incarceration of Marion Shug Knight - it's founder who sits in jail for a probation violation, rather then at the helm of his company; fans are more than a tad haunted by phrases like: "Dear Lord don't let me die tonight." "Brothers getting shot - coming back resurrected", and "He who was a friend - now's a ghost in the dark." There are those who continue to entertain sceanarios about 2Pac being yet alive, or resurrected.
Because The New and "Untouchable" Death Row Record Company is one of the biggest success stories in the history of black music today, and because 2Pasc aka Makaveli does survive via his label Makeveli, his CD/tape Makaveli - the don killuminati - 7 day theory, and in spirit; loyal 2Pac fans are constructing what some consider -- rather absurd and unrealistic theories. Theories - by the way which aren't so ridiculous to loyal 2Pac fans who understand that he fashioned himself as a "Real Life Gangsta'", used mafia and organized crime terminology and metaphors in his lyrics, and had gang affiliations.
Within this context, why a gangsta' wouldn't go underground under such circumstances would be absurd? to them, 2Pac would need only to get contact lenses, grow his hair, get plastic surgery, have his tattoos removed, his skin bleached, loose/gain some weight, and have his voice surgically altered - to come back as a newcomer. With his creative genius and business savvy, he could go to the top again in no-time.
newsobserver.comLarger than life
10 years after his death, Tupac Shakur's legacy continues to grow
David Menconi, Staff Writer
Back in July, Comedy Central aired a "Lost Episode" skit by comedian Dave Chappelle called "Tupac Lives." A satire on the stream of "new" Tupac songs that continue to surface a decade after his death, "Tupac Lives" is set in a nightclub. The DJ throws on the new Tupac bootleg, and Chappelle and the rest of the crowd dance, enjoying the beat.
But then the dancers begin to notice that the lyrics (voiced by Chappelle in a passable Tupac imitation) are "ahead of their time" -- references to Blackberry pagers, Eminem and "Grand Theft Auto," all of which came along years after Tupac Shakur died. Then the lyrics zero in on how the people in the club are dressed ("The girl in the miniskirt has bad taste 'cause her shirt don't match") and behave, even anticipating a skip of the record.
"Thug life," it declares. "Hey, Chappelle, that ain't your wife!"
The skit is funny, but also unnerving because it seems so true. Tupac died 10 years ago Wednesday, at age 25, after being shot in a car on the Las Vegas strip, a murder that has never been solved. But it's as if he never left.
With 73 million albums sold worldwide (the vast majority posthumously), Tupac is the top-selling rapper of all time, according to the Guinness Book of World Records. Those albums still get a lot of play. In a recent poll compiled by Rolling Stone magazine, Tupac's 1996 song "Hit 'Em Up" ranked No. 4 on a list of top 10 songs that U.S. troops listen to in Iraq, alongside more current tunes by Toby Keith, Eminem and System of a Down.
Tupac has become so iconic that it's hard to remember he was in the public eye for only five years and made just five albums and half a dozen movies. The reasons why he lingers have as much to do with the drama of his persona -- and his passing -- as his music.
"Tupac was never the best rapper in terms of flow or lyrics," says Mark Anthony Neal, an author and associate professor of black popular culture in Duke University's African and African-American studies program. "But what enabled him to transcend everybody else in the room was that he had a sense of performance. When Tupac was onstage, in the broad sense, he always knew how to live up to the hype of the crowd -- even if it was being wheeled out of the hospital the first time he was shot. He had that flair for the dramatic, which speaks to his real talent: as an actor."
Shortly after Tupac's death, Public Enemy leader Chuck D said he would "go down as the James Dean of this time." But even James Dean is not iconic enough to contain all the mythology that surrounds Tupac a decade later.
His story includes elements of Buddy Holly, Kurt Cobain and John Lennon, other artists who died with much left undone. And the mysteries surrounding Tupac's death recall the assassination of John F. Kennedy -- especially because Tupac recorded an album under the name Makaveli shortly before his death, with songs that seemed to predict his imminent demise.
As with Elvis Presley, there are those who insist Tupac is still alive. Search the phrase "Tupac lives," and you'll find Web sites claiming that he faked his death and is in hiding, conclusions based on numerology and clues parsed from the work he left behind:
"The video [for] 'I Ain't Mad At Cha' was released only days after Tupac's 'death,'" says Robert Thompson, a professor of popular culture at Syracuse University. "It depicts Tupac being gunned down [in much the same] way he was really shot. ... 'I Ain't Mad At Cha' is also track number 13 on 'All Eyez on Me,' and Tupac died on Friday the 13th."
"In a macabre sort of way, Tupac's death and the way he died is the ultimate in street cred," Thompson say. "Not only murdered, but unsolved. Now that's a story."
In death, Tupac is bound with Christopher Wallace, better known as the rapper Notorious B.I.G., who was murdered in Los Angeles in March 1997. Citing tensions between the two men, conspiracy theorists have long speculated that their deaths are connected. Tupac believed that Wallace and his manager, Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs, were involved in a 1994 robbery and shooting he suffered in a recording studio. Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up" is said to be about an affair Tupac reputedly had with Wallace's wife, singer Faith Evans.
Ten years after, the survivors are all having their troubles. Combs, now called "Diddy," is regarded as an artistic lightweight, while Tupac manager Suge Knight (who was driving the car when Tupac was shot in Las Vegas) declared bankruptcy earlier this year. Wallace's family is pursuing a wrongful-death lawsuit against the city of Los Angeles, alleging a cover-up of police officers' involvement in the murder. After a mistrial last year, the retrial is to begin this fall.
But few people believe the trial will uncover what really happened with either Wallace or Tupac.
"It's easy to find conspiracy theories," says Phonte Coleman of Triangle hip-hop trio Little Brother. "Whoever was behind all that must have some good money to keep it hushed up all this time. It is what it is.
"It's like our generation's Watergate. Thirty years from now, after all the dirty cops have died, we'll find out who Deep Throat was and who was really behind it. Maybe Oliver Stone will make the Biggie and Tupac movie and bring it all together."
The fire went out
In the evolution of hip-hop, the Tupac and Wallace deaths serve as a stark dividing line. It's telling that Eminem's 2002 bio-pic "8 Mile" was set in the year 1995 to avoid the shadow of the murders.
"Their deaths kind of begat the PC era of hip-hop," Coleman says. "It made hip-hop go from being a voice of anger and frustration to complacency and conformity. Everybody just fell right in line: 'I got no problems with nobody. I just wanna make my money.' To me, it took a lot of the fire out."
One way or another, every hip-hop artist has to deal with Tupac's legacy -- part of which is the fact that there's more than one legacy. Was Tupac the sensitive, socially conscious artist who went to performance school in Baltimore, loved Kate Bush's ambient chick-rock and did songs such as the female-empowerment shout-out "Keep ya Head Up"? Or was he the rapper brandishing guns and glamorizing "Thug Life" with violent, misogynistic lyrics?
Little Brother has done as much as any hip-hop act to shine a disapproving light on hip-hop's seamy side as embodied by Tupac. But even Coleman, who orchestrated the concept behind Little Brother's 2005 album "The Minstrel Show," admits to having a "love/late affair with Tupac."
"The dude was gifted and obviously very intelligent," says Coleman. "But I hate to see that now he's got love for the wrong reasons. Listen to his first record, '2pacalypse Now,' and he was on more of a political slant with songs like 'Trapped' and 'Brenda's Got a Baby.' He was what most today would consider conscious rap. But that's hardly ever mentioned. Where was the media when he was talking about being trapped? Or how Baltimore had the highest rate of AIDS in the nation? Why does he get all the attention for spitting on reporters and getting shot?
"Once you get to the ugly side of that," Coleman concludes, "it hints at a lot of racial prejudice and undertones that people don't want to examine."
Dual legacies
If Tupac embodied hip-hop's warring impulses, you could say his death split the style in two. Violent cartoons such as 50 Cent emerged in his wake, dominating the charts without the underlying social consciousness Tupac displayed. Further down the charts, conscious rappers including Common and Little Brother display the social consciousness, but they're nearly absent from the commercial airwaves. Among today's top-tier commercial rappers, Jay-Z comes closest to Tupac's iconic stature (as much for his business acumen as his artistic achievements).
Meanwhile, the violent side of Tupac's legacy lives on. One of 50 Cent's biggest marketing gimmicks has always been that he was shot nine times and survived. Jam Master Jay of Run-DMC wasn't so lucky; he was shot to death in a recording studio in 2002, a killing that also remains unsolved. And this year, Proof from Eminem's group D12 was killed in a nightclub shootout.
"Biggie and Tupac were very different people, but what they had in common was an integrity about their art," says Duke professor Neal. "I'm not saying there aren't hip-hop artists in 2006 with integrity. But it's not expected in the context of the record industry. A lot of artists never even have to answer to those questions."
Even though it's comparatively muted, the positive side of Tupac's legacy lives on, too. Consider Brandon Hudson, a Tupac fan who graduated from Duke in May. He's also a hip-hop artist, but his full-time job now is with the social-service group Americorps. Hudson is spending a year working for a low-income school district outside Sacramento, Calif.
"Tupac had all the potential to make a positive impact on American culture," Hudson says. "Whatever he could've been, hip-hop has missed the positive potential he might have brought to it. One of my favorite lyrics of his is from 'The Ghetto Gospel': 'If I upset you, don't stress/Never forget that God isn't finished with me yet.' I think that kind of sums him up very well."
GANNETT NEWS SERVICE
The word "shakur," as in Tupac Shakur, means "thankful to God" in Arabic.
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Celina Nixon is thankful for the legacy that Tupac Shakur has left. Nixon is a former member of "Pac's Kids," students of the annual Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation Summer Camp for Kids, and is now artistic director of the camp, located in Stone Mountain, Ga.
"(Tupac's) calling in life was very specific and very detailed in a way that he knew what he had to do and accomplish and he had a very short time to do it," Nixon says. "That's why he did so many different things: music, movies, poetry."
Tupac, considered by many to be the greatest rapper ever, died Sept. 13, 1996, from gunshot wounds during a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas on Sept. 7 of that year. No one has been charged with his murder.
He was 25.
The Shakur summer camp was founded by Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur in 1999. The camp, which has hosted more than 300 kids so far, originally was focused on poetry and theater in a summer camplike atmosphere at various locations in the Atlanta area. A permanent 6-acre site, funded mostly from proceeds of Shakur's music and merchandise through the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, was completed last summer and features a gallery of Tupac paintings, plaques and pictures from Tupac's career, a gift shop, peace garden and a statue of the rapper.
Its inspiration comes from Tupac's life.
"Tupac attended the Baltimore School of the Arts and he was exposed to Shakespeare and ballet and things the young generation may not think are so cool," Nixon says. "Our foundation exposes children to different aspects of art."
Rebel and social critic
Shakur was equal parts artist, social critic and street thug. Among his more thuggish actions, Shakur served 10 days for beating up a rapper, got into a shootout with two Atlanta cops, was convicted of sexual assault, and was robbed of $40,000 worth of jewelry while being shot five times in the lobby of a Times Square recording studio.
Perhaps most tragically, 6-year-old Qa'id Walker-Teal was killed in 1992 when gunfire erupted after Tupac got into an altercation with a rival rapper in Marin City, Calif. No charges were filed, but Tupac's camp did pay Walker-Teal's family between between $300,000 and $500,000 in 1995, according to reports.
Yet, as a social critic, Shakur saw that America was still a land of racial inequities. In the embers of rage following the 1992 Los Angeles' riots, his was a voice that needed to be heard.
"We needed someone out there to speak from the realities of our perspective," Nixon says. "Politicians concentrate on things that don't relate to us on an everyday basis. Tupac was our voice from the street with our perspective."
A voice still very much with us. His family continues to release posthumous albums. And Tupac has been the subject of numerous books, including "The Rose that Grew From Concrete" (MTV) and most recently "How Will They Mourn Me? An Unauthorized Biography," Candace Sandy and Dawn Marie Daniels (Random House), and films including "Tupac: Resurrection" (2003), and "Biggie and Tupac" (2002).
Nixon, who joined the camp as a single teenage mom, hopes to spread awareness about the opportunities the school, open to kids 12 to 18 years old, can provide.
"I wanted to be affiliated with anything that had something to do with Tupac," says Nixon, who performs the song "The Eternal Lament" from "The Rose, Vol. 2" an album of Tupac's poetry set to music released last year. "It was very important to be in the program. Not just to be on stage but it also offered life coaching on how to get through hard times."
azstarnet.comWednesday will mark 10 years since the death of Tupac Shakur, an anniversary that reminds Gabe Molina how much the rapper is missed.
"His absence is conspicuous in hip-hop," says Molina, a die-hard rap fan and former emcee who can't stomach most of the music now doing it big on the Billboard charts. The father of four, a contractor for Southwest Gas who will be 40 years old this month, despises the bling-soaked ego trips and single-entendre sex rhymes that pass for rap these days.
"Braggadocio has always been a part of hip-hop, but it was just part of what Tupac and other artists like Public Enemy had to say," said Molina. "I admired him as a multi-faceted, deep-thinking individual. More than anything, he was real."
Molina was a founding member of 2 Def, an East Side rap crew that was featured in the Arizona Daily Star in 1988. The group opened for several rap headliners at the Tucson Convention Center and elsewhere.
2 Def fizzled out after a couple of years, but Molina still finds himself writing rhymes. In addition to Shakur, who recorded under the names 2Pac and Makaveli, Molina says he's inspired by Malcolm X, Jesus Christ and his family.
Molina's first son is named Amaru, which was Shakur's middle name.
"I wanted to name him Tupac, but my wife said that was going too far," he said.
Five-year-old Amaru and his siblings are the reason Molina sold all his 2Pac records years ago. He didn't want his children exposed to the profanity, so he replaced the originals with "the Wal-Mart versions."
Censored or not, Shakur's vibrant storytelling and charismatic personality are still winning fans. His mother has released several 2Pac albums since his death (he left about 150 unreleased songs) and posthumous sales have topped the 20 million mark worldwide, adding to his title as the biggest-selling hip-hop artist of all time.
It's not hard to pinpoint the appeal. With sly humor and no sugarcoating, Shakur expressed the grand drama and brutal poetry of ordinary life, including the violent thug life that claimed so many of his peers.
The plight of the underclass and the fight for social and racial justice underlines much of his work.
"He didn't speak just to young black males," Molina said. "Look at me. I'm Mexican and his music speaks to me. Although I'm coming from a more Christian perspective these days, I can't deny the impact he had on me. He influenced my way of thinking."
Shakur was 25 when gunshots ripped into a BMW driven by Suge Knight following a boxing match in Las Vegas. He died six days later on Friday the 13th. The murder remains unsolved.
"I just started crying when I heard about it," said Molina, who was no longer performing by then.
Members of 2 Def were also touched by tragedy.
"One of the guys who did security for us, Marc Lemmon, was murdered," Molina said. "He got shot in the head in 1992. A few years later, our DJ committed suicide."
Another key member of the troupe is battling drug addiction, said Molina, a Tucson native who never got into the drug scene.
"I've seen what it does to people. I'm not going to run out in the street and get hit by a car just to see what it feels like."
Shakur wrote about those caught up in drugs with empathy and insight. It was a problem that hit close to home. His mother, a former member of the Black Panther party, overcame a cocaine addiction.
In 1997, Afeni Shakur, founded the Shakur Family Foundation (later renamed the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation). Its mission is to "provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents."
On June 11, 2005, the Foundation opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Ga.
It's a fitting honor for Shakur, a fine-arts student in high school who aspired to be a great Shakespearean actor.
just meэто лишь миллионная часть того,что можно написать.
и это просто слова.
наверное,это писали люди,которым не все равно.
я тоже могу написать.
но я не буду.
он все равно все знает.
можно писать до бесконечности,но...
миллионы и миллиарды слов не воскреят того,кого нет уже 10 лет.
так.
пройдут еще 10тилетия и останутся еще люди,которые будут любить,понимать и помнить,то он будет жить.
вечно.