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Tupac Shakur
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Tupac Amaru Shakur
Background information
Also known as 2Pac, Pac, Makaveli
Born June 16, 1971(1971-06-16)
East Harlem, New York City, New York, U.S.
Origin Marin City, California, U.S.
Died September 13, 1996(1996-09-13) (aged 25)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Occupations Rapper, actor, record producer, poet, screenwriter, activist
Years active
1988–1996 (rapping)
1991–1996 (acting)
Labels Interscope, Death Row, Amaru
Associated acts Outlawz, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Digital Underground, Biggie, Richie Rich, K-Ci & JoJo, Dave Hollister, Johnny "J", Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound, Boot Camp Clik, Nate Dogg
Website www.tasf.org
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac (or simply Pac) and Makaveli, was an American rapper. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide,[1] making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In the United States alone he has sold 37.5 million records.[2] Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time.[3]
In addition to his career as a top-selling rap artist, he was a promising actor,[4] and a social activist. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, other social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.[5][6][7]
In September 1996, Shakur was shot four times in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.[8]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Early life
* 2 Rapping career
* 3 Thug Life
* 4 Legal issues
* 5 November 1994 shooting
* 6 Prison sentence
* 7 Death Row Records
o 7.1 Makaveli Records
* 8 September 1996 shooting and death
o 8.1 Murder case
* 9 Influences
* 10 Personal life
* 11 Legacy
o 11.1 Library of Congress
* 12 Honors
* 13 Discography
o 13.1 Studio albums
o 13.2 Posthumous albums
* 14 Film
o 14.1 Acting career
o 14.2 Filmography
o 14.3 Documentaries
* 15 See also
* 16 References
* 17 Sources
* 18 External links
Early life
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City.[9] He was named after Túpac Amaru II,[10] a Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and was subsequently executed.[11]
His mother, Afeni Shakur, and his father, Billy Garland, were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s; he was born just one month after his mother's acquittal on more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York Panther 21 court case.[12]
Although unconfirmed by the Shakur family, several sources (including the official coroner's report) list his birth name as "Lesane Parish Crooks".[13] This name was supposedly entered on the birth certificate because Afeni feared her enemies would attack her son, and disguised his true identity using a different last name. She changed it later, following her separation from Garland and marriage to Mutulu Shakur.[14]
Struggle and incarceration surrounded Shakur from an early age. His godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high ranking Black Panther, was convicted of murdering a school teacher during a 1968 robbery, although his sentence was later overturned. His stepfather, Mutulu, spent four years at large on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list beginning in 1982, when Shakur was a pre-teen. Mutulu was wanted in part for having helped his sister Assata Shakur (also known as Joanne Chesimard) to escape from a penitentiary in New Jersey, where she had been incarcerated for allegedly shooting a state trooper to death in 1973. Mutulu was caught in 1986 and imprisoned for the robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which two police officers and a guard were killed.[15] Shakur had a half-sister, Sekyiwa, two years his junior, and an older stepbrother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, who appeared on many of his recordings.[16]
At the age of twelve, Shakur enrolled in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble and was cast as the Travis Younger character in the play A Raisin in the Sun, which was performed at the famous Apollo Theater. In 1986, the family relocated to Baltimore, Maryland.[17] After completing his second year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School he transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays, and in the role of the Mouse King in The Nutcracker.[15] Shakur, accompanied by one of his friends, Dana "Mouse" Smith, as his beatbox, won most of the many rap competitions that he participated in and was considered to be the best rapper in his school.[18] Although he lacked trendy clothing, he was one of the most popular kids in his school because of his sense of humor, superior rapping skills, and ability to mix in with all crowds.[19] He developed a close friendship with a young Jada Pinkett (later Jada Pinkett Smith) that lasted until his death. In the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur says, "Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life," and Pinkett Smith calls him "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." A poem written by Shakur titled "Jada" appears in his book, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, which also includes a poem dedicated to Pinkett Smith called "The Tears in Cupid's Eyes". During his time in art school, Shakur began dating the daughter of the director of the Baltimore Communist Party USA.[20]
In June 1988, Shakur and his family moved once again, this time to Marin City, California,[17] where he attended Tamalpais High School.[21] He began attending the poetry classes of Leila Steinberg in 1989.[22] That same year, Steinberg organized a concert with a former group of Shakur's, Strictly Dope; the concert led to him being signed with Atron Gregory who set him up with the up-and-coming rap group Digital Underground. In 1990, he was hired as the band's backup dancer and roadie.[5][6][7]
Rapping career
Shakur's professional entertainment career began in the early 1990s, when he debuted his rapping skills in a vocal turn in Digital Underground's "Same Song" from the soundtrack to the 1991 film Nothing but Trouble and also appeared with the group in the film of the same name. The song was later released as the lead song of the Digital Underground EP This is an EP Release, the follow-up to their debut hit album Sex Packets. Shakur appeared in the accompanying music video. After his rap debut, he performed with Digital Underground again on the album Sons of the P. Later, he released his first solo album, 2Pacalypse Now.
2Pacalypse Now did not do as well on the charts as future albums, spawning no top ten hits. His second record, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., was released in 1993.
Thug Life
In late 1993, Shakur formed the group Thug Life with a number of his friends, including Big Syke, Macadoshis, his stepbrother Mopreme Shakur, and Rated R. The group released their only record album Thug Life: Volume 1 on September 26, 1994, which went gold. The album featured the single "Pour Out a Little Liquor" produced by Johnny "J" Jackson, who went on to produce a large part of Shakur's album All Eyez on Me. The group usually performed their concerts without Shakur.[23]
Legal issues
Even as he garnered attention as a rapper and actor, Shakur gained notoriety for his conflicts with the law. In October 1991, he attempted to file a $10 million civil suit against the law enforcement of the Oakland Police Department, alleging they brutally beat him for jaywalking.[24]
In 1992, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who was listening to 2Pacalypse Now which included songs about killing police. This caused a swirl of media controversy. Dan Quayle, the Vice President of the United States at the time, demanded that the album be withdrawn from music stores and media across the country; Interscope refused.[24] Shakur claimed his first album was aimed at the problems facing young black males, but it was criticized for its graphic language and images of violence by and against law enforcement. Quayle publicly denounced the album as having "no place in our society."[25]
On August 22, 1992, in Marin City, California, Shakur rapped at an outdoor festival, and stayed for an hour signing autographs and pictures. Some earlier negative remarks made by Shakur about Marin City had caught up and when arguments started, voices got loud; he pulled a Colt Mustang, cocked it, fumbled and it fell. Someone picked up the gun and a bullet discharged.[inconsistent] Though nobody in the crowd was shot, about 100 yards away, 6-year old Qa'id Walker-Teal rode a bicycle at a schoolyard and was hit in the forehead, the bullet killing him. Shakur and Mopreme left in their car and were stopped by an angry mob, by chance, in front of a sheriff's substation. The police "rescued" and took the two into custody, who were released without charge. In 1995, a civil case was brought up by Qa'id's mother. Shakur's lawyer said that the festival was a "nasty situation," and Shakur was saddened by the death of the boy. Shakur's record company settled the lawsuit for a figure reported between $300,000 and $500,000.[26]
In October 1993, in Atlanta, two brothers and off-duty police officers, Mark and Scott Whitwell, were with their wives celebrating Mrs. Whitwell's recent passing of the state bar examination. As they crossed the street, a car with Shakur inside passed by them or "almost struck them," after which the Whitwells began an altercation with the driver, Shakur and the other passengers, which was then joined by a second passing car. Shakur shot one officer in the buttocks, and the other in the leg, back, or abdomen, according to varying news reports. There were no other injuries, but Mark Whitwell was charged with firing at Shakur's car and later lying to the police during the investigation, and Shakur with the shooting, until prosecutors decided to drop all charges against all parties.[27][28]
In November 1993, Shakur and others were charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room. According to the complaint, Shakur sodomized the woman and then encouraged his friends to sexually abuse her. Shakur denied the charges. According to Shakur, he had prior relations days earlier with the woman; she performed oral sex on him on a club dance floor and the two later had consensual sex in his hotel room. The complainant claimed sexual assault after her second visit to Shakur's hotel room; she alleged that Shakur and his entourage gang banged her, and she said to Shakur when she left, "Why you let them do this to me?"[29][30] Shakur said that he fell asleep shortly after the woman arrived and later awoke to her accusations and legal threats. In the ensuing trial, Shakur was convicted of sexual abuse. In sentencing Shakur to 1½–4½ years in prison, the judge described the crime as "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman."[31][32][33] After serving part of his sentence, Shakur was released on bail pending appeal. On April 5, 1996, a judge sentenced him to serve 120 days in jail for violating terms of his release on bail.[34]
In 1995, a wrongful death suit was brought against Shakur for a 1992 shooting that killed Qa'id Walker-Teal, a six-year old of Marin City. The child was the victim of a stray bullet in a shootout between Shakur's entourage and a rival group. Ballistics tests proved the bullet that killed the boy was not from Shakur's or any members of his entourage's guns.[inconsistent] No criminal charges were brought. Shakur settled with the family for an undisclosed amount, estimated at $300,000–$500,000.[35][36]
November 1994 shooting
On the night of November 30, 1994, the day before the verdict in his sexual abuse trial was to be announced, Shakur was shot five times and robbed after entering the lobby of Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan by two armed men in army fatigues. He would later accuse Sean Combs,[37] Andre Harrell, and Biggie Smalls—whom he saw after the shooting—of setting him up. Shakur also suspected his close friend and associate, Randy "Stretch" Walker, of being involved in the attempt. According to the doctors at Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted immediately following the incident, Shakur had received five bullet wounds; twice in the head, twice in the groin and once through the arm and thigh. He checked out of the hospital, against doctor's orders, three hours after surgery. In the day that followed, Shakur entered the courthouse in a wheelchair and was found guilty of three counts of molestation, but innocent of six others, including sodomy. On February 6, 1995, he was sentenced to one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison on a sexual assault charge.[38]
A year later on November 30, 1995, Stretch was killed after being shot twice in the back by three men who pulled up alongside his green minivan at 112th Ave. and 209th St. in Queens Village, while he was driving. His minivan smashed into a tree and hit a parked car before flipping over.[39]
On March 27, 2008, the LA Times issued an apology to Combs for blaming him for having a role in the November 1994 shooting. The article stated that Shakur was led to the studio by Biggie's associates to gun him down to make favor with Biggie. The newspaper relied on forged documents that The Smoking Gun proved to be faked.[40] Combs stated that he is disgusted with the LA Times for printing the story.[41][42][43][44]
Prison sentence
Shakur began serving his prison sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility on February 14, 1995. Shortly afterwards, he released his multi-platinum album Me Against the World. Shakur is the only artist ever to have an album at number one on the Billboard 200 while serving a prison sentence. The album made its debut on the Billboard 200 and stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks. The record album sold 240,000 copies in its first week, setting a record for highest first week sales for a solo male rap artist at the time.[45] While serving his sentence, he married his long-time girlfriend, Keisha Morris, on April 4, 1995; the couple later divorced in 1996.[46] While imprisoned, Shakur read many books by Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu's The Art of War and other works of political philosophy and strategy.[47] He also wrote a screenplay titled Live 2 Tell while incarcerated, a story about an adolescent who becomes a drug baron.[48]
In October 1995, Shakur's case was on appeal but due to all of his legal fees he could not raise the $1.4 million bail. After serving eleven months of his one-and-a-half year to four-and-a-half year sentence,[49] Shakur was released from the penitentiary due in large part to the help and influence of Suge Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records, who posted a $1.4 million bail pending appeal of the conviction in exchange for Shakur to release three albums under the Death Row label.[50]
Death Row Records
Upon his release from Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur immediately went back to song recording. He began a new group called Outlaw Immortalz. Shakur began recording his first album with Death Row and released the single "California Love" soon after. On February 13, 1996, Shakur released his fourth solo album, All Eyez on Me. This double album was the first and second of his three-album commitment to Death Row Records. It sold over nine million copies.[51] The record was a general departure from the introspective subject matter of Me Against the World, being more oriented toward a thug and gangsta mentality. Shakur continued his recordings despite increasing problems at the Death Row label. Dr. Dre left his post as house producer to form his own label, Aftermath. Shakur continued to produce hundreds of tracks during his time at Death Row, most of which would be released on his posthumous albums R U Still Down? (Remember Me), Still I Rise, Until the End of Time, Better Dayz, Loyal to the Game and Pac's Life. He also began the process of recording an album with the Boot Camp Clik and their label Duck Down Records, both New York–based, entitled One Nation.[52]
On June 4, 1996, he and Outlawz released the diss track "Hit 'Em Up", a scathing lyrical assault on Biggie and others associated with him. In the track, Shakur claimed to have had intercourse with Faith Evans, Biggie's wife at the time, and attacks Bad Boy's street credibility. Though no hard evidence suggests so, Shakur was convinced that some members associated with Bad Boy had known about the '94 attack on him beforehand due to their behavior that night and what his sources told him. Shakur aligned himself with Suge, Death Row's CEO, who was already bitter toward Combs over a 1995 incident at the Platinum Club in Atlanta, Georgia, which culminated in the death of Suge's friend and bodyguard, Jake Robles; Suge was adamant in voicing his suspicions of Combs' involvement.[53] Shakur's signing with Suge and Death Row added fuel to building an East Coast-West Coast conflict. Both sides remained bitter enemies until Shakur's death. On July 4, 1996, he performed live at the House of Blues with Outlawz, Tha Dogg Pound, and Snoop Doggy Dogg also headlining. This was Shakur's very last live performance.[54]
While incarcerated in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur read and studied Niccolò Machiavelli and other published works, which inspired his pseudonym "Makaveli" under which he released the record album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The album presents a stark contrast to previous works. Throughout the album, Shakur continues to focus on the themes of pain and aggression, making this album one of the emotionally darker works of his career. Shakur wrote and recorded all the lyrics in only three days and the production took another four days, combining for a total of seven days to complete the album (hence the name).
Makaveli Records
He mentioned Makaveli Records a few times before his death. This was supposed to be a music label for up and coming artists that Shakur had an interest in developing or potentially signing, and his own future projects would have also been published through it as well.[55]
September 1996 shooting and death
The famous photograph of Shakur taken just twenty minutes before the drive-by shooting, from the cover of the book The Killing of Tupac Shakur by Cathy Scott
On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur attended the Mike Tyson – Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After leaving the match, one of Suge's associates spotted 21-year-old Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips, in the MGM Grand lobby and informed Shakur, who then attacked Anderson. Shakur's entourage, as well as Suge and his followers, assisted in assaulting Anderson. The fight was captured on the hotel's video surveillance. Earlier that year, Anderson and a group of Crips had robbed a member of Death Row's entourage in a Foot Locker store, precipitating Shakur's attack. After the brawl, Shakur went to rendezvous with Suge to go to Death Row-owned Club 662 (now known as restaurant/club Seven). He rode in Suge's 1996 black BMW 750iL sedan as part of a larger convoy including many in Shakur's entourage.[56]
At 10:55 p.m., while paused at a red light, Shakur rolled down his window and a photographer took his photograph.[57] At around 11:00–11:05 p.m., they were halted on Las Vegas Blvd. by Metro bicycle police for playing the car stereo too loud and not having license plates. The plates were then found in the trunk of Suge's car; they were released without being fined a few minutes later.[57][58] At about 11:10 p.m., while stopped at a red light at Flamingo Road near the intersection of Koval Lane in front of the Maxim Hotel, a vehicle occupied by two women pulled up on their right side. Shakur, who was standing up through the sunroof, exchanged words with the two women, and invited them to go to Club 662.[57] At approximately 11:15 p.m., a white, four-door, late-model Cadillac with an unknown number of occupants pulled up to the sedan's right side, rolled down one of the windows, and rapidly fired a volley of gunshots at Shakur; bullets hit him in the chest, pelvis, and his right hand and thigh.[8][57] One of the rounds apparently ricocheted into Shakur's right lung.[59] Suge was hit in the head by fragmentation, though it is thought that a bullet grazed him.[60] According to Suge, a bullet from the gunfire had been lodged in his skull, but medical reports later contradicted this statement.[61]
At the time of the drive-by Shakur's bodyguard was following behind in a vehicle belonging to Kidada Jones, Shakur's then-fiancée. The bodyguard, Frank Alexander, stated that when he was about to ride along with the rapper in Suge's car, Shakur asked him to drive Kidada Jones' car instead just in case they were too drunk and needed additional vehicles from Club 662 back to the hotel. Shortly after the assault, the bodyguard reported in his documentary, Before I Wake, that one of the convoy's cars drove off after the assailant but he never heard back from the occupants.[62]
After arriving on the scene, police and paramedics took Suge and a mortally wounded Shakur to the University Medical Center. According to an interview with one of Shakur's closest friends the music video director Gobi, while at the hospital, he received news from a Death Row marketing employee that the shooters had called the record label and were sending death threats aimed at Shakur, claiming that they were going there to "finish him off".[63] Upon hearing this, Gobi immediately alerted the Las Vegas police, but the police claimed they were understaffed and no one could be sent.[63] Nonetheless, the shooters never arrived.[63] At the hospital, Shakur was in and out of consciousness, was heavily sedated, breathed through a ventilator and respirator, was placed on life support machines, and was ultimately put under a barbiturate-induced coma after repeatedly trying to get out of the bed.[8][63][64]
Despite having been resuscitated in a trauma center and surviving a multitude of surgeries (as well as the removal of a failed right lung), Shakur had gotten through the critical phase of the medical therapy and was given a 50% chance of pulling through.[59] Gobi left the medical center after being informed that Shakur made a 13% recovery on the sixth night.[63] While in the critical care unit on the afternoon of September 13, 1996, Shakur died of internal bleeding; doctors attempted to revive him but could not impede his hemorrhaging.[8][64] His mother, Afeni, made the decision to tell the doctors to stop.[59][64] He was pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m. (PDT)[8] The official cause of death was noted as respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest in connection with multiple gunshot wounds.[8] Shakur's body was cremated and some of his ashes were later mixed with marijuana and smoked by members of Outlawz.[65]
Murder case
Due largely to a perceived lack of progress by law enforcement in the investigation of Shakur's murder, many independent investigations and theories emerged. Because of the acrimony between Shakur and Biggie (who was murdered in March 1997[66]), there was speculation from the outset about the possibility of Biggie's involvement. Biggie, as well as his family, relatives, and associates, vehemently denied all such accusations.[67] In 2002, the LA Times published a story by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Chuck Philips, who claimed to have uncovered evidence implicating Biggie, in addition to Anderson and the Southside Crips, in the attack.[68] Philips quoted unnamed gang-member sources who claimed Biggie had ties to the Crips, often hiring them for security during West Coast appearances, and that Biggie colluded with the Crips to murder Shakur. In 2008, after The Smoking Gun reported that the documents relied upon by Philips for his story were fraudulent, the LA Times printed an official front-page retraction of Philips' story.[69] Less than five months later, Philips accepted a buyout and left the LA Times.[70]
In support of their claims, Biggie's family submitted documentation to MTV suggesting that he was working in a New York recording studio the night of the drive-by shooting. His manager Wayne Barrow and fellow rapper James "Lil' Cease" Lloyd made public announcements denying Biggie's partaking in the crime and claimed further that they were both with him in the recording studio during the night of the event.[71]
The high profile nature of the killing and ensuing gang violence caught the attention of English filmmaker Nick Broomfield, who made the documentary film Biggie & Tupac which examines the lack of progress in the case by speaking to those close to the two slain rappers and the investigation. Shakur's close childhood friend and member of Outlawz, Yafeu "Yaki Kadafi" Fula, was in the convoy when the drive-by occurred and indicated to police that he might be able to identify the assailants, however, he was shot and killed shortly thereafter in a housing project in Irvington.[72]
A DVD titled Tupac: Assassination was released on October 23, 2007, more than eleven years after Shakur's murder. It explores aspects surrounding the event and provides fresh insights into the cold case with new details about the environment.[73]
Influences
Shakur's music and philosophy is rooted in many American, African-American, and World entities, including the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. His debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, revealed the socially conscious side of Shakur. On this album, Shakur attacked social injustice, poverty and police brutality on songs "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Trapped" and "Part Time Mutha". His style on this album was highly influenced by the social consciousness and Afrocentrism pervading hip hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On this initial release, Shakur helped extend the success of such rap groups as Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, X-Clan, and Grandmaster Flash, as he became one of the first major socially conscious rappers from the West Coast.[74]
On his second record, Shakur continued to rap about the social ills facing African-Americans, with songs like "The Streetz R Deathrow" and "Last Wordz". He also showed his compassionate side with the anthem "Keep Ya Head Up", while simultaneously putting his legendary aggressiveness on display with the title track from the album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. he added a salute to his former group Digital Underground by including them on the playful track "I Get Around". Throughout his career, an increasingly aggressive attitude can be seen pervading Shakur's subsequent albums.[75]
The contradictory themes of social inequality and injustice, unbridled aggression, compassion, playfulness, and hope all continued to shape Shakur's work, as witnessed with the release of his incendiary 1995 album Me Against the World. In 1996, Shakur released All Eyez on Me. Many of these tracks are considered by many critics to be classics, including "Ambitionz Az a Ridah", "I Ain't Mad at Cha", "California Love", "Life Goes On" and "Picture Me Rollin'".; All Eyez on Me was a change of style from his earlier works. While still containing socially conscious songs and themes, Shakur's album was heavily influenced by party tracks and tended to have a more "feel good" vibe than his first albums. Shakur described it as a celebration of life, and the record was critically and commercially successful.[76]
Personal life
Shakur was a voracious reader. He was inspired by a wide variety of writers, including William Shakespeare, Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Goines, Sun Tzu, Kurt Vonnegut, Mikhail Bakunin, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Khalil Gibran. In his book, Dyson describes the experience of visiting the home of Shakur's friend and promoter Leila Steinberg to find "the sea of books" once owned by Shakur.[77]
Shakur never professed following a particular religion, but his lyrics in singles such as 'Only God Can Judge Me' and poems such as The Rose That Grew from Concrete suggests he believed in God. This means many analysts currently describe him as a deist.[78][79][80][81]
Legacy
Statue of Tupac Shakur in Herford, Germany
At a Mobb Deep concert following the death of the famed icon and release of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, Cormega recalled in an interview that the fans were all shouting "Makaveli,"[82] and emphasized the influence of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and of Shakur himself even in New York at the height of the media-dubbed 'intercoastal rivalry'.[83]
Shakur is held in high esteem by other MCs – in the book How to Rap, Bishop Lamont notes that Shakur “mastered every element, every aspect” of rapping[84] and Fredro Starr of Onyx says Shakur, "was a master of the flow."[85] "Every rapper who grew up in the Nineties owes something to Tupac," wrote 50 Cent. "He didn't sound like anyone who came before him."[3]
About.com named Shakur the most influential rapper ever.[86]
To preserve Shakur's legacy, his mother founded the Shakur Family Foundation (later re-named the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation or TASF) in 1997. The TASF's stated mission is to "provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents." The TASF sponsors essay contests, charity events, a performing arts day camp for teenagers and undergraduate scholarships. The Foundation officially opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) in Stone Mountain, Georgia, on June 11, 2005. On November 14, 2003, a documentary about Shakur entitled Tupac: Resurrection was released under the supervision of his mother and narrated entirely in his voice. It was nominated for Best Documentary in the 2005 Academy Awards. Proceeds will go to a charity set up by Shakur's mother Afeni. On April 17, 2003, Harvard University co-sponsored an academic symposium entitled "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero." The speakers discussed a wide range of topics dealing with Shakur's impact on everything from entertainment to sociology.[87]
Many of the speakers discussed Shakur's status and public persona, including State University of New York at Buffalo English professor Mark Anthony Neal who gave the talk "Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity Gramscian" in which he argued that Shakur was an example of the "organic intellectual" expressing the concerns of a larger group.[88] Professor Neal has also indicated in his writings that the death of Shakur has left a "leadership void amongst hip-hop artists."[89] Neal further describes him as a "walking contradiction", a status that allowed him to "make being an intellectual accessible to ordinary people."[90]
Professor of Communications Murray Forman, of Northeastern University, spoke of the mythical status about Shakur's life and death. He addressed the symbolism and mythology surrounding Shakur's death in his talk entitled "Tupac Shakur: O.G. (Ostensibly Gone)". Among his findings were that Shakur's fans have "succeeded in resurrecting Tupac as an ethereal life force."[91] In "From Thug Life to Legend: Realization of a Black Folk Hero", Professor of Music at Northeastern University, Emmett Price, compared Shakur's public image to that of the trickster-figures of African-American folklore which gave rise to the urban "bad-man" persona of the post-slavery period. He ultimately described Shakur as a "prolific artist" who was "driven by a terrible sense of urgency" in a quest to "unify mind, body, and spirit".[92]
Michael Eric Dyson, University of Pennsylvania Avalon Professor of Humanities and African American Studies and author of the book Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur[77] indicated that Shakur "spoke with brilliance and insight as someone who bears witness to the pain of those who would never have his platform. He told the truth, even as he struggled with the fragments of his identity."[93] At one Harvard Conference the theme was Shakur's impact on entertainment, race relations, politics and the "hero/martyr".[94] In late 1997, the University of California, Berkeley offered a student-led course entitled "History 98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur."[95]
In late 2003, the Makaveli Branded Clothing line was launched by Afeni. In 2005, Death Row released Tupac: Live at the House of Blues. The DVD was the final recorded performance of Shakur's career, which took place on July 4, 1996, and features a plethora of Death Row artists. In August 2006, Tupac Shakur Legacy was released. The interactive biography was written by Jamal Joseph. It features unseen family photographs, intimate stories, and over 20 removable reproductions of his handwritten song lyrics, contracts, scripts, poetry, and other personal papers. Shakur's sixth posthumous studio album, Pac's Life, was released on November 21, 2006. It commemorates the 10th anniversary of Shakur's death. He is still considered one of the most popular artists in the music industry as of 2006[update].[96]
According to Forbes, in 2008 Shakur's estate made $15 million.[97] In 2002, they recognize him as a Top Earning Dead celebrity coming in on number ten on their list.[98]
Library of Congress
Shakur's hit song “Dear Mama" is one of 25 songs that will be added to the National Recording Registry in 2010. The Library of Congress has called "Dear Mama" "a moving and eloquent homage to both the murdered rapper's own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference." This honor comes seven days after his birthday, where the rapper would have been 39. Shakur is the third rapper to enter the library, behind Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy.[99]
Honors
* MTV ranked him at #2 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time.[100]
* Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002.[101]
* In 2003, MTV's "22 Greatest MCs" countdown listed Shakur as the "number 1 MC", as voted by the viewers.[102]
* In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Shakur was honored along with DJ Hollywood, Kool DJ Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., Rock Steady Crew, and Sugarhill Gang.[103]
* A Vibe magazine poll in 2004 rated Shakur "the greatest rapper of all time" as voted by fans.[104]
* At the First Annual Turks & Caicos International Film Festival held on Tuesday, October 17, 2006, Shakur was honored for his undeniable voice and talent and as a performer who crossed racial, ethnic, cultural and medium lines; his mother accepted the award on his behalf.[105]
* In 2008, The National Association Of Recording Merchandisers in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized him as a very influential artist and has added him in their Definitive 200 list.[106]
* On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Shakur was inducted to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.[107]
* The seat of the Catholic Church released a list of 12 songs onto the social networking Web site's streaming music service. Among the artists included are Mozart, Muse and Dame Shirley Bassey; the list also includes Shakur's song "Changes", which was released two years after his shooting death on a greatest hits album in 1998.[108]
* His double album, All Eyez on Me, is one of the highest-selling rap albums of all time, with over 5 million copies of the album sold in the United States alone by April 1996; it was eventually certified 9x platinum in June 1998 by the RIAA.[109]
Discography
Main article: Tupac Shakur discography
Studio albums
Year Album Peak chart positions
[110][111][112][113][114] Certifications
[115][116][117]
US US R&B US CAN
1991 2Pacalypse Now 64 13 Gold
1993 Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. 24 4 Platinum
1994 Thug Life: Volume 1 (with Thug Life) 42 6 Gold
1995 Me Against the World 1 1 2× Platinum
1996 All Eyez on Me 1 1 9× Platinum Platinum
1996 The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory 1 1 4× Platinum Gold
Posthumous albums
Year Album Peak chart positions
[114][118][119] Certifications
[115][115][117]
US US R&B US CAN
1997 R U Still Down? (Remember Me) 2 1 4× Platinum
1998 Greatest Hits 2 1 9× Platinum
1999 Still I Rise (with the Outlawz) 6 2 Platinum Gold
2001 Until the End of Time 1 1 3× Platinum 2× Platinum
2002 Better Dayz 5 1 2× Platinum 3× Platinum
2003 Tupac Resurrection 2 3 Platinum
2004 Loyal to the Game 1 1 Platinum
2006 Pac's Life 9 3
Film
Acting career
In addition to rapping and hip hop music, Shakur acted in films. He made his first film appearance in the motion picture Nothing But Trouble, as part of a cameo by the Digital Underground. His first starring role was in the movie Juice. In this story, he played the character Bishop, a trigger happy teen, for which he was hailed by Rolling Stone's Peter Travers as "the film's most magnetic figure."[120] He went on to star with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice (for which he was nominated outstanding actor in 1994, but did not win) and with Duane Martin in Above the Rim. After his death, three of Shakur's completed films, Bullet, Gridlock'd and Gang Related, were posthumously released.[121][122][123]
He had also been slated to star in the Hughes brothers' film Menace II Society but was replaced by Larenz Tate after assaulting Allen Hughes as a result of a quarrel. Director John Singleton mentioned that he wrote the script for Baby Boy with Shakur in mind for the leading role.[124] It was eventually filmed with Tyrese Gibson in his place and released in 2001, five years after Shakur's death. The movie features a mural of Shakur in the protagonist's bedroom as well as featuring the song "Hail Mary" in the movie's score.[125]
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1991 Nothing But Trouble Himself (Brief appearance)
1992 Juice Bishop First starring role
1992 Drexell's Class Himself Season 1: "Cruisin'"
1993 A Different World Piccolo Season 6: "Homie, Don't You Know Me?"
1993 Poetic Justice Lucky Co-starred with Janet Jackson
1993 In Living Color Himself Season 5: "Ike Turner and Hooch"
1994 Above the Rim Birdie Co-starred with Duane Martin
1995 Murder Was the Case: The Movie Himself (Uncredited)
1996 Bullet Tank Released one month after Shakur's death
1997 Gridlock'd Ezekiel 'Spoon' Whitmore Released several months after Shakur's death
1997 Gang Related Detective Rodríguez Shakur's last performance in a film
2003 Tupac: Resurrection Himself Official documentary film
2009 Notorious Himself (archive footage) Portrayed by Anthony Mackie
20?? Live 2 Tell Screenwriter (Written in 1995)[126]
Documentaries
Shakur's life has been recognized in big and small documentaries each trying capture the many different events during his short lifetime, most notably the Academy Award–nominated Tupac: Resurrection, released in 2003.
* 1997: Tupac Shakur: Thug Immortal
* 1997: Tupac Shakur: Words Never Die (TV)
* 2001: Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake...
* 2001: Welcome to Deathrow
* 2002: Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel: The Life of an Outlaw
* 2002: Biggie & Tupac
* 2002: Tha Westside
* 2003: 2Pac 4 Ever
* 2003: Tupac: Resurrection
* 2004: Tupac vs.
* 2004: Tupac: The Hip Hop Genius (TV)
* 2006: So Many Years, So Many Tears
* 2007: Tupac: Assassination
* 2009: Tupac: Assassination II: Reckoning
See also
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of number-one albums (United States)
* List of number-one hits (United States)
References
1. ^ Goldman, Lea; Paine, Jake (October 29, 2007). "Top-Earning Dead Celebrities: 8. Tupac Shakur". Forbes (Forbes). http://www.forbes.com/2007/10/26/top-dead-celebrity-biz-media-deadcelebs07-cz_lg_1029celeb_slide_9.html
2. ^ http://www.riaa.com/goldandplatinumdata.php?resultpage=1&table=tblTopArt&action=
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4. ^ Growing Tupac's Legacy, 10 Years After His Death : NPR Music.
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7. ^ a b Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 330.
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51. ^ The Top Selling Record Albums of All Time.
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57. ^ a b c d Tupac Shakur LV Shooting – Thugz-Network.com.
58. ^ The Murder of Tupac Shakur.
59. ^ a b c Detailed information on the fatal shooting at http://www.alleyesonme.com/
60. ^ Don Killuminati |.
61. ^ 2PACWORLD.CO.UK – MARION 'SUGE' KNIGHT BIOGRAPHY, CEO OF DEATHROW RECORDS.
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63. ^ a b c d e Interview with Gobi at http://www.hitemup.com/
64. ^ a b c Tupac shooting in Las Vegas at http://www.hitemup.com/
65. ^ Tupac's life after death.
66. ^ "Fresh probe over rapper's murder". BBC News. March 18, 2006. Retrieved from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/entertainment/4820224.stm on 2006-04-10.
67. ^ BBC News. September 9, 2002. Retrieved on April 10, 2006, from Rapper's family denies murder theory.
68. ^ BBC News. September 6, 2002. Retrieved on April 10, 2006, from Paper investigates rapper murder.
69. ^ Times Retracts Shakur Story.
70. ^ Kandyba, Slav (July 16, 2008): Chuck Philips Accepts Buyout, Leaves L.A. Times. Retrieved 2010-06-16.
71. ^ "Notorious B.I.G.'s Family 'Outraged' By Tupac Article". Streetgangs.com. http://www.streetgangs.com/topics/tupac/090602aliby.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
72. ^ Jones, S. "The Truth is Being Covered Up". Philadelphia Weekly. 2002-09-18.
73. ^ "Tupac Bodyguard Issues 100k Challenge To Death Row Security". Allhiphop.com. http://allhiphop.com/stories/news/archive/2007/12/03/18956585.aspx. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
74. ^ "Life After Death". blackhistory.com. http://www.blackhistory.com/cgi-bin/blog.cgi?cid=52&reading=1&blog_id=60686. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
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76. ^ "All Eyez on Me". Allmusic. http://www.allmusic.com/album/r231489. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
77. ^ a b Dyson, M. Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur. BasicCivitas Books. 2001.
78. ^ "Only God Can Judge Me and lyrical Subversion" (PDF). http://www.albany.edu/scj/jcjpc/vol14is2/nisker.pdf. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
79. ^ http://www.csun.edu/csbs/departments/pan_african_studies/pdf/be_%20for_him_or_against_him.pdf Tupac mentioned God throughout his career making records like "Lord Knows," and "I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto"
80. ^ Street gangs asks; Which religion do you follow? retrieved, Vibeonline June 1996
81. ^ "Poem from 'the rose that grew from concrete'". Sing365.com. http://www.sing365.com/music/lyric.nsf/God-lyrics-2Pac/7C0F000187C5AF3548257042002E9259. Retrieved 2010-10-14.
82. ^ Tupac Shakur: A Roundtable Discussion, retrieved on 2009-10-14.
83. ^ "7 Days of Makaveli". justRHYMES.com. http://www.justrhymes.com/blog/2010/06/21/7-days-of-makaveli/. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
84. ^ Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. x.
85. ^ Edwards, Paul, 2009, How to Rap: The Art & Science of the Hip-Hop MC, Chicago Review Press, p. 100.
86. ^ 50 Greatest MCs of Our Time (1987–2007).
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89. ^ Neal, M. "New Black Man". Retrieved from newblackman.com on 2006-04-16.
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91. ^ Forman, M. "Tupac Shakur: O.G. (Ostensibly Gone)". Harvard University. 2003.
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93. ^ Dyson, M. "Holler If You Hear Me". Harvard University. 2003.
94. ^ Harvard Gazette, 2003-05-01, edition, writer Ken Gewertz.
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96. ^ Top Musical Artists for 2006.
97. ^ "Hip-Hop's Cash Kings 2008". Forbes.com. 2008-08-15. http://www.forbes.com/2008/08/15/music-media-hiphop-biz-media-cz_zog_0818cashkings.html. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
98. ^ Edited by Betsy Schiffman, 08.12.02, 12:00 PM ET. "Top-Earning Dead Celebrities". Forbes.com. http://www.forbes.com/2002/08/12/0812deadintro.html. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
99. ^ "Tupac Shakur Honored By Library of Congress". CBS News. June 23, 2010. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2010/06/23/entertainment/main6611103.shtml. Retrieved June 23, 2010.
100. ^ The Greatest MCs of All Time MTV. Retrieved on 2006-12-26.
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102. ^ MTV2 Presents: 22 Greatest MC's broadcast July 2003.
103. ^ VH1 Hip Hop Honorees 2004 at VH1.
104. ^ V Community: Greatest Rapper of All Time?.
105. ^ Turks and Caicos International Film Festival – Festival To Honor John Debney and Tupac Shakur, Friday, October 13.
106. ^ Rock And Roll Hall of Fame Top Artist.
107. ^ Up for Discussion Jump to Forums (2009-09-14). "Tupac, Willie Nelson, R.E.M. Among Inductees To National Recording Registry". Billboard.com. http://www.billboard.com/news/tupac-willie-nelson-r-e-m-among-inductees-1004099730.story#/news/tupac-willie-nelson-r-e-m-among-inductees-1004099730.story. Retrieved 2010-07-24.
108. ^ [1], retrieved on 2010-07-06].
109. ^ RIAA – Gold & Platinum, retrieved on 2009-10-14.
110. ^ Discography entry for 2Pacalypse Now at Billboard.com.
111. ^ Discography entry for Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.A. at Billboard.com.
112. ^ Discotraphy entry for Me Against the World at Billboard.com.
113. ^ Discography entry for All Eyez on Me at Billboard.com.
114. ^ a b allmusic ((( 2Pac > Charts & Awards > Billboard Albums ))). Allmusic. Retrieved 2008-05-11.
115. ^ a b c RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Tupac Shakur.
116. ^ RIAA Gold and Platinum Search for albums by Makaveli.
117. ^ a b CRIA Gold and Platinum database.
118. ^ Discography entry for RU Still Down? (Remember Me) at Billboard.com.
119. ^ Discography entry for Until the End of Time at Billboard.com.
120. ^ 2Pac biography. Alleyezonme. Retrieved 2007-12-05.
121. ^ "Bullet". movie-censorship.com. http://movie-censorship.com/report.php?ID=1069524. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
122. ^ "Gridlock'd". Entertainment Weekly. http://www.ew.com/ew/article/0,,286619,00.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
123. ^ "Gang Related". Box Office Mojo. http://www.boxofficemojo.com/movies/?id=gangrelated.htm. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
124. ^ village voice > news > Sex & Negrocity by Greg Tate.
125. ^ "FILM". rapbasement.com. http://www.rapbasement.com/hip-hop/god-bless-the-dead/2pac.html. Retrieved 2010-07-28.
126. ^ Recently announced biopic in the works.
Sources
* Bastfield, Darrin Keith (2002). Back In The Day: My Life And Times With Tupac Shakur. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0345447753 .
* Hoye, Jacob (2006). Tupac: Resurrection. Atria. ISBN 074347435X .
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tupac Shakur
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Tupac Shakur
* 2Pac Legacy (Official website)
* Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation for the Arts
* Tupac Legacy Tour
* Yaki Kadafi Official Website
* Tupac Shakur at the Internet Movie Database
* Online catalog of Shakur's personal library from his apartment at the time of his death, online at LibraryThing
[show]
v • d • e
Tupac Shakur
Studio albums
2Pacalypse Now · Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. · Thug Life: Volume 1 · Me Against the World · All Eyez on Me · The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
Posthumous albums
R U Still Down? (Remember Me) · Still I Rise · Until the End of Time · Better Dayz · Loyal to the Game · Pac's Life
Live albums
2Pac Live · Live at the House of Blues
Compilation albums
Greatest Hits · The Rose That Grew from Concrete · The Prophet: The Best of the Works · Nu-Mixx Klazzics · Tupac: Resurrection · The Rose, Vol. 2 · The Prophet Returns · Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988–1991 · Nu-Mixx Klazzics Vol. 2 · Best of 2Pac
Extended plays
Makaveli & Dillinger Don't Go 2 Sleep
Singles
"Brenda's Got a Baby" · "If My Homie Calls" · "Trapped" · "Holler If Ya Hear Me" · "I Get Around" · "Keep Ya Head Up" · "Papa'z Song" · "Cradle to the Grave" · "Dear Mama" · "So Many Tears" · "Temptations" · "California Love" · "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" · "How Do U Want It" · "All bout U" · "I Ain't Mad at Cha" · "Toss It Up" · "Life Goes On" · "Hail Mary" · "Wanted Dead or Alive" · "Made Niggaz"
Posthumous singles
"I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" · "Do for Love" · "Changes" · "Unconditional Love" · "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)" · "Who Do U Believe In" · "Until the End of Time" · "Letter 2 My Unborn" · "Thugz Mansion" · "Still Ballin'" · "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" · "One Day at a Time (Em's Version)" · "Thugs Get Lonely Too" · "Ghetto Gospel" · "Untouchable" · "Pac's Life"
Other songs
"Runnin' (From tha Police)" · "Hit 'Em Up"
Featured singles
"Smile" · "Playa Cardz Right"
Documentaries
"Biggie & Tupac" · "Tupac: Resurrection" · "Tupac: Assassination"
Related articles
Discography · Outlawz · Digital Underground · Afeni Shakur · Assata Shakur · Mopreme Shakur · Mutulu Shakur · The Notorious B.I.G. · Death Row Records · East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry · Makaveli Branded Clothing · Orlando Anderson · Johnny "J" · Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts · Billy Garland
[show]
v • d • e
Death Row Records
Founders
Dr. Dre · Suge Knight
Former artists
2nd II None · Above the Law · Crooked I · Daz Dillinger · Danny Boy · Dr. Dre · The D.O.C. · Gina Longo · Hammer · J-Flexx · Jewell · Kurupt · The Lady of Rage · LBC Crew · Lil Bow Wow · Lil' C-Style · Lisa Lopes · Michel'le · Mac Shawn · Nate Dogg · Outlawz · Petey Pablo · Prince Ital Joe · RBX · Sam Sneed · Soopafly · Snoop Doggy Dogg · Swoop G · Tha Dogg Pound · Tha Realest · Top Dogg · Tray Deee · Tupac Shakur · Young Soldierz
Albums
15 Years on Death Row · Above the Rim · Christmas on Death Row · Chronic 2000 · Death Row Greatest Hits · Death Row: The Singles Collection · Dysfunktional Family · Gang Related · Gridlock'd · The Very Best of Death Row · Too Gangsta for Radio
[show]
v • d • e
Outlawz
Young Noble · E.D.I. · Nutt-So · Stormey · Hussein Fatal
Tupac Shakur · Yaki Kadafi · Big Syke · Mopreme Shakur · Napoleon · Kastro
Albums
Ride wit Us or Collide wit Us · Novakane · Neva Surrenda · Outlaw 4 Life: 2005 A.P. · We Want In: The Street LP
Collaboration albums
Still I Rise · Can't Sell Dope Forever · Soldier 2 Soldier · Ghetto Monopoly
Related albums
Blood Brothers · Against All Oddz · Thug in Thug Out
Singles
"Hit 'Em Up" · "Made Niggaz" · "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)" · "One Day at a Time (Em's Version)"
Related articles
Discography · Outlaw Recordz
Persondata
Name Shakur, Tupac Amaru
Alternative names 2Pac, Pac, Makaveli
Short description American rap artist, actor and poet
Date of birth June 16, 1971
Place of birth New York City, New York, United States
Date of death September 13, 1996
Place of death Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur"
Categories: 1971 births | 1996 deaths | 1990s rappers | African American film actors | African American poets | African American rappers | African American record producers | American hip hop record producers | American people convicted of assault | American screenwriters | American sex offenders | American shooting survivors | Atlantic Records artists | Deaths by firearm in Nevada | Death Row Records artists | Deaths from respiratory failure | English-language poets | Interscope Records artists | Murdered African-American people | Murdered entertainers | Murdered rappers | People from Baltimore, Maryland | People from Harlem | People from Marin County, California | People murdered in Nevada | Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area | Road crew | Shakur family | Tupac Shakur | Unsolved murders in the United States | West Coast hip hop musicians
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Tupac Shakur
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Page semi-protected
Tupac Amaru Shakur
Background information
Also known as 2Pac, Pac, Makaveli
Born June 16, 1971(1971-06-16)
East Harlem, New York City, New York, U.S.
Origin Marin City, California, U.S.
Died September 13, 1996(1996-09-13) (aged 25)
Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Genres Hip hop
Occupations Rapper, actor, record producer, poet, screenwriter, activist
Years active
1988–1996 (rapping)
1991–1996 (acting)
Labels Interscope, Death Row, Amaru
Associated acts Outlawz, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Digital Underground, Biggie, Richie Rich, K-Ci & JoJo, Dave Hollister, Johnny "J", Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound, Boot Camp Clik, Nate Dogg
Website www.tasf.org
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac (or simply Pac) and Makaveli, was an American rapper. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide,[1] making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In the United States alone he has sold 37.5 million records.[2] Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time.[3]
In addition to his career as a top-selling rap artist, he was a promising actor,[4] and a social activist. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, other social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.[5][6][7]
In September 1996, Shakur was shot four times in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.[8]
Contents
[hide]
* 1 Early life
* 2 Rapping career
* 3 Thug Life
* 4 Legal issues
* 5 November 1994 shooting
* 6 Prison sentence
* 7 Death Row Records
o 7.1 Makaveli Records
* 8 September 1996 shooting and death
o 8.1 Murder case
* 9 Influences
* 10 Personal life
* 11 Legacy
o 11.1 Library of Congress
* 12 Honors
* 13 Discography
o 13.1 Studio albums
o 13.2 Posthumous albums
* 14 Film
o 14.1 Acting career
o 14.2 Filmography
o 14.3 Documentaries
* 15 See also
* 16 References
* 17 Sources
* 18 External links
Early life
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City.[9] He was named after Túpac Amaru II,[10] a Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and was subsequently executed.[11]
His mother, Afeni Shakur, and his father, Billy Garland, were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s; he was born just one month after his mother's acquittal on more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York Panther 21 court case.[12]
Although unconfirmed by the Shakur family, several sources (including the official coroner's report) list his birth name as "Lesane Parish Crooks".[13] This name was supposedly entered on the birth certificate because Afeni feared her enemies would attack her son, and disguised his true identity using a different last name. She changed it later, following her separation from Garland and marriage to Mutulu Shakur.[14]
Struggle and incarceration surrounded Shakur from an early age. His godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high ranking Black Panther, was convicted of murdering a school teacher during a 1968 robbery, although his sentence was later overturned. His stepfather, Mutulu, spent four years at large on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list beginning in 1982, when Shakur was a pre-teen. Mutulu was wanted in part for having helped his sister Assata Shakur (also known as Joanne Chesimard) to escape from a penitentiary in New Jersey, where she had been incarcerated for allegedly shooting a state trooper to death in 1973. Mutulu was caught in 1986 and imprisoned for the robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which two police officers and a guard were killed.[15] Shakur had a half-sister, Sekyiwa, two years his junior, and an older stepbrother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, who appeared on many of his recordings.[16]
At the age of twelve, Shakur enrolled in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble and was cast as the Travis Younger character in the play A Raisin in the Sun, which was performed at the famous Apollo Theater. In 1986, the family relocated to Baltimore, Maryland.[17] After completing his second year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School he transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays, and in the role of the Mouse King in The Nutcracker.[15] Shakur, accompanied by one of his friends, Dana "Mouse" Smith, as his beatbox, won most of the many rap competitions that he participated in and was considered to be the best rapper in his school.[18] Although he lacked trendy clothing, he was one of the most popular kids in his school because of his sense of humor, superior rapping skills, and ability to mix in with all crowds.[19] He developed a close friendship with a young Jada Pinkett (later Jada Pinkett Smith) that lasted until his death. In the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur says, "Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life," and Pinkett Smith calls him "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." A poem written by Shakur titled "Jada" appears in his book, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, which also includes a poem dedicated to Pinkett Smith called "The Tears in Cupid's Eyes". During his time in art school, Shakur began dating the daughter of the director of the Baltimore Communist Party USA.[20]
In June 1988, Shakur and his family moved once again, this time to Marin City, California,[17] where he attended Tamalpais High School.[21] He began attending the poetry classes of Leila Steinberg in 1989.[22] That same year, Steinberg organized a concert with a former group of Shakur's, Strictly Dope; the concert led to him being signed with Atron Gregory who set him up with the up-and-coming rap group Digital Underground. In 1990, he was hired as the band's backup dancer and roadie.[5][6][7]
Rapping career
Shakur's professional entertainment career began in the early 1990s, when he debuted his rapping skills in a vocal turn in Digital Underground's "Same Song" from the soundtrack to the 1991 film Nothing but Trouble and also appeared with the group in the film of the same name. The song was later released as the lead song of the Digital Underground EP This is an EP Release, the follow-up to their debut hit album Sex Packets. Shakur appeared in the accompanying music video. After his rap debut, he performed with Digital Underground again on the album Sons of the P. Later, he released his first solo album, 2Pacalypse Now.
2Pacalypse Now did not do as well on the charts as future albums, spawning no top ten hits. His second record, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., was released in 1993.
Thug Life
In late 1993, Shakur formed the group Thug Life with a number of his friends, including Big Syke, Macadoshis, his stepbrother Mopreme Shakur, and Rated R. The group released their only record album Thug Life: Volume 1 on September 26, 1994, which went gold. The album featured the single "Pour Out a Little Liquor" produced by Johnny "J" Jackson, who went on to produce a large part of Shakur's album All Eyez on Me. The group usually performed their concerts without Shakur.[23]
Legal issues
Even as he garnered attention as a rapper and actor, Shakur gained notoriety for his conflicts with the law. In October 1991, he attempted to file a $10 million civil suit against the law enforcement of the Oakland Police Department, alleging they brutally beat him for jaywalking.[24]
In 1992, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who was listening to 2Pacalypse Now which included songs about killing police. This caused a swirl of media controversy. Dan Quayle, the Vice President of the United States at the time, demanded that the album be withdrawn from music stores and media across the country; Interscope refused.[24] Shakur claimed his first album was aimed at the problems facing young black males, but it was criticized for its graphic language and images of violence by and against law enforcement. Quayle publicly denounced the album as having "no place in our society."[25]
On August 22, 1992, in Marin City, California, Shakur rapped at an outdoor festival, and stayed for an hour signing autographs and pictures. Some earlier negative remarks made by Shakur about Marin City had caught up and when arguments started, voices got loud; he pulled a Colt Mustang, cocked it, fumbled and it fell. Someone picked up the gun and a bullet discharged.[inconsistent] Though nobody in the crowd was shot, about 100 yards away, 6-year old Qa'id Walker-Teal rode a bicycle at a schoolyard and was hit in the forehead, the bullet killing him. Shakur and Mopreme left in their car and were stopped by an angry mob, by chance, in front of a sheriff's substation. The police "rescued" and took the two into custody, who were released without charge. In 1995, a civil case was brought up by Qa'id's mother. Shakur's lawyer said that the festival was a "nasty situation," and Shakur was saddened by the death of the boy. Shakur's record company settled the lawsuit for a figure reported between $300,000 and $500,000.[26]
In October 1993, in Atlanta, two brothers and off-duty police officers, Mark and Scott Whitwell, were with their wives celebrating Mrs. Whitwell's recent passing of the state bar examination. As they crossed the street, a car with Shakur inside passed by them or "almost struck them," after which the Whitwells began an altercation with the driver, Shakur and the other passengers, which was then joined by a second passing car. Shakur shot one officer in the buttocks, and the other in the leg, back, or abdomen, according to varying news reports. There were no other injuries, but Mark Whitwell was charged with firing at Shakur's car and later lying to the police during the investigation, and Shakur with the shooting, until prosecutors decided to drop all charges against all parties.[27][28]
In November 1993, Shakur and others were charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room. According to the complaint, Shakur sodomized the woman and then encouraged his friends to sexually abuse her. Shakur denied the charges. According to Shakur, he had prior relations days earlier with the woman; she performed oral sex on him on a club dance floor and the two later had consensual sex in his hotel room. The complainant claimed sexual assault after her second visit to Shakur's hotel room; she alleged that Shakur and his entourage gang banged her, and she said to Shakur when she left, "Why you let them do this to me?"[29][30] Shakur said that he fell asleep shortly after the woman arrived and later awoke to her accusations and legal threats. In the ensuing trial, Shakur was convicted of sexual abuse. In sentencing Shakur to 1½–4½ years in prison, the judge described the crime as "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman."[31][32][33] After serving part of his sentence, Shakur was released on bail pending appeal. On April 5, 1996, a judge sentenced him to serve 120 days in jail for violating terms of his release on bail.[34]
In 1995, a wrongful death suit was brought against Shakur for a 1992 shooting that killed Qa'id Walker-Teal, a six-year old of Marin City. The child was the victim of a stray bullet in a shootout between Shakur's entourage and a rival group. Ballistics tests proved the bullet that killed the boy was not from Shakur's or any members of his entourage's guns.[inconsistent] No criminal charges were brought. Shakur settled with the family for an undisclosed amount, estimated at $300,000–$500,000.[35][36]
November 1994 shooting
On the night of November 30, 1994, the day before the verdict in his sexual abuse trial was to be announced, Shakur was shot five times and robbed after entering the lobby of Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan by two armed men in army fatigues. He would later accuse Sean Combs,[37] Andre Harrell, and Biggie Smalls—whom he saw after the shooting—of setting him up. Shakur also suspected his close friend and associate, Randy "Stretch" Walker, of being involved in the attempt. According to the doctors at Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted immediately following the incident, Shakur had received five bullet wounds; twice in the head, twice in the groin and once through the arm and thigh. He checked out of the hospital, against doctor's orders, three hours after surgery. In the day that followed, Shakur entered the courthouse in a wheelchair and was found guilty of three counts of molestation, but innocent of six others, including sodomy. On February 6, 1995, he was sentenced to one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison on a sexual assault charge.[38]
A year later on November 30, 1995, Stretch was killed after being shot twice in the back by three men who pulled up alongside his green minivan at 112th Ave. and 209th St. in Queens Village, while he was driving. His minivan smashed into a tree and hit a parked car before flipping over.[39]
On March 27, 2008, the LA Times issued an apology to Combs for blaming him for having a role in the November 1994 shooting. The article stated that Shakur was led to the studio by Biggie's associates to gun him down to make favor with Biggie. The newspaper relied on forged documents that The Smoking Gun proved to be faked.[40] Combs stated that he is disgusted with the LA Times for printing the story.[41][42][43][44]
Prison sentence
Shakur began serving his prison sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility on February 14, 1995. Shortly afterwards, he released his multi-platinum album Me Against the World. Shakur is the only artist ever to have an album at number one on the Billboard 200 while serving a prison sentence. The album made its debut on the Billboard 200 and stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks. The record album sold 240,000 copies in its first week, setting a record for highest first week sales for a solo male rap artist at the time.[45] While serving his sentence, he married his long-time girlfriend, Keisha Morris, on April 4, 1995; the couple later divorced in 1996.[46] While imprisoned, Shakur read many books by Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu's The Art of War and other works of political philosophy and strategy.[47] He also wrote a screenplay titled Live 2 Tell while incarcerated, a story about an adolescent who becomes a drug baron.[48]
In October 1995, Shakur's case was on appeal but due to all of his legal fees he could not raise the $1.4 million bail. After serving eleven months of his one-and-a-half year to four-and-a-half year sentence,[49] Shakur was released from the penitentiary due in large part to the help and influence of Suge Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records, who posted a $1.4 million bail pending appeal of the conviction in exchange for Shakur to release three albums under the Death Row label.[50]
Death Row Records
Upon his release from Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur immediately went back to song recording. He began a new group called Outlaw Immortalz. Shakur began recording his first album with Death Row and released the single "California Love" soon after. On February 13, 1996, Shakur released his fourth solo album, All Eyez on Me. This double album was the first and second of his three-album commitment to Death Row Records. It sold over nine million copies.[51] The record was a general departure from the introspective subject matter of Me Against the World, being more oriented toward a thug and gangsta mentality. Shakur continued his recordings despite increasing problems at the Death Row label. Dr. Dre left his post as house producer to form his own label, Aftermath. Shakur continued to produce hundreds of tracks during his time at Death Row, most of which would be released on his posthumous albums R U Still Down? (Remember Me), Still I Rise, Until the End of Time, Better Dayz, Loyal to the Game and Pac's Life. He also began the process of recording an album with the Boot Camp Clik and their label Duck Down Records, both New York–based, entitled One Nation.[52]
On June 4, 1996, he and Outlawz released the diss track "Hit 'Em Up", a scathing lyrical assault on Biggie and others associated with him. In the track, Shakur claimed to have had intercourse with Faith Evans, Biggie's wife at the time, and attacks Bad Boy's street credibility. Though no hard evidence suggests so, Shakur was convinced that some members associated with Bad Boy had known about the '94 attack on him beforehand due to their behavior that night and what his sources told him. Shakur aligned himself with Suge, Death Row's CEO, who was already bitter toward Combs over a 1995 incident at the Platinum Club in Atlanta, Georgia, which culminated in the death of Suge's friend and bodyguard, Jake Robles; Suge was adamant in voicing his suspicions of Combs' involvement.[53] Shakur's signing with Suge and Death Row added fuel to building an East Coast-West Coast conflict. Both sides remained bitter enemies until Shakur's death. On July 4, 1996, he performed live at the House of Blues with Outlawz, Tha Dogg Pound, and Snoop Doggy Dogg also headlining. This was Shakur's very last live performance.[54]
While incarcerated in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur read and studied Niccolò Machiavelli and other published works, which inspired his pseudonym "Makaveli" under which he released the record album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The album presents a stark contrast to previous works. Throughout the album, Shakur continues to focus on the themes of pain and aggression, making this album one of the emotionally darker works of his career. Shakur wrote and recorded all the lyrics in only three days and the production took another four days, combining for a total of seven days to complete the album (hence the name).
Makaveli Records
He mentioned Makaveli Records a few times before his death. This was supposed to be a music label for up and coming artists that Shakur had an interest in developing or potentially signing, and his own future projects would have also been published through it as well.[55]
September 1996 shooting and death
The famous photograph of Shakur taken just twenty minutes before the drive-by shooting, from the cover of the book The Killing of Tupac Shakur by Cathy Scott
On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur attended the Mike Tyson – Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After leaving the match, one of Suge's associates spotted 21-year-old Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips, in the MGM Grand lobby and informed Shakur, who then attacked Anderson. Shakur's entourage, as well as Suge and his followers, assisted in assaulting Anderson. The fight was captured on the hotel's video surveillance. Earlier that year, Anderson and a group of Crips had robbed a member of Death Row's entourage in a Foot Locker store, precipitating Shakur's attack. After the brawl, Shakur went to rendezvous with Suge to go to Death Row-owned Club 662 (now known as restaurant/club Seven). He rode in Suge's 1996 black BMW 750iL sedan as part of a larger convoy including many in Shakur's entourage.[56]
At 10:55 p.m., while paused at a red light, Shakur rolled down his window and a photographer took his photograph.[57] At around 11:00–11:05 p.m., they were halted on Las Vegas Blvd. by Metro bicycle police for playing the car stereo too loud and not having license plates. The plates were then found in the trunk of Suge's car; they were released without being fined a few minutes later.[57][58] At about 11:10 p.m., while stopped at a red light at Flamingo Road near the intersection of Koval Lane in front of the Maxim Hotel, a vehicle occupied by two women pulled up on their right side. Shakur, who was standing up through the sunroof, exchanged words with the two women, and invited them to go to Club 662.[57] At approximately 11:15 p.m., a white, four-door, late-model Cadillac with an unknown number of occupants pulled up to the sedan's right side, rolled down one of the windows, and rapidly fired a volley of gunshots at Shakur; bullets hit him in the chest, pelvis, and his right hand and thigh.[8][57] One of the rounds apparently ricocheted into Shakur's right lung.[59] Suge was hit in the head by fragmentation, though it is thought that a bullet grazed him.[60] According to Suge, a bullet from the gunfire had been lodged in his skull, but medical reports later contradicted this statement.[61]
At the time of the drive-by Shakur's bodyguard was following behind in a vehicle belonging to Kidada Jones, Shakur's then-fiancée. The bodyguard, Frank Alexander, stated that when he was about to ride along with the rapper in Suge's car, Shakur asked him to drive Kidada Jones' car instead just in case they were too drunk and needed additional vehicles from Club 662 back to the hotel. Shortly after the assault, the bodyguard reported in his documentary, Before I Wake, that one of the convoy's cars drove off after the assailant but he never heard back from the occupants.[62]
After arriving on the scene, police and paramedics took Suge and a mortally wounded Shakur to the University Medical Center. According to an interview with one of Shakur's closest friends the music video director Gobi, while at the hospital, he received news from a Death Row marketing employee that the shooters had called the record label and were sending death threats aimed at Shakur, claiming that they were going there to "finish him off".[63] Upon hearing this, Gobi immediately alerted the Las Vegas police, but the police claimed they were understaffed and no one could be sent.[63] Nonetheless, the shooters never arrived.[63] At the hospital, Shakur was in and out of consciousness, was heavily sedated, breathed through a ventilator and respirator, was placed on life support machines, and was ultimately put under a barbiturate-induced coma after repeatedly trying to get out of the bed.[8][63][64]
Despite having been resuscitated in a trauma center and surviving a multitude of surgeries (as well as the removal of a failed right lung), Shakur had gotten through the critical phase of the medical therapy and was given a 50% chance of pulling through.[59] Gobi left the medical center after being informed that Shakur made a 13% recovery on the sixth night.[63] While in the critical care unit on the afternoon of September 13, 1996, Shakur died of internal bleeding; doctors attempted to revive him but could not impede his hemorrhaging.[8][64] His mother, Afeni, made the decision to tell the doctors to stop.[59][64] He was pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m. (PDT)[8] The official cause of death was noted as respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest in connection with multiple gunshot wounds.[8] Shakur's body was cremated and some of his ashes were later mixed with marijuana and smoked by members of Outlawz.[65]
Murder case
Due largely to a perceived lack of progress by law enforcement in the investigation of Shakur's murder, many independent investigations and theories emerged. Because of the acrimony between Shakur and Biggie (who was murdered in March 1997[66]), there was speculation from the outset about the possibility of Biggie's involvement. Biggie, as well as his family, relatives, and associates, vehemently denied all such accusations.[67] In 2002, the LA Times published a story by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Chuck Philips, who claimed to have uncovered evidence implicating Biggie, in addition to Anderson and the Southside Crips, in the attack.[68] Philips quoted unnamed gang-member sources who claimed Biggie had ties to the Crips, often hiring them for security during West Coast appearances, and that Biggie colluded with the Crips to murder Shakur. In 2008, after The Smoking Gun reported that the documents relied upon by Philips for his story were fraudulent, the LA Times printed an official front-page retraction of Philips' story.[69] Less than five months later, Philips accepted a buyout and left the LA Times.[70]
In support of their claims, Biggie's family submitted documentation to MTV suggesting that he was working in a New York recording studio the night of the drive-by shooting. His manager Wayne Barrow and fellow rapper James "Lil' Cease" Lloyd made public announcements denying Biggie's partaking in the crime and claimed further that they were both with him in the recording studio during the night of the event.[71]
The high profile nature of the killing and ensuing gang violence caught the attention of English filmmaker Nick Broomfield, who made the documentary film Biggie & Tupac which examines the lack of progress in the case by speaking to those close to the two slain rappers and the investigation. Shakur's close childhood friend and member of Outlawz, Yafeu "Yaki Kadafi" Fula, was in the convoy when the drive-by occurred and indicated to police that he might be able to identify the assailants, however, he was shot and killed shortly thereafter in a housing project in Irvington.[72]
A DVD titled Tupac: Assassination was released on October 23, 2007, more than eleven years after Shakur's murder. It explores aspects surrounding the event and provides fresh insights into the cold case with new details about the environment.[73]
Influences
Shakur's music and philosophy is rooted in many American, African-American, and World entities, including the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. His debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, revealed the socially conscious side of Shakur. On this album, Shakur attacked social injustice, poverty and police brutality on songs "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Trapped" and "Part Time Mutha". His style on this album was highly influenced by the social consciousness and Afrocentrism pervading hip hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On this initial release, Shakur helped extend the success of such rap groups as Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, X-Clan, and Grandmaster Flash, as he became one of the first major socially conscious rappers from the West Coast.[74]
On his second record, Shakur continued to rap about the social ills facing African-Americans, with songs like "The Streetz R Deathrow" and "Last Wordz". He also showed his compassionate side with the anthem "Keep Ya Head Up", while simultaneously putting his legendary aggressiveness on display with the title track from the album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. he added a salute to his former group Digital Underground by including them on the playful track "I Get Around". Throughout his career, an increasingly aggressive attitude can be seen pervading Shakur's subsequent albums.[75]
The contradictory themes of social inequality and injustice, unbridled aggression, compassion, playfulness, and hope all continued to shape Shakur's work, as witnessed with the release of his incendiary 1995 album Me Against the World. In 1996, Shakur released All Eyez on Me. Many of these tracks are considered by many critics to be classics, including "Ambitionz Az a Ridah", "I Ain't Mad at Cha", "California Love", "Life Goes On" and "Picture Me Rollin'".; All Eyez on Me was a change of style from his earlier works. While still containing socially conscious songs and themes, Shakur's album was heavily influenced by party tracks and tended to have a more "feel good" vibe than his first albums. Shakur described it as a celebration of life, and the record was critically and commercially successful.[76]
Personal life
Shakur was a voracious reader. He was inspired by a wide variety of writers, including William Shakespeare, Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Goines, Sun Tzu, Kurt Vonnegut, Mikhail Bakunin, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Khalil Gibran. In his book, Dyson describes the experience of visiting the home of Shakur's friend and promoter Leila Steinberg to find "the sea of books" once owned by Shakur.[77]
Shakur never professed following a particular religion, but his lyrics in singles such as 'Only God Can Judge Me' and poems such as The Rose That Grew from Concrete suggests he believed in God. This means many analysts currently describe him as a deist.[78][79][80][81]
Legacy
Statue of Tupac Shakur in Herford, Germany
At a Mobb Deep concert following the death of the famed icon and release of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, Cormega recalled in an interview that the fans were all shouting "Makaveli,"[82] and emphasized the influence of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and of Shakur himself even in New York at the height of the media-dubbed 'intercoastal rivalry'.[83]
Shakur is held in high esteem by other MCs – in the book How to Rap, Bishop Lamont notes that Shakur “mastered every element, every aspect” of rapping[84] and Fredro Starr of Onyx says Shakur, "was a master of the flow."[85] "Every rapper who grew up in the Nineties owes something to Tupac," wrote 50 Cent. "He didn't sound like anyone who came before him."[3]
About.com named Shakur the most influential rapper ever.[86]
To preserve Shakur's legacy, his mother founded the Shakur Family Foundation (later re-named the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation or TASF) in 1997. The TASF's stated mission is to "provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents." The TASF sponsors essay contests, charity events, a performing arts day camp for teenagers and undergraduate scholarships. The Foundation officially opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) in Stone Mountain, Georgia, on June 11, 2005. On November 14, 2003, a documentary about Shakur entitled Tupac: Resurrection was released under the supervision of his mother and narrated entirely in his voice. It was nominated for Best Documentary in the 2005 Academy Awards. Proceeds will go to a charity set up by Shakur's mother Afeni. On April 17, 2003, Harvard University co-sponsored an academic symposium entitled "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero." The speakers discussed a wide range of topics dealing with Shakur's impact on everything from entertainment to sociology.[87]
Many of the speakers discussed Shakur's status and public persona, including State University of New York at Buffalo English professor Mark Anthony Neal who gave the talk "Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity Gramscian" in which he argued that Shakur was an example of the "organic intellectual" expressing the concerns of a larger group.[88] Professor Neal has also indicated in his writings that the death of Shakur has left a "leadership void amongst hip-hop artists."[89] Neal further describes him as a "walking contradiction", a status that allowed him to "make being an intellectual accessible to ordinary people."[90]
Professor of Communications Murray Forman, of Northeastern University, spoke of the mythical status about Shakur's life and death. He addressed the symbolism and mythology surrounding Shakur's death in his talk entitled "Tupac Shakur: O.G. (Ostensibly Gone)". Among his findings were that Shakur's fans have "succeeded in resurrecting Tupac as an ethereal life force."[91] In "From Thug Life to Legend: Realization of a Black Folk Hero", Professor of Music at Northeastern University, Emmett Price, compared Shakur's public image to that of the trickster-figures of African-American folklore which gave rise to the urban "bad-man" persona of the post-slavery period. He ultimately described Shakur as a "prolific artist" who was "driven by a terrible sense of urgency" in a quest to "unify mind, body, and spirit".[92]
Michael Eric Dyson, University of Pennsylvania Avalon Professor of Humanities and African American Studies and author of the book Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur[77] indicated that Shakur "spoke with brilliance and insight as someone who bears witness to the pain of those who would never have his platform. He told the truth, even as he struggled with the fragments of his identity."[93] At one Harvard Conference the theme was Shakur's impact on entertainment, race relations, politics and the "hero/martyr".[94] In late 1997, the University of California, Berkeley offered a student-led course entitled "History 98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur."[95]
In late 2003, the Makaveli Branded Clothing line was launched by Afeni. In 2005, Death Row released Tupac: Live at the House of Blues. The DVD was the final recorded performance of Shakur's career, which took place on July 4, 1996, and features a plethora of Death Row artists. In August 2006, Tupac Shakur Legacy was released. The interactive biography was written by Jamal Joseph. It features unseen family photographs, intimate stories, and over 20 removable reproductions of his handwritten song lyrics, contracts, scripts, poetry, and other personal papers. Shakur's sixth posthumous studio album, Pac's Life, was released on November 21, 2006. It commemorates the 10th anniversary of Shakur's death. He is still considered one of the most popular artists in the music industry as of 2006[update].[96]
According to Forbes, in 2008 Shakur's estate made $15 million.[97] In 2002, they recognize him as a Top Earning Dead celebrity coming in on number ten on their list.[98]
Library of Congress
Shakur's hit song “Dear Mama" is one of 25 songs that will be added to the National Recording Registry in 2010. The Library of Congress has called "Dear Mama" "a moving and eloquent homage to both the murdered rapper's own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference." This honor comes seven days after his birthday, where the rapper would have been 39. Shakur is the third rapper to enter the library, behind Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy.[99]
Honors
* MTV ranked him at #2 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time.[100]
* Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002.[101]
* In 2003, MTV's "22 Greatest MCs" countdown listed Shakur as the "number 1 MC", as voted by the viewers.[102]
* In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Shakur was honored along with DJ Hollywood, Kool DJ Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., Rock Steady Crew, and Sugarhill Gang.[103]
* A Vibe magazine poll in 2004 rated Shakur "the greatest rapper of all time" as voted by fans.[104]
* At the First Annual Turks & Caicos International Film Festival held on Tuesday, October 17, 2006, Shakur was honored for his undeniable voice and talent and as a performer who crossed racial, ethnic, cultural and medium lines; his mother accepted the award on his behalf.[105]
* In 2008, The National Association Of Recording Merchandisers in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized him as a very influential artist and has added him in their Definitive 200 list.[106]
* On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Shakur was inducted to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.[107]
* The seat of the Catholic Church released a list of 12 songs onto the social networking Web site's streaming music service. Among the artists included are Mozart, Muse and Dame Shirley Bassey; the list also includes Shakur's song "Changes", which was released two years after his shooting death on a greatest hits album in 1998.[108]
* His double album, All Eyez on Me, is one of the highest-selling rap albums of all time, with over 5 million copies of the album sold in the United States alone by April 1996; it was eventually certified 9x platinum in June 1998 by the RIAA.[109]
Discography
Main article: Tupac Shakur discography
Studio albums
Year Album Peak chart positions
[110][111][112][113][114] Certifications
[115][116][117]
US US R&B US CAN
1991 2Pacalypse Now 64 13 Gold
1993 Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. 24 4 Platinum
1994 Thug Life: Volume 1 (with Thug Life) 42 6 Gold
1995 Me Against the World 1 1 2× Platinum
1996 All Eyez on Me 1 1 9× Platinum Platinum
1996 The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory 1 1 4× Platinum Gold
Posthumous albums
Year Album Peak chart positions
[114][118][119] Certifications
[115][115][117]
US US R&B US CAN
1997 R U Still Down? (Remember Me) 2 1 4× Platinum
1998 Greatest Hits 2 1 9× Platinum
1999 Still I Rise (with the Outlawz) 6 2 Platinum Gold
2001 Until the End of Time 1 1 3× Platinum 2× Platinum
2002 Better Dayz 5 1 2× Platinum 3× Platinum
2003 Tupac Resurrection 2 3 Platinum
2004 Loyal to the Game 1 1 Platinum
2006 Pac's Life 9 3
Film
Acting career
In addition to rapping and hip hop music, Shakur acted in films. He made his first film appearance in the motion picture Nothing But Trouble, as part of a cameo by the Digital Underground. His first starring role was in the movie Juice. In this story, he played the character Bishop, a trigger happy teen, for which he was hailed by Rolling Stone's Peter Travers as "the film's most magnetic figure."[120] He went on to star with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice (for which he was nominated outstanding actor in 1994, but did not win) and with Duane Martin in Above the Rim. After his death, three of Shakur's completed films, Bullet, Gridlock'd and Gang Related, were posthumously released.[121][122][123]
He had also been slated to star in the Hughes brothers' film Menace II Society but was replaced by Larenz Tate after assaulting Allen Hughes as a result of a quarrel. Director John Singleton mentioned that he wrote the script for Baby Boy with Shakur in mind for the leading role.[124] It was eventually filmed with Tyrese Gibson in his place and released in 2001, five years after Shakur's death. The movie features a mural of Shakur in the protagonist's bedroom as well as featuring the song "Hail Mary" in the movie's score.[125]
Filmography
Year Title Role Notes
1991 Nothing But Trouble Himself (Brief appearance)
1992 Juice Bishop First starring role
1992 Drexell's Class Himself Season 1: "Cruisin'"
1993 A Different World Piccolo Season 6: "Homie, Don't You Know Me?"
1993 Poetic Justice Lucky Co-starred with Janet Jackson
1993 In Living Color Himself Season 5: "Ike Turner and Hooch"
1994 Above the Rim Birdie Co-starred with Duane Martin
1995 Murder Was the Case: The Movie Himself (Uncredited)
1996 Bullet Tank Released one month after Shakur's death
1997 Gridlock'd Ezekiel 'Spoon' Whitmore Released several months after Shakur's death
1997 Gang Related Detective Rodríguez Shakur's last performance in a film
2003 Tupac: Resurrection Himself Official documentary film
2009 Notorious Himself (archive footage) Portrayed by Anthony Mackie
20?? Live 2 Tell Screenwriter (Written in 1995)[126]
Documentaries
Shakur's life has been recognized in big and small documentaries each trying capture the many different events during his short lifetime, most notably the Academy Award–nominated Tupac: Resurrection, released in 2003.
* 1997: Tupac Shakur: Thug Immortal
* 1997: Tupac Shakur: Words Never Die (TV)
* 2001: Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake...
* 2001: Welcome to Deathrow
* 2002: Tupac Shakur: Thug Angel: The Life of an Outlaw
* 2002: Biggie & Tupac
* 2002: Tha Westside
* 2003: 2Pac 4 Ever
* 2003: Tupac: Resurrection
* 2004: Tupac vs.
* 2004: Tupac: The Hip Hop Genius (TV)
* 2006: So Many Years, So Many Tears
* 2007: Tupac: Assassination
* 2009: Tupac: Assassination II: Reckoning
See also
* List of best-selling music artists
* List of number-one albums (United States)
* List of number-one hits (United States)
References
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126. ^ Recently announced biopic in the works.
Sources
* Bastfield, Darrin Keith (2002). Back In The Day: My Life And Times With Tupac Shakur. Da Capo Press. ISBN 978-0345447753 .
* Hoye, Jacob (2006). Tupac: Resurrection. Atria. ISBN 074347435X .
External links
Wikimedia Commons has media related to: Tupac Shakur
Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Tupac Shakur
* 2Pac Legacy (Official website)
* Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation for the Arts
* Tupac Legacy Tour
* Yaki Kadafi Official Website
* Tupac Shakur at the Internet Movie Database
* Online catalog of Shakur's personal library from his apartment at the time of his death, online at LibraryThing
[show]
v • d • e
Tupac Shakur
Studio albums
2Pacalypse Now · Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. · Thug Life: Volume 1 · Me Against the World · All Eyez on Me · The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
Posthumous albums
R U Still Down? (Remember Me) · Still I Rise · Until the End of Time · Better Dayz · Loyal to the Game · Pac's Life
Live albums
2Pac Live · Live at the House of Blues
Compilation albums
Greatest Hits · The Rose That Grew from Concrete · The Prophet: The Best of the Works · Nu-Mixx Klazzics · Tupac: Resurrection · The Rose, Vol. 2 · The Prophet Returns · Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988–1991 · Nu-Mixx Klazzics Vol. 2 · Best of 2Pac
Extended plays
Makaveli & Dillinger Don't Go 2 Sleep
Singles
"Brenda's Got a Baby" · "If My Homie Calls" · "Trapped" · "Holler If Ya Hear Me" · "I Get Around" · "Keep Ya Head Up" · "Papa'z Song" · "Cradle to the Grave" · "Dear Mama" · "So Many Tears" · "Temptations" · "California Love" · "2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted" · "How Do U Want It" · "All bout U" · "I Ain't Mad at Cha" · "Toss It Up" · "Life Goes On" · "Hail Mary" · "Wanted Dead or Alive" · "Made Niggaz"
Posthumous singles
"I Wonder If Heaven Got a Ghetto" · "Do for Love" · "Changes" · "Unconditional Love" · "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)" · "Who Do U Believe In" · "Until the End of Time" · "Letter 2 My Unborn" · "Thugz Mansion" · "Still Ballin'" · "Runnin' (Dying to Live)" · "One Day at a Time (Em's Version)" · "Thugs Get Lonely Too" · "Ghetto Gospel" · "Untouchable" · "Pac's Life"
Other songs
"Runnin' (From tha Police)" · "Hit 'Em Up"
Featured singles
"Smile" · "Playa Cardz Right"
Documentaries
"Biggie & Tupac" · "Tupac: Resurrection" · "Tupac: Assassination"
Related articles
Discography · Outlawz · Digital Underground · Afeni Shakur · Assata Shakur · Mopreme Shakur · Mutulu Shakur · The Notorious B.I.G. · Death Row Records · East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry · Makaveli Branded Clothing · Orlando Anderson · Johnny "J" · Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts · Billy Garland
[show]
v • d • e
Death Row Records
Founders
Dr. Dre · Suge Knight
Former artists
2nd II None · Above the Law · Crooked I · Daz Dillinger · Danny Boy · Dr. Dre · The D.O.C. · Gina Longo · Hammer · J-Flexx · Jewell · Kurupt · The Lady of Rage · LBC Crew · Lil Bow Wow · Lil' C-Style · Lisa Lopes · Michel'le · Mac Shawn · Nate Dogg · Outlawz · Petey Pablo · Prince Ital Joe · RBX · Sam Sneed · Soopafly · Snoop Doggy Dogg · Swoop G · Tha Dogg Pound · Tha Realest · Top Dogg · Tray Deee · Tupac Shakur · Young Soldierz
Albums
15 Years on Death Row · Above the Rim · Christmas on Death Row · Chronic 2000 · Death Row Greatest Hits · Death Row: The Singles Collection · Dysfunktional Family · Gang Related · Gridlock'd · The Very Best of Death Row · Too Gangsta for Radio
[show]
v • d • e
Outlawz
Young Noble · E.D.I. · Nutt-So · Stormey · Hussein Fatal
Tupac Shakur · Yaki Kadafi · Big Syke · Mopreme Shakur · Napoleon · Kastro
Albums
Ride wit Us or Collide wit Us · Novakane · Neva Surrenda · Outlaw 4 Life: 2005 A.P. · We Want In: The Street LP
Collaboration albums
Still I Rise · Can't Sell Dope Forever · Soldier 2 Soldier · Ghetto Monopoly
Related albums
Blood Brothers · Against All Oddz · Thug in Thug Out
Singles
"Hit 'Em Up" · "Made Niggaz" · "Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)" · "One Day at a Time (Em's Version)"
Related articles
Discography · Outlaw Recordz
Persondata
Name Shakur, Tupac Amaru
Alternative names 2Pac, Pac, Makaveli
Short description American rap artist, actor and poet
Date of birth June 16, 1971
Place of birth New York City, New York, United States
Date of death September 13, 1996
Place of death Las Vegas, Nevada, United States
Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tupac_Shakur"
Categories: 1971 births | 1996 deaths | 1990s rappers | African American film actors | African American poets | African American rappers | African American record producers | American hip hop record producers | American people convicted of assault | American screenwriters | American sex offenders | American shooting survivors | Atlantic Records artists | Deaths by firearm in Nevada | Death Row Records artists | Deaths from respiratory failure | English-language poets | Interscope Records artists | Murdered African-American people | Murdered entertainers | Murdered rappers | People from Baltimore, Maryland | People from Harlem | People from Marin County, California | People murdered in Nevada | Rappers from the San Francisco Bay Area | Road crew | Shakur family | Tupac Shakur | Unsolved murders in the United States | West Coast hip hop musicians
Hidden categories: All articles with dead external links | Articles with dead external links from August 2010 | Wikipedia indefinitely semi-protected pages | Wikipedia indefinitely move-protected pages | Use mdy dates from August 2010 | Articles using Infobox musical artist with deprecated parameters | Articles with hCards | Inconsistent articles | Articles containing potentially dated statements from 2006 | All articles containing potentially dated statements
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Sleep
Tupac Shakur Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Quit starin' at me like a infa red ****
Don't fall to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't fall to sleep
You can get ya cash on
Pictures of penny, sippin' my glass full of ****
Hands on my ****-automatic **** for pennies
Approach for contact 'cause I'm live I multiply
Soon as I open fire **** die wit' open eyes
Scare to take a nap, it's a trap a long maze
Dreamin' of gettin' stacks, makin' scratch the wrong way
What the song say we **** **** daily
Black out blow the crack out, my lyrics neva fail me
I inhale strong **** then release the stress
Deliver the bomb **** from the east to west
Like yay-yo **** pull out when I say so
Commence to **** **** copy it fatal
'Fficiently I delete then flee
The art of war
Livin' sucka free, get wit' me
**** don't sleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
I'm starin' through my rear view doin' 'bout 90
The petal to the metal so I can see what's behind me
Buckle up your seat belt eyes on the road
They know we ridin' dirty gotta play it how it go
They close down the projects the clubs been closed
And then they wonder why **** breakin' down O's
I'm a run away slave, ya get it **** off the chain
I got that thug life **** runnin' through my viens
And now they scare, they know that I been heaven sent
And yeah we know the **** comin' from the president
But look at us, we ain't got **** to lose
Feel like we ballin' if we got a new pair of tennis shoes
In the ghetto or better yet home sweet home
This is the land of the free but to me that's wrong
I'm on my way to the White House strapped wit' my ****
So don't fall asleep, come on ****
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
They say that the moe they hate ya the moe that it motivate ya
My mind set on grind my mental set on the paper
62 hours and countin' and I'm still awake
And they slippin' me sleepin' pills wit' the will I break
Broke **** always tellin' ya how to make ya cash adjust
So I just stop listenin' and now my cash is up
Red dotted the media 'cause they always mad at us
I don't see 'em tryin' to mediate when we get **** and ****
They just instigate and as soon as the get the tape
It's dropped from my **** life just as soon as they get the case
Personally I ain't trippin' on all this rappin' stuff
I'm takin' back my money counter 'cause it wasn't fast enough, yep
I got a couple problems and none of 'em is money
Just those that love me to pretend to love me and say they buddies
Sometimes I want to maneuver with the ****
To live like Freddie Krueger these nightmares just ain't as buddy
In meetings they always askin' what my passion is
And money talks so I always have words to answer this
I can't relax 'cause it's like I'm a fetti activist
Might see me on TV never a mattress
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't fall to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't fall to sleep
Pictures of penny, sippin' my glass full of ****
Hands on my ****-automatic **** for pennies
Approach for contact 'cause I'm live I multiply
Soon as I open fire **** die wit' open eyes
Scare to take a nap, it's a trap a long maze
Dreamin' of gettin' stacks, makin' scratch the wrong way
What the song say we **** **** daily
Black out blow the crack out, my lyrics neva fail me
I inhale strong **** then release the stress
Deliver the bomb **** from the east to west
Like yay-yo **** pull out when I say so
Commence to **** **** copy it fatal
'Fficiently I delete then flee
The art of war
Livin' sucka free, get wit' me
**** don't sleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
I'm starin' through my rear view doin' 'bout 90
The petal to the metal so I can see what's behind me
Buckle up your seat belt eyes on the road
They know we ridin' dirty gotta play it how it go
They close down the projects the clubs been closed
And then they wonder why **** breakin' down O's
I'm a run away slave, ya get it **** off the chain
I got that thug life **** runnin' through my viens
And now they scare, they know that I been heaven sent
And yeah we know the **** comin' from the president
But look at us, we ain't got **** to lose
Feel like we ballin' if we got a new pair of tennis shoes
In the ghetto or better yet home sweet home
This is the land of the free but to me that's wrong
I'm on my way to the White House strapped wit' my ****
So don't fall asleep, come on ****
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
They say that the moe they hate ya the moe that it motivate ya
My mind set on grind my mental set on the paper
62 hours and countin' and I'm still awake
And they slippin' me sleepin' pills wit' the will I break
Broke **** always tellin' ya how to make ya cash adjust
So I just stop listenin' and now my cash is up
Red dotted the media 'cause they always mad at us
I don't see 'em tryin' to mediate when we get **** and ****
They just instigate and as soon as the get the tape
It's dropped from my **** life just as soon as they get the case
Personally I ain't trippin' on all this rappin' stuff
I'm takin' back my money counter 'cause it wasn't fast enough, yep
I got a couple problems and none of 'em is money
Just those that love me to pretend to love me and say they buddies
Sometimes I want to maneuver with the ****
To live like Freddie Krueger these nightmares just ain't as buddy
In meetings they always askin' what my passion is
And money talks so I always have words to answer this
I can't relax 'cause it's like I'm a fetti activist
Might see me on TV never a mattress
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
Don't go to sleep
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
But don't fall asleep
In "Sleep" by Tupac Shakur, the rapper warns his listeners to be vigilant in life and to stay alert as they pursue their goals. Tupac uses the symbol of sleep as a metaphor for being careless and warns his listeners, "don't fall asleep." The song addresses themes of survival, growth, and standing up against oppression. Tupac suggests that the only way to make it in life is to stay awake, stay active, and keep striving for success.
The first verse highlights the importance of not falling asleep and distancing oneself from those who do. In the second verse, Tupac raps about the struggle of living in poverty and imagining getting rich quickly by illegal means. The third verse touches on police brutality and the struggle for social justice. The last verse mentions his own inner conflicts with the industry and the people that surround him.
Overall, "Sleep" serves as a call to action for people to stay focused and ambitious in pursuing their goals, despite the obstacles they may face. Tupac's lyrics convey his message of hope, encouraging his listeners to stay on track and never give up.
Line by Line Meaning
Quit starin' at me like a infa red ****
Stop giving me an intimidating look like you see me with a gun.
Don't fall to sleep
Stay alert and vigilant.
You can get ya cash on **** if ya peep
You can make some money if you watch out for opportunities.
Other **** close they eyes seein' dreams in they sleep
Others envision prosperity in their slumber, but that's a dangerous path.
But don't fall asleep
Maintain your focus and don't let your guard down.
Pictures of penny, sippin' my glass full of ****
Reflecting on my past struggles, enjoying a drink of alcohol.
Hands on my ****-automatic **** for pennies
I carry a loaded gun to protect myself against those willing to hurt me for a minimal return.
Approach for contact 'cause I'm live I multiply
People want to connect with me because I'm successful.
Soon as I open fire **** die wit' open eyes
As soon as I start using my gun, I hit the target effectively.
Scare to take a nap, it's a trap a long maze
Fearing sleep because it leads to dangerous thoughts and situations.
Dreamin' of gettin' stacks, makin' scratch the wrong way
Aspiring for wealth through illegal means is misguided.
What the song say we **** **** daily
We are involved in criminal activities every day.
Black out blow the crack out, my lyrics neva fail me
I drown out my problems with drugs, but my rap skills never disappoint.
I inhale strong **** then release the stress
Smoking marijuana to relieve myself of tension.
Deliver the bomb **** from the east to west
Sharing my powerful music with audiences across the US.
Like yay-yo **** pull out when I say so
Having power and control over drugs and when they are used.
Commence to **** **** copy it fatal
I start battling others with rhymes, which can be deadly if they copy me.
'Fficiently I delete then flee
I swiftly eliminate my opponents with innovative rhymes.
The art of war
My intense approach to music and life in general.
Livin' sucka free, get wit' me
Living without being easily fooled or tricked, join me.
**** don't sleep
Be vigilant and stay alert, don't fall asleep.
I'm starin' through my rear view doin' 'bout 90
Driving fast while looking back at my past mistakes.
The petal to the metal so I can see what's behind me
Driving as fast as I can to prevent my past from catching up with me.
Buckle up your seat belt eyes on the road
Get ready for the road ahead and stay focused.
They know we ridin' dirty gotta play it how it go
People know we're involved in illegal activities and we have to be careful.
They close down the projects the clubs been closed
The government shut down public housing and entertainment venues in our community.
And then they wonder why **** breakin' down O's
The powers that be act surprised when our lives fall apart.
I'm a run away slave, ya get it **** off the chain
I feel like a runaway slave, breaking free from oppressive systems.
I got that thug life **** runnin' through my viens
I have a rebellious spirit that drives me to act outside of societal norms.
And now they scare, they know that I been heaven sent
The authorities are fearful because they believe I have divine purpose.
And yeah we know the **** comin' from the president
We're aware of the political rhetoric coming from those in power.
But look at us, we ain't got **** to lose
Despite our struggles, we have nothing to lose by standing up for ourselves.
Feel like we ballin' if we got a new pair of tennis shoes
We feel rich even if we only have new shoes to show for it.
In the ghetto or better yet home sweet home
The ghetto, our impoverished neighborhood, is still our beloved home.
This is the land of the free but to me that's wrong
America's reputation for being a free country doesn't feel true for me and those like me.
I'm on my way to the White House strapped wit' my ****
I'm ready to fight for justice by any means necessary, even if it means confronting lawmakers directly.
So don't fall asleep, come on ****
Stay alert and ready for whatever comes your way, don't become complacent.
They say that the moe they hate ya the moe that it motivate ya
The more people criticize and try to tear me down, the more motivated I become to succeed.
My mind set on grind my mental set on the paper
I'm focused on working hard and making money.
62 hours and countin' and I'm still awake
I'm working hard and haven't slept in over two days.
And they slippin' me sleepin' pills wit' the will I break
Even though they drug me, I'm determined to keep working and not give up.
Broke **** always tellin' ya how to make ya cash adjust
Those who aren't successful often try to advise others on how to make money.
So I just stop listenin' and now my cash is up
I stopped taking advice from unsuccessful people and now I'm making more money.
Red dotted the media 'cause they always mad at us
I criticize and confront the media because they're often biased against us.
I don't see 'em tryin' to mediate when we get **** and ****
The media doesn't try to act as a mediator when things go wrong in our community.
They just instigate and as soon as the get the tape
The media often tries to stir up controversy and as soon as they get footage, they run with it.
It's dropped from my **** life just as soon as they get the case
My life is constantly under the magnifying glass, but the moment is soon forgotten.
Personally I ain't trippin' on all this rappin' stuff
I'm not too concerned with the drama surrounding the rap industry.
I'm takin' back my money counter 'cause it wasn't fast enough, yep
I'm reclaiming my counting machine used for counting money because it wasn't efficient enough.
I got a couple problems and none of 'em is money
I have a few issues in my life, but none of them are related to finances.
Just those that love me to pretend to love me and say they buddies
My main problem is with people who pretend to care about me and act like my friends.
Sometimes I want to maneuver with the ****
I sometimes want to work with the drug dealers and criminals in my community.
To live like Freddie Krueger these nightmares just ain't as buddy
I want to be so powerful that I can't be stopped, like Freddy Krueger.
In meetings they always askin' what my passion is
People always inquire about what I care about the most.
And money talks so I always have words to answer this
Since money is important, I always bring up financial success as my passion.
I can't relax 'cause it's like I'm a fetti activist
I can't relax because I'm always seeking wealth and success.
Might see me on TV never a mattress
You are more likely to see me on TV than sleeping on a mattress, because I'm constantly working.
Lyrics © Universal Music Publishing Group, Downtown Music Publishing
Written by: COBY BROWN
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
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