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Name:
Tupac Amaru Shakur
Date of Birth: June 16, 1971
Date of Death: September 13, 1996
(25)
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York
Place of Death: Las Vegas, Nevada
Measurements: 5'
9" 165 lbs.
Marital Status: Divorced: Keisha
Morris Engaged:
Kidida Jones
Occupation: Rapper / Actor / Poet
Favorite Food: Fried Chicken Wings W/
Hot Sauce
Favorite Drink: Sunkist Orange
Zodiac Sign: Gemini
Favorite Colours: Black/Gold
Mother:
Alice Faye Williams (Afeni Shakur)
Father: William Garland
Godfather: Elmer "Geronimo"
Pratt
Step Father: Jeral Wayne Williams (Mutulu
Shakur)
Half Sister: Sekyiwa Shakur
Step Brother: Maurice Harding (Mopreme
of Thug Life)
Lesane
Parish Crooks was born on 16 June 1971 in
Brooklyn, New York. While he was still a
small child, His Mother, Afeni Shakur
changed his name to Tupac Amaru Shakur after
an Inca Indian revolutionary, "Tupac
Amaru", meaning "Shining
Serpent". "Shakur" means
"Thankful To God" in Arabic. So
Lesane Crooks live forward with the name
Tupac Amaru Shakur aka Makaveli.
Afeni
Shakur was a former member of the Black
Panthers and was in jail up until a month
before Tupac's birth. She feared she would
have the child behind bars and he would be
taken away from her, but luckily she was
acquitted of the charges and released. The
biological father of Tupac, Billy Garland,
wasn't around throughout Tupac's childhood.
Mutulu Shakur, instead, took most of the
fatherly duties.
Soon
after, Tupac and his family moved to
Baltimore, Maryland where he attended The
Baltimore School for the Performing Arts. He
excelled in drama and poetry. His teachers
claimed he had potential. But soon after
that, Tupac and his family moved to Oakland,
California (Marin City).
Here,
Tupac began hanging around with the wrong
crowd. His mother became addicted to crack
when he was 17 and her addiction forced
Tupac out of the house. He began to make
money to survive, illegally, such as selling
drugs, robberies, etc. But he was also
rapping with his group called "Strictly
Dope" They did small shows for people
around the neighborhood trying to make it in
the business. He was soon noticed by popular
rap group Digital Underground. He became a
roadie/dancer for the group traveling on
tour with them and performing the 'humpty
dance. He appeared on several
songs with Digital Underground including
"Same Song", "DFLO
Shuffle", and "Wassup Wit Tha Luv"
His first album was called "2pacalypse
Now" and was released on November 12,
1991 when Tupac was 2o years of age. The
album didn't do well, on the standards set
by his later career, but definitely got him
recognized in the industry. Vice President
Dan Quayle noticed it saying "There is
absolutly no reason for a record like this
to be published. It has no place in our
society." Tupac responded to this with
his second release, "Strictly 4 My
NIGGAZ" This album featured guest
appearances by established rappers like Ice
T and Ice Cube and featured such hits like
'I Get Around' and 'Keep Ya Head Up'. By
this time, Tupac had also made his mark in
the acting profession appearing in
"Juice" and "Poetic
Justice"
In
the next year his life would turn
full-circle. He created a group called
"Thug Life" and with them, they
released a self-titled album. He appeared in
the movie "Above the Rim" and had
his next album ready to be released,
appropriately titled "Me Against The
World" His career stopped as he was
then charged with sexual assault. Tupac, to
the day of his death, denied the charges. On
top of that, a few days before he was to be
sentenced, he was robbed and shot five times
at gunpoint in a New York recording studio.
Bandaged up like he'd been in a war, 2pac
checked himself out of the hospital and went
to court for sentencing. They sentenced him
to two years in the Riker's Island
Correctional Facility. In jail, Tupac kept
himself busy by reading books. Particularly,
several books by Niccolo Machiavelli, from
which his future alias, Makaveli, would be
created from. While on the outside his album
"Me Against the World" was doing
very well. It was number one on both of the
Billboard charts and set the record for the
first and only time an incarcerated man had
the number one album in the country.
After
eight months in jail, he made bail at one
million dollars. Suge Knight, of the popular
Death Row Records, paid his bail. In return,
2pac signed to Death Row and quickly
released his most popular album "All
Eyez On Me" The album, the first two-CD
hip-hop LP ever released, too, reached
number 1 on the charts. He was on top of the
world making movies and receiving good
reviews for his acting ability. He was about
to release his next album "Makaveli:
The Don Killuminati" when tragedy
struck. He and Suge Knight were attending
the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldom fight at the MGM
Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada on Sep. 7, 1996.
After the fight in the lobby, Tupac and Suge
spot Orlando Anderson, who they recognize as
someone that stole his chain a few weeks
earlier. They attacked him and then stormed
out of the MGM. Pulling up to an
intersection, Tupac and his entourage were
on their way to a charity concert at Death
Row Records Club 662. When, suddenly, a car
pulled up to the right of them. The men got
out of the car and unloaded their guns into
the car Tupac and Suge were in... Tupac
lived in the hospital for seven days before
succumbing to his wounds (i.e collapsed
lung)
Since
his death, a lot of material has been
released. Two albums of previously
unreleased material, a greatest hits cd, and
two movies. Tupac Amaru Shakur was the
greatest hip-hop artist to ever grace the
mic. The world could have seen a lot more
from him. If it had not been for the
murderous thoughts of a few individuals,
Tupac Shakur would have been given more of
an opportunity to impact the world in a
positive way. He will be missed forever.
Rest In Peace Pac.
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