Remembering Tupac "2PAC" Shakur

Remembering Tupac "2PAC" Shakur

Tupac Shakur was born in Brookly, NY in 1971. Early in his life, he moved to Baltimore , MD, where he attended The Baltimore School for the Performing Arts. At this school, Tupac left a lasting impression on his teachers and was showing tremendous potential.

Unfortunately, Tupac was unable to continue his training. He moved to Oakland, California with the rest of his family. That's when Tupac began to, as he called it, "Hang with the wrong crowd."
While he maitained a thug image, Tupac was a man of diffrent personas, recording sentimental raps in support of black woman, including Brenda's Got A Baby,and Keep Ya Head Up.

(2pac sings keep ya head up in class room)


Tupac eventually released a second album "Strictly for my Niggaz," which was an even bigger success.In the late eighties, Shakur teamed up with Humpty-Hump (a.k.a. Eddie Humphrey, a.k.a. Gregory "Shock-G" Jacobs) and other Oakland-based rappers to create Digital Underground, a band intent on massive bass beats and frenetic,

( 2Pac performing 'I get Around )


Unfortunately, he also found himself on police blotters, when allegations of a violent attack on an off-duty police officer and sexual misconduct arose.

The same year, Shakur played a single father and Janet Jackson's love interest in the John Singleton film Poetic Justice.

(Behind the scenes interview)


In November of 1994, he was shot five times during a robbery in which thieves made off with $40,000 worth of his jewelry. Shakur miraculously recovered from his injuries to produce his most impressive artistic accomplishments, including 1995's Me Against the World, which sold two million copies, and the double-CD All Eyez on Me, which sold nearly three million. As his career arc began a steep rise toward fame and fortune, Shakur was shot (most say suspiciously) and killed after watching a Mike Tyson fight with Death Row Records president Marion "Suge" Knight. Though his death was a jolt to his fans and the music community, Shakur himself often said that he expected he'd die by the sword before he reached thirty.


Following his passing, Shakur's label released an album, The Don Killuminati, under the pseudonym "Makaveli." The cover depicted Shakur nailed to a cross under a crown of thorns, with a map of the country's major gang areas superimposed on it. In January of 1997, Gramercy pictures released Gridlock'd, a film in which Shakur played the role of a drug addict to mostly good reviews. His final film, Gang Related, was released in 1997, and Death Row is said to have several unreleased recordings in the vaults for potential future release.

(Scene from Gridlock)