Tupac Amaru Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks Brooklyn, New York City, on June 16, 1971. His mother, Afeni Shakur, who was a member of the Black Panthers, served jail time for bomb charges while pregnant with tupac. It is unknown who his actual father is but his stepfather, Metulu, was a drug dealer who was on the FBI’s Most Wanted List. As a boy Tupac moved around a lot and stayed in many homeless shelters. Because of this he was unable to make many friends and wrote poetry in his free time.
Tupac’s mother then moved them to Roland Park in East Baltimore. He attended Roland Park Middle School and then attended Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School for his Freshman year. In his Sophomore year he was accepted into Baltimore School for the Arts. There he studied theater, ballet, and other arts. It was during his time at this school that he wrote his first ever rap under the rap name “MC New York.”
His mother could not find work in Baltimore and so she moved them once again, this time to Marin City, California. It was there that Tupac began to deal drugs and hustle on the streets. Also, here his interest in rap music flourished and he started a rap group called “Strictly Dope.” Their recordings were not released to the public until 2001 by the name “Tupac Shakur: The Lost Tapes.”
His career in music began as a back up dancer for the rap group “Digital Underground” in 1990. In 1991 he released his first solo rap album and called it "2Pacalypse Now." This album quickly made Tupac the most controversial rapper in hip hop. Vice President Dan Quayle publicly reprimanded the lyrics of Tupac’s music due to its influence in the shooting of a Texas police officer. He had an extremely unique style of rap and image that no one had ever seen in not just a rapper but any artist at this time. This album went gold with the help of its hit singles “Trapped” and “Brenda’s Got a Baby.”
In 1993 and 1994 Tupac went to jail often. Upon being released from prison Tupac released his 4th solo album "All Eyez On Me" which featured a number of other famous rappers. This album sold for over 6 million copies. After this he focused on his acting career for a while. He starred in "Bullet", "Gridlock'd", and "Gang Related."
On September 7, 1996 Tupac was shot while driving in Las Vegas. He went into a coma and died six days later on Friday, September 13, 1996. Many believe East Coast rapper Biggie Smalls and his posse were involved in the murder of Tupac Amaru Shakur. This sparked a feud between the two sides and it is believed to later cause the death of Biggie himself.
Tupac’s mother then moved them to Roland Park in East Baltimore. He attended Roland Park Middle School and then attended Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School for his Freshman year. In his Sophomore year he was accepted into Baltimore School for the Arts. There he studied theater, ballet, and other arts. It was during his time at this school that he wrote his first ever rap under the rap name “MC New York.”
His mother could not find work in Baltimore and so she moved them once again, this time to Marin City, California. It was there that Tupac began to deal drugs and hustle on the streets. Also, here his interest in rap music flourished and he started a rap group called “Strictly Dope.” Their recordings were not released to the public until 2001 by the name “Tupac Shakur: The Lost Tapes.”
His career in music began as a back up dancer for the rap group “Digital Underground” in 1990. In 1991 he released his first solo rap album and called it "2Pacalypse Now." This album quickly made Tupac the most controversial rapper in hip hop. Vice President Dan Quayle publicly reprimanded the lyrics of Tupac’s music due to its influence in the shooting of a Texas police officer. He had an extremely unique style of rap and image that no one had ever seen in not just a rapper but any artist at this time. This album went gold with the help of its hit singles “Trapped” and “Brenda’s Got a Baby.”
In 1993 and 1994 Tupac went to jail often. Upon being released from prison Tupac released his 4th solo album "All Eyez On Me" which featured a number of other famous rappers. This album sold for over 6 million copies. After this he focused on his acting career for a while. He starred in "Bullet", "Gridlock'd", and "Gang Related."
On September 7, 1996 Tupac was shot while driving in Las Vegas. He went into a coma and died six days later on Friday, September 13, 1996. Many believe East Coast rapper Biggie Smalls and his posse were involved in the murder of Tupac Amaru Shakur. This sparked a feud between the two sides and it is believed to later cause the death of Biggie himself.