Tupac Shakur aka 2Pac was an American rapper born 1971 in Manhattan NYC. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest rappers and influential musical artists of the 20th century, and a prominent political activist for Black America. He was synonymous with gangsta rap and violent lyrics. Shakur was murdered in a drive-by shooting on September 7th 1996, aged 25 years. Shakur was born to parents who were Black Panther Party members. His godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high-ranking Black Panther, was wrongly convicted of murdering a schoolteacher and after 27 years in prison, his conviction was overturned due to the prosecution having concealed evidence that proved his innocence. Shakur's godmother, Assata Shakur, was a member of the Black Liberation Army who was convicted in 1977 of murdering a New Jersey State Trooper. She escaped prison in 1979 and remained on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list up until her death in 2025. Young Tupac, who was named after Túpac Amaru II, a descendant of the last Inca ruler, executed in Peru in 1781 after his revolt against Spanish rule, was raised by his mother Afeni Shakur, who relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. Before and during his hip-hop career, Shakur was interested in literature and wrote dozens of poems, some of the most notable being "Can U C The Pride in The Panther", "If I fail", "Family Tree", and "The Rose that grew from the concrete". His debut album 2Pacalypse Now cemented him as a central figure in West Coast hip-hop for his political rap lyrics. He achieved further critical and commercial success with his subsequent albums. His Diamond-certified album All Eyez on Me, the first hip-hop double album, abandoned introspective lyrics for volatile gangsta rap. Standout releases include his first five studio albums: 2Pacalypse Now (1991), Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993), Me Against the World (1995), All Eyez on Me (1996), and The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996). As an actor, Shakur starred in the films Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), Above the Rim (1994), Bullet (1996), Gridlock'd (1997), and Gang Related (1997). in Poetic Justice he played the character "Lucky" alongside Janet Jackson. He also had a starring role in the sitcom "A Different World" in 1993. Shakur's life was punctuated by frequent incidences of violent crime. He was shot a number of times and spent eight months in prison on a sexual assault conviction. His release was secured by Suge Knight CEO of Death Row Records, who posted $1.4 million bail, and immediately after Tupac signed with the Death Row label. In October 1993, Shakur was arrested in Atlanta for shooting two off-duty police officers. According to witnesses, Shakur and his entourage fired in self-defense as the police shot at them first. Shakur was charged with two counts of aggravated assault, and the officer involved was charged with firing at Shakur's car and making false statements. Prosecutors ultimately dropped all charges against both parties. In November 1993, Shakur and two others were charged in New York with sodomizing a woman in Shakur's hotel room, and illegal possession of a firearm. Shakur was acquitted but convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse. In November 1994, while in New York recording a mixtape of Ron G, three men robbed and beat Shakur at gunpoint. Shakur, who resisted and was shot, speculated that the shooting had been a set-up. In a 1995 interview with Vibe, Shakur accused Sean Combs, Jimmy Henchman, and the Notorious B.I.G. – who were at Quad Studios at the time – of setting up or being privy to the robbery and shooting. The accusations were significant to the East–West Coast rivalry in hip-hop. On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur was in Paradise, Nevada, to attend the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match. At 11:15 p.m. at a stop light, a late-model Cadillac pulled up to Shakur's limo and an occupant rapidly fired into the car. Shakur was struck four times and was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada where he died from internal bleeding and pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m. Shakur's body was cremated the next day. Members of the Outlawz, recalling a line in his song "Black Jesus", smoked some of his body's ashes after mixing them with marijuana. In July 2023, the Las Vegas Police arrested a suspect, Duane "Keefe D" Davis, in connection with Shakur's murder. Davis' trial is set to start on February 9, 2026, until then he remains in prison. Artist Website: 2pac.com Featured Albums: 2Pac Related Artists: Makaveli, Thug Life, Digital Underground
