It has been 16 years since the death of the late rapper, actor, and poet Tupac Shakur. Shakur was loved by millions of fans from across the globe.
Shakur was born June 16, 1971, in New York City. He later moved to Baltimore, where he attended the Baltimore School of the a Arts. Shakur had trouble staying in Baltimore, therefore this made him and his mother to move to Marin City, right outside of Oakland, Calif.
In 1991, he released his debut album 2pacalyse Now. This album included hits such as “Brenda’s got a baby”, “Violent,” and “If my homies call.”
In 1993, Shakur came out with the platinum album Strictly 4 my N*****. The album included the smash hits “I Get Around,” and “Keep Ya Head Up.”
Shakur wasn’t just having success in the studio, he was also a successfull actor. In 1993, he landed a major role in the film Poetic Justice. 2pac played a mailman by the name of “Lucky” who shared a romantic relationship with “Justice” played by Janet Jackson.
Tupac made other films such as Above the Rim, Grid’locked, and Gang Related.
Late 1994 began the dark and trying times of 2pac. He was shot five times in New York City at Quad Studios. This is where the late Notorious B.I.G recorded his first album Ready to die. According to shakur in his Vibe Magazine interview, the whole Bad Boy label was present during the shooting.
After shakur was released from the hospital he had to face sexual assault charges. Tupac was sentenced to four years in prison at Rykers Island. He was bailed out nearly a year later by former Death Row producer Suge Knight.
Shakur felt he was going to die early and the first shooting in ’94 really affected his mind.
In 1995 Tupac told Vibe magazine, “I’ve had headaches, I wake up screaming. I have been having nightmares thinking they are still shooting.”
Shakur’s third album Me Aainst The World was released while he was serving his prison time. The album went platinumand it included hits such as “Me against the world”, and “Temtations.” This album was dark. It described the pain and him thinking he was going to die soon. The song “Death around the corner” was a song on the album where Tupac predicted his death.
After Tupac was released from prison he worked on the multi-platinum album All Eyez on Me, which was released in 1996. This was a double disc album and included many hits such as ” Ambtionz Az a Ridah,” “All About You,” “How Do u Want It,” “I Aint Mad at Cha,” and many more.
During this time the East Coast VS West Coast beef was heavy. Tupac’s life was very much in danger. On Sept. 7 in Las Vegas, NV Shakur didn’t have to worry about death anymore. He was fatally shot in the passenger seat of a car and died six days later. Ironically, six months later Shakur’s rival “Biggie Smalls” (Notorious B.I.G.) was killed in Los Angeles.
“Tupac’s death caused a lot of controversy in the rap game, and it caused the hip-hop industry to expand due to all the media hype that He and Biggie caused,” said Spohmore Wynsdai Williams, Business Management major.