The Tupac Biography


Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971 in Brooklyn, New York. His birth name was Lesane Parish Crooks, but while he was still a child, his mother, Afeni Shakur, changed his name to Tupac Amaru after an Inca Indian Revolutionary. Tupac Amaru means "Shining Serpent" and Shakur means "Thankful To God" in Arabic. Tupac was 5'10 and 168 pounds. His mother's name was Afeni Shakur. His father's name was William Garland. His Step Father's name was Jeral Wayne Williams AKA Mutula Shakur. His Half Sister's name was Sekyiwa Shakur. His Half Brother's name was Maurice Harding (Mopreme of Thug Life). His Godfather's name was Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt.

As a child, everyone called him the "Black Prince." When Tupac was two years old, his sister Sekyiwa was born. Mutula Shakur, who was the father of Sekyiwa, was a Black Panther. A few months before Sekyiwa's birth he had been sentenced to sixty years for a fatal armored car robbery. Since Tupac's father was away, the family experienced some hard times, and many times, Tupac was distressed.

At the age of 12, Tupac started acting and writing poetry. His family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, where Tupac studied acting and ballet. Shortly after, Tupac was forced to move to Oakland, California. That is when Tupac began to "hang with the wrong croud." Tupac started writing Rap lyrics at the age of 15. Tupac called himself MC New York to make people think he was a tough guy.

At about the age of 20, Tupac joined the Rap group Digital Underground as a dancer. That eventually lead to Tupac releasing his own album entitled "2Pacalypse Now" which was a success. His hit single "Brenda's Got A Baby" launched the career of Tupac. He appeared in the movie "Juice" but it was his second album "Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z." which was an even bigger sucess. This album made it to the pop charts.

Just when things were going good for 2Pac, he was shot five times during a robbery in November of 1994. Thieves took $40,000 worth of his jewelry. Tupac recovered from that shooting, and was about to produce his most impressive artistic accomplishments. In 1995, Tupac released the album "Me Against The World." Tupac also appeared in the movie "Poetic Justice" with Janet Jackson. It was then that Tupac's name became a household name. Tupac also appeared in the movie "Above the Rim." Once again, Tupac's success was short-lived when he was found guilty on charges of sexual assault. Tupac was also robbed at gunpoint. Tupac was released at over $1 Million bail. When he got out of jail, he released his best album, "All Eyez On Me." That album has sold over 6 Million copies. Tupac was also in the movies "Gridlock'd", "Bullet", and "Gang Related."

Then, on September 7, 1996, Tupac was shot by unknown gunmen. Much of what happend that night remains a mystery even today. Tupac's life came to an end on September 13, 1996. Not too long after his death, his album, "The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory" was released under the alias of Makaveli. The image on the cover of the CD had Tupac looking like Jesus. He was nailed to a cross under a crown of thorns with a map of the country's major gang related areas on it. "R U Still Down? (Remember Me)", "Greatest Hits", "Still I Rise", and "The Rose That Grew From Concrete Volume 1" are some of the previously unreleased Tupac "works" that have been released after his death. It is said that Death Row has several unreleased recordings in the vaults for potential future releases. September 13, 2003 will mark the seventh anniversary of Tupac's passing. Tupac may be dead, but his legacy will never die. True legends never die.

2Pac
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