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 When
Tupac Shakur officially entered the rap game, the industry
was definitely not ready for the tactics he worked by. Along
with his mind-blowing skill and powerful voice, Tupac brought
with him a gangsta boy image. Although he was not the first
to engage in this sort of image, the magnitude to which
he did it made it more popular. He plagued the medias with
his bandana tied bald head, pierced nose, exposed six pac
tattooed with his infamous title, "Thug Life."
When all these elements combined, they formed the ultimate
formula for success.
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in a New York Afeni Shakur on
June 16th, 1975. Afeni Shakur was arrested when she was
21 for conspiring to bomb several New York department stores,
police stations, and commuter railways. With no choice she
gave birth to her son who she named Tupac. Afeni named her
child Tupac Amaru, which means ‘shining serpent’,
after an eighteenth century Incan chief and revolutionist.
Unlike
most children, Tupac gained early exposure to the life of
a radical revolutionist. He was surrounded by people who
lived and died the struggle of freedom. Some of theses figures
include his mother, his father- Billy Garland, and his stepfather
Mutulu Shakur. He attended his first Black Panther rally
when he was only ten months. Black Panther activity had
great influence on Tupac’s life. (When the FBI searched
for Afeni, Tupac and his half sister unwillingly had to
move and hide.)
In 1986, Afeni gathered some money to move her family from
New York to the tough ghettos of Baltimore. Before leaving
New York, Tupac made his first acting debut? In Lorraine
Hansberry’s Raisin in the Sun, during an Apollo Theater
fundraiser for Jesse Jackson’s presidential campaign.
Those who knew Tupac during his adolescence witnessed how
his mother’s lifestyles and choices affected him.
Part of Tupac’s destructive behavior came from an
unstable home and family life. At some point in Tupac’s
development, Afeni became addicted to crack and cocaine.
While she was out satisfying her addiction, Tupac stayed
in his godfather wife’s home. Being the oldest child
there with no male influence caused Tupac to feel abandoned.
Through this abandonment he learned to channel his anger
through art.
Famed actress,
Jada Pinkett Smith recalls, " Because his relationship
with his mother, he didn’t have a good opinion of
himself. He took every opportunity to punish anybody he
felt didn’t do right by him, by his standards. We
all paid the price for her drug addiction".
Afeni Shakur’s participation in the Black Panther
movement also had a positive effect on young Tupac. Tupac
used his brain at an early age to question his surroundings.
When he saw something he believed was unjust, he learned
to express his opinions. Most impressively Tupac acquired
amazing oratorical skill, which is evident in his later
recordings.
When seventeen
-year old Tupac and his family relocated to Marin City,
California, he quickly became acquainted with the wrong
people. He started to develop a tough man mindset that would
stay with him for the rest of his life. However, he still
concentrated on his education, especially reading. In a
1988 interview, the youngster spoke clearly with an amazing
vocabulary. In the interview he expressed his views on his
future, the world, and his mother.
Tupac’s
lyrics expressed his views on various subjects. He rapped
on issues such as teenage pregnancy, sex, social flaws,
and life as a thug.
In the hip- hop
culture it is not unlikely to find woman being degraded.
From the way they are underdressed in videos to demeaning
lyrics, the status of women is usually reduced. Women are
prominent characters in many of Tupac Shakur’s songs.
In "Keep Ya Head Up" Tupac praises women for rearing
children by themselves. In his hit single, "Brenda’s
Got A Baby", he explores the factors leading to teenage
pregnancy and how it affects the community as a whole. Despite
his many accolades to females, Tupac also did his part in
trashing them. In his songs "Lunatic" and "I
Get Around", he says things such as " This is
the life, new b***h every night" and “Don't be
picky. Just be happy with this quicky”.
Tupac also gave his insights on God and other fractions
of spirituality through his lyrics. In "So Many Tears"
he pleas to God to intervene in his suffering when he asks,
"God can you feel me? / Take me away from all the pressure
and the pain". In "Only God Can Judge Me"
he seeks an answer to his own existence and the deaths of
his friend. The video for "I Ain’t Mad At Cha",
which he co directed not long before his death, bleeds with
religious imagery. In the video Tupac is shot five times
while walking with a friend, who helplessly watches Tupac
die. When he dies he ascends to the gates of heaven where
he is met by other black legends including Nat King Cole,
Dorothy Dandridge, Marvin Gaye, and Billie Holiday. At the
end he returns to earth as an angel draped in white watching
over his friends.
This video and other lyrics foreshadowed Tupac Shakur’s
unfortunate passing. Despite this fact millions were still
shocked to learn of his death. On the night of 7th, 1996,
Tupac was attending a Tyson fight. While he was sitting
in the passenger seat of Suge Knight’s vehicle, Tupac
was tragically shot. He was rushed to the hospital where
he was admitted in critical condition. Unfortunately, he
was announced dead on September 13th.
To this day Tupac’s
murderer is still unknown. There are many interesting and
possible conspiracies surrounding his death. One idea suggests
that Tupac’s death is related to his ongoing rival
with East Coast rapper, the Notorious B.I.G. However, many
believe that Tupac is not dead.
When Tupac Shakur
released his album Makaveli: Don Killuminati Seven Day Theory,
two months after his death, those who knew the artist became
a little curious. Tupac adapted the name Makaveli after
reading The Prince by Machiavelli. Part of Makaveli’s
legend was faking one’s death was a way someone could
easily control their enemies. Also many people realize the
repeated occurrence of the number seven when discussing
Tupac’s death. For example, Tupac was shot seven times,
seven months after his album All Eyez on Me was released.
He was shot on September 7th and died seven days later.
In addition he died at the age of 25; the sum of these two
numbers is seven and he died at 4:03 – the sum of
those numbers also equals seven. Evidence to Tupac’s
“death” is also shown in his music videos. In
his video for “I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto”,
the clock at the end of the video reads 4:03 the time of
Tupac’s death.
Suspicions of
Tupac’s death continued to increase when he released
2PAC’s Greatest Hits. However, the album included
six new tracks. In some of theses tracks Tupac mentions
events occurring after his supposed death. In his lyrics
he refers to the film Armageddon and the Broncos Super Bowl
victory.
Although he is physically gone from the rap scene, Tupac
Shakur is far from forgotten. To this day he is still considered
one of the greatest forces in the rap game industry. Sales
on Tupac Shakur merchandise and music continue to grow.
This young artist possessed a certain charisma and talent
that captivated millions across the world. He was the voice
for many young African- Americans who were unable to express
themselves. Despite his bad boy reputation he proved himself
to be an artist and a leader at the same time. Tupac showed
the world not only through his music but his poetry that
he was educated and had a voice that mattered. The legacy
of Tupac Amaru Shakur will continue to grow whether he is
dead or alive.
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