Background

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, to Black Panther activist parents in New York City. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was imprisoned while she was pregnant with him. Tupac got acquainted with his biological father, Billy Garland, only after he became an adult.

He had a difficult childhood, as he grew up in the company of criminals. He had been exposed to violence from an early age. His mother, Afeni, was raising two children on her own and struggled for money. Tupac spent much of his childhood on the move with his family, which in 1986 settled in Baltimore, Maryland.

Education

In 1986, Tupac's family moved from New York to Baltimore, Maryland. After completing his second year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Shakur transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts. There he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays and in the role of the Mouse King in the ballet The Nutcracker. Shakur, accompanied by one of his friends, Dana "Mouse" Smith, as his beatbox, won many rap competitions and was considered to be the best rapper in his school. He was remembered as one of the most popular kids in his school because of his sense of humor, superior rapping skills, and ability to mix with all crowds.

In 1988, Shakur and his family moved from Baltimore to Marin City, California, a small unincorporated suburban community located 5 miles (8 km) north of San Francisco. He attended Tamalpais High School in nearby Mill Valley. Shakur contributed to the school's drama department by performing in several productions.

Career

Before he was a famous rapper, Tupac was in 'Digital Underground'. He went on to become possibly the most famous rapper in the world, but like most people, Tupac has to work his way up the top spot. His career kicked off as a backup dancer and MC in the hip-hop group Digital Underground before he became a solo artist.

In November 1991, Shakur released his debut solo album, 2Pacalypse Now. Though the album did not generate any hit singles, 2Pacalypse Now has been acclaimed by many critics and fans for its underground feel, with many rappers such as Nas, Eminem, Game, and Talib Kweli having pointed to it as inspiration. Although the album was originally released on Interscope Records, the rights to its distribution are now owned by Amaru Entertainment, the label owned by Shakur's mother. The album's name is a reference to the 1979 film Apocalypse Now.

2Pacalypse Now was a radical break from the dance party sound of Digital Underground, and its tone and content were much closer to the works of Public Enemy and West Coast gangsta rappers N.W.A. The lack of a clear single on the album limited its radio appeal, but it sold well, especially after Vice Pres. Dan Quayle criticized the song “Soulja’s Story” during the 1992 presidential campaign. That same year Shakur joined the ranks of other rappers-turned-actors, such as Ice Cube and Ice-T, when he was cast in the motion picture Juice, an urban crime drama. The following year he appeared in Poetic Justice, opposite Janet Jackson, and he released his second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. The album did not stray far from the activist lyricism of his debut, but singles such as “Holler If Ya Hear Me” and “Keep Ya Head Up” made it much more radio-friendly.

In late 1993, Shakur formed the group Thug Life with a number of his friends, including Big Syke (Tyruss Himes), Macadoshis (Diron Rivers), his stepbrother Mopreme Shakur, and the Rated R (Walter Burns). The group released their only album Thug Life: Volume 1 on September 26, 1994, which went gold. The album featured the single "Pour Out a Little Liquor", produced by Johnny "J" Jackson, who went on to produce a large part of Shakur's album All Eyez on Me. The group usually performed their concerts without Shakur. The album was originally released by Shakur's label Out Da Gutta Records, though Amaru Entertainment has since gained the rights to it. Among the notable tracks are "Bury Me a G", "Cradle to the Grave", "Pour Out a Little Liquor" (which also appears on the soundtrack to the 1994 film Above the Rim), "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" and "Str8 Ballin'". As a result of criticism of gangsta rap at the time, the original version of the album was scrapped and re-recorded with many of the original songs being cut. The album contains ten tracks because Interscope Records felt many of the other recorded songs were too controversial to release. Although the original version of the album was not completed, Shakur performed the planned first single from the album, "Out on Bail" at the 1994 Source Awards. Thug Life: Volume 1 was certified Gold. The track "How Long Will They Mourn Me?" later appeared on 2Pac's posthumous Greatest Hits album. To mark the formation of the band Tupac had the infamous 'Thug Life' tattoo inked across his stomach.

With increased fame and success came greater scrutiny of Shakur’s gangsta lifestyle. A string of arrests culminated with a conviction for sexual assault in 1994; he was incarcerated when his third album, Me Against the World, was released in 1995. Shakur was paroled after serving eight months in prison, and he signed with Suge Knight’s Death Row Records for his next release. That album, All Eyez on Me (1996), was a two-disc paean to the “thug life” that Shakur embodied. It debuted at number one on the Billboard charts and sold more than five million copies within its first year of release. Quick to capitalize on his most recent success, Shakur returned to Hollywood, where he starred in Bullet (1996) and Gridlock’d (1997).

On the evening of September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur attended the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match with Suge Knight, the head of Death Row Records, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After leaving the match, one of Suge Knight's associates, Travon "Tray" Lane (A Mob Pirus Bloods) spotted Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, a Crips gang member, from Compton, California, in the MGM Grand lobby. Earlier that year, in May 1996, Anderson and a group of Southside Crips had robbed Lane in a Foot Locker store. Lane told Tupac, and Shakur attacked Orlando Anderson. Shakur asked him if he was from the South and punched him in the face, knocking Anderson to the ground. Shakur and Knight's entourage, some known as a Mob Piru Bloods gang members, assisted in assaulting Anderson. The fight was captured on the hotel's video surveillance. It was broken up by hotel security.

After the brawl, Shakur went with Knight to Club 662 (since closed), which was owned by Knight. Shakur disclosed to fiancée Kidada Jones his involvement in the Anderson fight, previously having promised to return to her after entering the MGM Grand and having her stay in a vehicle. Shakur left with Knight after changing clothes.

At 11:00-11:05 p.m. (PDT), Shakur and Knight were halted on Las Vegas Boulevard by officers from the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department Bike Patrol for playing the car stereo too loudly and not having license plates. The plates were found in the trunk of Knight's car; the party was released a few minutes later without being cited. At 11:10 p.m. (PDT), while they were stopped at a red light at the intersection of East Flamingo Road and Koval Lane in front of the Maxim Hotel, a vehicle occupied by two women pulled up on their left side. Shakur, who was talking through the window of his BMW sedan, exchanged words with the two women and invited them to go to Club 662.

At 11:15 p.m. (PDT), a white, four-door, late-model Cadillac with 4 Southside Crip gang members (Orlando Anderson, Duane Keith Davis aka "Keffy D", Anderson's uncle, Terrance Brown aka "Bubble Up" and Deandre Smith aka "Dre" were in the car. They pulled up to Knight's right side, rolled down a window, and rapidly fired gunshots at Shakur. He was hit four times, twice in the chest, once in the arm, once in the thigh. One of the bullets went into Shakur's right lung. Knight was hit in the head by fragmentation. Bodyguard Frank Alexander stated that when he was about to ride along with Shakur in Knight's car, Shakur asked him to drive Jones's car instead, in case they needed additional vehicles from Club 662 back to the hotel. The bodyguard reported in his documentary, Before I Wake, that shortly after the assault, one of the convoy's cars followed the assailant but he never heard from the occupants. Yaki Kadafi was riding in the car behind Shakur with bodyguards at the time of the shooting, and along with members of the Death Row entourage, refused to cooperate with officers.

Despite the vehicle having a flat tire and Knight's injuries, he was able to drive Shakur and himself a mile from the site, to Las Vegas Boulevard and Harmon Avenue. They were pulled over by the Bike Patrol, who alerted paramedics through radio. After arriving on the scene, police and paramedics took Knight and Shakur to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada. They were pulled over just steps away from the MGM Grand. According to an interview with the music video director Gobi Rahimi, while at the hospital, he received news from a Death Row marketing employee that the shooters had called the record label and threatened Shakur. Gobi told the Las Vegas police but said they claimed to be understaffed. No attackers came to the hospital. Shakur said he was dying while being carried into the emergency department. At the hospital, Shakur was heavily sedated, was placed on life support machines, and was ultimately put under a barbiturate-induced coma after repeatedly trying to get out of bed. He was visited by Jones and regained consciousness when she played Don McLean's "Vincent" on the CD player next to his bed. According to Jones, Shakur moaned and his eyes were filled with "mucus and swollen." Jones told Shakur that she loved him.

Knight was released from the hospital the day following the shooting on September 8 but did not speak until September 11. He told officers he "heard something, but saw nothing" the night of the shooting. A spokesman for the officers said Knight's statement did nothing to help the investigation. Officers at the time of Shakur's hospitalization reported having no leads. Sergeant Kevin Manning said during the week that officers did not receive "a whole lot of cooperation" from Shakur's entourage. Rahimi and members of Shakur's group Outlawz guarded Shakur while he stayed in the hospital due to their fear that whoever shot Shakur "was gonna come finish him off". Rahimi mentioned the possibility that Outlawz brought weapons with them. While in the critical care unit, on the afternoon of Friday, September 13, 1996, Shakur died of respiratory failure that led to cardiac arrest after the removal of his right lung. Doctors supposedly attempted to revive him, but could not stop the hemorrhaging. His mother, Afeni, made the decision to cease medical treatment. He was pronounced dead at 4:03 pm (PDT).

Achievements

• 

  In spite of his relatively short recording career, Shakur left an enduring legacy within the hip-hop community. His popularity was undiminished after his death, and a long succession of posthumous releases (many of them were simply repackaged or remixed existing material, and most were of middling quality), ensured that “new” 2Pac albums continued to appear well into the 21st century.
  
  Shakur sold over 75 million records worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists of all time. His double-disc albums All Eyez on Me (1996) and his Greatest Hits (1998) are among the best-selling albums in the United States.
  
  Me Against the World hit number one on the Billboard 200, making Shakur the first artist to accomplish this feat while serving a prison sentence.
  
  Shakur is consistently ranked as one of the greatest and most influential rappers of all time, and he has been listed and ranked as one of the greatest artists of any genre by many publications, including Rolling Stone, which ranked him 86th on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. On April 7, 2017, Shakur was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility.
  
  Although the rap legend died in 1996, he returned to the stage at the 2012 Coachella Music Festival via hologram. Tupac's hologram is one of several digitally projected deceased stars like Michael Jackson, Ol' Dirty Bastard, and Easy-E. His hologram and music sales continue to generate major earnings posthumously.
  
  The moment Snoop Dogg was joined by a Tupac hologram at Coachella. The audience didn't know how to react when Tupac was presented right before their eyes in a hologram form. He performed alongside Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, making history even after his death.
  
  Ten years after Tupac’s death, Madame Tussauds debuted an eerily life-like wax figure of the artist. The creators of the wax Tupac researched hours of videos of the rap star, his personal measurements, and photos provided by his mother. They even hand-painted his tattoos to capture the uncanny resemblance.

Works

More photos

• music

  • 2Pacalypse Now 1991
  • Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... 1993
  • Me Against The World 1995
  • All Eyez On Me 1996
  • The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory 1996
  • R U Still Down? [Remember Me] 1997
  • Until The End Of Time 2001
  • Better Dayz 2002
  • Loyal To The Game 2004
  • Pac's Life 2006

Religion

Shakur never professed to follow a particular religion, but his lyrics in singles such as "Ghetto Gospel" and "Only God Can Judge Me" and poems such as The Rose That Grew from Concrete (poetry collection) suggest he believed in God. Many analysts currently describe him as a deist. He believed in Karma but rejected a literal afterlife and organized religion.

There are many more monotheistic references in Tupac’s music. But when asked his religious views, Tupac was very critical of organized Christianity. He said: "I think some cool motherfucker sat down a long time ago and said let’s figure out a way to control motherfuckers. That’s what they came up with the bible."

Politics

Tupac has a very interesting political past. His mother and aunt were active and militant members of the Black Panthers, a “special interest” group literally fighting less for black equality and more for black revenge. His mother was tried and acquitted of over 150 counts of “Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks.”

While living in Baltimore as a teenager, Shakur joined the Baltimore Young Communist League and was apparently dating the daughter of the head of the Baltimore chapter of the Communist Party.

This makes sense when listening to his rant about wealth redistribution. He said: "Everybody needs a little help on their way to be self-reliant…there’s no way [someone] should have a million-thousand-triple-billion dollars…these people have planes and there are people with no houses, apartments, shacks, drawers, pants…It’s not right."

Tupac often wrote lyrics about issues including racism, police brutality, poverty, and politics. His album '2Pacalypse Now' was one of his most political works and a defining moment in his career came as a result of it when it was claimed the album influenced youth in Texas to shoot a state trooper. Then US Vice President Dan Quayle publicly criticized Tupac at the time, saying: "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society."

Views

Meeting Joshua and creating 'Joshua's Dream.' In 1993 Tupac received a letter from the parents of a dying boy named Joshua. They said it was Joshua's dying wish to meet Tupac. Tupac flew to Maryland to meet Joshua and took him to a basketball game. The boy obviously made a huge impact on Tupac, as soon after Joshua's death, Tupac renamed his publishing company from Ghetto Gospel Music to Joshua's Dream.

Shakur publicly spoke out against interracial marriage in an interview with Source magazine in 1994, but later retracted these comments.

Ex-wife Keisha Morris alleges Shakur auditioned for the role of Bubba in Forrest Gump but didn't get the part.

Shakur was also supposed to play a lead role in Menace II Society, but after an altercation with co-director Allen Hughes, he was replaced with Larenz Tate.

In 2014, a police officer who claimed he witnessed Shakur's last moments said Shakur refused to state who shot him. After struggling to get a fatally wounded Shakur out of the vehicle, the officer tried to obtain information from him to identify the shooter. The officer recounts, “He looked at me and he took a breath to get the words out, and he opened his mouth, and I thought I was actually going to get some cooperation. And then the words came out: 'F**k you.' After that, he started gurgling and slipping out of consciousness." Shakur died six days later at the age of 25.

Quotations: "It's not going to stop until "we" stop it. And it's not just white man that's doing this to Brenda. It's not just a white man that's keeping us trapped. It's "black." And we have to find the new African in everybody... But before we can be African, we gotta be black first."

"What I want you to take seriously is what we have to do for the youth."

"You grew up, we grew up B.C. Before crack. That's just saying it all. You understand? You don't have parents... You have young kids, fourteen, coming home and their mama is smoking out, going to their best friend to get the product."

"It's not just about you taking care of "your" child. It's about you taking care of these children."

"They got money for wars, but can't feed the poor."

"It's like a battle, trying to find the right words to say at the right time."

"It's a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world."

"I believe honestly that I can talk. I believe that I have the ability to reason, I have logic, I have compassion, I have understanding. If we talk there's no problem you know what I'm saying. But that's not what happened. People used what they heard in media and that's how they come at me, and then you know we got a clash."

"If you're not cheering for me, for what I'm doing, don't cheer for me. Don't cheer cause you think I'm cute, you know what I'm saying, screw that. Cheer for me for what I'm doing, for what I stand for, and when I go to jail you should cheer louder."

"I have no patience for anybody that doubts me, none at all."

"I'm not thuggin' for me, I'm thuggin' for my family, I pay all the bills, I feed my whole family, wrong or right, I do and I can't stop."

"I know how it's gonna be when I die. It's going to be no noise, you ain't going to hear people screaming. I'mma fade out."

"I think being humble is sexy."

"Jail is big business, believe me. I'm in jail, I see the big business. You can feed a whole town off one jail. This jail is in the middle of a town that feeds everybody. Everybody works here, this is the main income. So if there were no criminals, nobody would work."

"The guns are turning away from Europe and Russia and Iran and Iraq and they're turning to us."

"Prison kills your spirit, straight up. It kills your spirit. There is no creativity, there's none of that."

"No matter what these people say about me, my music does not glorify any image, my music is spiritual if you listen to it. It's all about emotion, it's all about life."

"Watch people, because you can fake for a long time, but one day you're gonna show yourself to be a phony."

"Measure a man by his actions fully, from the beginning to the end. Don't take a piece out of my life or a song out of my music and say this is what I'm about, because you know better than that."

"I don't feel like what I did was so evil, I just feel like the way I was living and my mentality was a part of my progression to be a man."

"Don't support the phonies, support the real."

"Trust nobody, TRUST NO BODY."

"Fear is stronger than love, remember that. Fear is stronger than love, all that love I gave didn't mean nothing when it came to fear."

"All good niggas, all the niggas who change the world, die in violence. They don't die in regular ways."

"I can't explain why I shine and no one else shines. I think everybody shines in different things."

In one of his most extraordinary interviews Tupac ever gave, with MTV in 1994, the rapper came out with the line that would go on to be the most quoted Tupac statement of all time: "I'm not saying I'm going to rule the world or I'm going to change the world. But I guarantee I will spark the brain that will change the world. That's our job - to spark somebody else watching us."

Personality

Tupac's father Billy Garland said Shakur's anger developed from his frustrations in being misunderstood. He particularly reacted when people questioned his commitment to the black community and the West Coast.

According to his bodyguard and friend Frank Alexander, Shakur's favorite color was green. He wore a green tank-top on the night of his death.

Physical Characteristics: Tupac was 5'9” or 176 cm and had a body weight of approximately 70-76 kg or 154-168 lbs. He was commonly known for his signature bandana and thick eyebrows. He was pretty fond of tattoos and had got words ‘Thug Words’ tattooed on his abdomen.

Quotes from others about the person

• Chuck Philips: "I like sacred texts, myths, proverbs, and scriptures. [...] When Tupac came along, I thought he was quite the poet [...] It wasn't just how cleverly they rhymed. It wasn't just the rhythm or the cadence. I liked their attitude. It was protest music in a way nobody had ever thought about before. [...]These artists were brave, wise and smart - wickedly smart. Tupac had so many sides. He was unafraid to write about his vulnerabilities."
  
  50 Cent: "Every rapper who grew up in the Nineties owes something to Tupac."
  
  Janet Jackson: "Pac was just silly. He was completely different from what people knew. Not that it was an act, the person that the world knew, because that was him, too. I adored him - he liked to play and laugh."

Interests

• Philosophers & Thinkers

  Niccolò Machiavelli

• Writers

  Maya Angelou, William Shakespeare

• Music & Bands

  Prince, Kate Bush, Sinead O'Connor, Culture Club, Don McClean, U2.

Connections

Shakur married Keisha Morris-Shakur in April 1995; the marriage officially ended in March 1996. Shakur lived with Kidada Jones, his fiancé, daughter of Quincy Jones and actress Peggy Lipton, for several months until his death. Jones was waiting for Shakur in their Las Vegas hotel room when she was notified that he was shot.

Father:

Billy Garland

Tupac's father, Billy Garland, was a member of the Black Panther Party, he lost contact with Afeni when Tupac was five years old. The rapper would not see his father again until he was 23.

Mother:

Afeni Shakur

Afeni was Tupac's mother and was an active member of the Black Panther Party. Pac was very close to his mother and dedicated the song 'Dear Mama' to her.

Sister:

Sekyiwa 'Set' Shakur

Sekyiwa shared the same mother as Pac and grew up with him in Harlem, New York. Although Tupac referenced her in some of his songs - using the nickname 'Set' - Sekyiwa remains private about her life with her beloved brother, admitting she used to keep her surname a secret to hide her identity.

Stepbrother:

Mopreme 'Komani' Shakur

Maurice Williams (born 1967), better known by his stage name Mopreme Shakur, originally known as Wycked, is an American rapper. He was a member of the hip-hop group Thug Life.

ex-wife:

Keisha Morris-Shakur

While he was serving time in prison, Tupac got married to his longtime girlfriend Keisha Morris in April 1995. However, their marriage didn’t last as long as they got divorced in 1996. He later claimed that they had got married for the wrong reasons.

fiancee:

Kidada Jones

Kidada Ann Jones is an American actress, model, and fashion designer.

Their relationship had a rocky start. Tupac said some nasty things about her dad in a 1993 Source Magazine interview. He basically said the music icon only had sex with white women, and the result of those unions were messed-up kids.

Later, Tupac and Kidada met at a club, according to Vanity Fair and Kidada’s first-person account. He apologized to her, and the pair began dating.

When came that fateful night in Las Vegas. Kidada was in town with Tupac, and she was in their hotel suite when she received the call that he had been shot.

After she got to the hospital, she was handed his bloody clothes and was told Tupac had no blood pressure when he came in. She later walked around the parking lot for nine hours, repeating to herself that he couldn’t die, she wrote.

“I knew we should’ve never gone to Vegas that night. I had a horrible feeling about it. I’ve gone over it in my mind a million times. It wasn’t supposed to happen,” Kidada wrote. “We weren’t supposed to be there. It was the worst possible thing that could’ve happened - I still to this day don’t know who shot him. I wasn’t able to say goodbye. It’s not something that should happen to anyone. Tupac was the love of my life.”

Friend:

Yafeu Akiyele 'Yaki Kadafi'

Yafeu's parents were members of the Black Panther Party and close friends with Afeni, and he and Pac were inseparable growing up. Yafeu would visit Tupac daily after he was jailed in 1995, and vowed to form the Outlawz with him. Just two months after Pac's murder - which Yafue saw from the car behind - Yafeu was killed after being accidentally shot in the head, aged just 19.

Friend:

Jada Pinkett Smith

Jada Pinkett had a very deep platonic relationship with Tupac. Jada Koren Pinkett Smith (born September 18, 1971) is an American actress, dancer, singer-songwriter, and businesswoman.

Tupac first met actress Jada Pinkett Smith in the mid-80s while they were studying at the Baltimore School for the Arts. They were initially close friends before they started dating. Jada and Tupac were pictured kissing and making out on a couple of occasions but they never publicly revealed that they were in fact dating. They remained in close touch until his untimely death.

In the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur says, "Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life." Jada also calls him "one of my best friends. He was like a brother. It was beyond friendship for us. The type of relationship we had, you only get that once in a lifetime." Jada has since denied there was any romance between the pair.

colleague:

Snoop Dogg

Calvin Cordozar Broadus Jr. (born October 20, 1971), known professionally as Snoop Dogg, is an American rapper, singer, songwriter, record producer, television personality and actor.

Snoop and Tupac were often seen out together, they were close. But Snoop recently confirmed that his last encounter with Pac wasn't a good one. After being asked in an interview how he felt about Biggie and Puff, Snoop called them his 'Homeboys.' Tupac clearly felt betrayed by this, as the next time he saw Snoop he totally ignored him. That was the pair's last encounter before Tupac died.

colleague:

Notorious B.I.G

Christopher George Latore Wallace known professionally as The Notorious B.I.G., Biggie Smalls, or simply Biggie, was an American rapper.

Tupac and Biggie were the main agents in the notorious East Coast-West Coast beef. But before it started they were actually friends. The issues started when Biggie released 'Who Shot Ya?' - a song that Tupac interpreted as a diss song towards him. The track was the beginning of what went on to become the infamous hip-hop coastal war and shaped the music Tupac made from that moment on.

Fuelling the fire in the infamous East Coast/ West Coast beef. Tupac was not happy with Biggie and he made it known on 1996 single 'Hit 'Em Up,' when he took shots at his former friend and a ton of other East Coast rappers including Puff Daddy. The most notorious lyric was Tupac claiming that he had slept with Biggie's wife, Faith Evans. Tupac was killed three months after its release.

Friend:

Madonna Ciccone

In her interviews, Madonna has claimed that she dated Tupac for 3 years. Now, an uncovered letter from the late start to the pop icon reveals that race was a big factor in their breakup.

Tupac ended their relationship in January 1995 via a letter he wrote in prison. In his letter, he explained that he had broken up with her because she was white. He explained that if he had remained with her, he would be letting many of his fans and supporters down.

colleague:

Dr. Dre

Andre Romelle Young better known by his stage name Dr. Dre, is an American rapper, record producer and entrepreneur. He is the founder and CEO of Aftermath Entertainment and Beats Electronics, and was previously co-owner of Death Row Records. He has produced albums for and overseen the careers of many rappers, including 2Pac, The D.O.C., Snoop Dogg, Eminem, Xzibit, Knoc-turn'al, 50 Cent, The Game, and Kendrick Lamar.

The opportunity to work with Dr. Dre was a major incentive for Tupac to come to Death Row Records in 1995. But the timing was bad; just as Tupac entered the Death Row fold, Dre was on his way out. Other than tracks like “California Love,” the pair never got much of a chance to collaborate, and Tupac joined Suge Knight in taunting Dre and (dubiously) calling him gay. “Tupac never knew me,” Dre told journalist Harris Rosen in his book N.W.A – The Aftermath. “Tupac had never been to my house before. He doesn’t even know where I live. We never even been in the same car together.”

The first single 2Pac released, as a part of his death with Death Row Records was 'California Love.' Note Dr. Dre produced track hears Tupac rap "Out on bail, fresh out of jail, California dreamin." The track went on to become his most successful and probably his most loved one.

colleague:

Suge Knight

Marion Hugh "Suge" Knight Jr. is an American record producer, music executive, former American football player, and convicted felon. He is best known as the co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records.

Tupac was arrested for sexually assaulting a woman.

The victim alleged that Shakur and his entourage raped her in a hotel room. Pac denied the charges but was sentenced to 1.5 to 4.5 years in prison. He served nine months in total from February 14, 1995, at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York. Picture: MTV

Swapping talent for freedom in 2Pac's legendary deal with Suge Knight.

When Tupac was in prison in 1995 it was music producer Suge Knight and Jimmy Iovine who paid the hefty $1.4 million bail to get him released, as Tupac couldn't afford to pay it himself. In return, Tupac contractually agreed to make three albums under Death Row Records.

In August 2017, a grand jury indicted Knight on charges of "threatening death or bodily injury" against F. Gary Gray, the director of Straight Outta Compton, on August 8, 2014. The indictment accuses Knight of making an "unequivocal, unconditional, immediate and specific" threat against Gray, causing him to have feared for his safety and the safety of his family. Knight pleaded not guilty to the charge.

On September 20, 2018, Knight pleaded no contest to voluntary manslaughter and agreed to serve 28 years in prison.

Friend:

Janet Jackson

Janet Damita Jo Jackson is an American singer, songwriter, actress, and dancer.

According to Shakur, while filming Poetic Justice, he was asked to take an HIV test before he could film a love scene with Janet Jackson.

Friend:

Mike Tyson

Michael Gerard Tyson is an American former professional boxer who competed from 1985 to 2005.

As Tyson tells it, he first met Shakur by accident. The boxer was at an upscale club when some guy he knew asked if he could get him in, which Tyson allowed, only to find out the person had an entourage of 50 people. One of them was Shakur, who “was rocking the club. The club was off the hook,” Tyson said. However, he didn’t connect that the rapper at the club was Tupac until Shakur’s mother wrote Tyson in prison, thanking him for getting her son into the club.

“I didn’t know that was him! I didn’t know who he was. He wasn’t famous then,” Tyson said. “Then he’s famous when I get locked up, so he wrote to me … He appreciated me getting him in, and he wanted to come to visit me. So he came and he visited me. And that’s how we met each other.”

Tyson also said of Shakur, “He’s just a different person. You know when you see some people in our life, ‘they’re like us but they’re not like us, they’re different.'”

The last time the boxer saw the rapper, it was September 7th, 1996 prior to his boxing match in Las Vegas; hours later, Shakur was shot.

References

• Original Gangstas: The Untold Story of Dr. Dre, Eazy-E, Ice Cube, Tupac Shakur, and the Birth of West Coast Rap
• Tupac Shakur: The Life and Times of an American Icon
• Murder Rap: The Untold Story of the Biggie Smalls & Tupac Shakur Murder Investigations by the Detective Who Solved Both Cases
• The FBI War on Tupac Shakur and Black Leaders: U.S. Intelligence's Murderous Targeting of Tupac, MLK, Malcolm, Panthers, Hendrix, Marley, Rappers and Linked Ethnic Leftists
• Legends of Music: The Life and Legacy of Tupac Shakur
• For the Love of Tupac Shakur: The Unauthorized Factbook of 50 things to Love about Tupac Shakur
• The Killing of Tupac Shakur
• Tupac Shakur: 2Pac in the Studio
• Tupac Shakur Legacy