The type of relationship we had, you only get that once in a lifetime." A poem written by Shakur titled "Jada" appears in his book, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, which also includes a poem dedicated to Pinkett Smith called "The Tears in Cupid's Eyes". She will be my friend for my whole life." Pinkett Smith calls him "one of my best friends. In the documentary Tupac: Resurrection, Shakur says, "Jada is my heart. He developed a close friendship with a young Jada Pinkett (later Jada Pinkett Smith) that lasted until his death. 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. 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 performed in Shakespeare plays, and in the role of the Mouse King in the ballet The Nutcracker. After completing his second year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, he transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. In 1986, the family relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. Shakur had a half-sister, Sekyiwa, two years his junior, and an older stepbrother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, who appeared in many of his recordings.Īt the age of twelve, Shakur enrolled in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble and was cast as the Travis Younger character in the play A Raisin in the Sun, which was performed at the Apollo Theater. Mutulu was caught in 1986 and imprisoned for the robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which two police officers and a guard were killed. She had been imprisoned for killing a state trooper in 1973. Mutulu was wanted for having helped his sister Assata Shakur (also known as Joanne Chesimard) to escape from a penitentiary in New Jersey. His stepfather, Mutulu, spent four years at large on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list beginning in 1982. His godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high ranking Black Panther, was convicted of murdering a school teacher during a 1968 robbery, although his sentence was later overturned. Shakur lived from an early age with people who were convicted of serious criminal offences and who were imprisoned. The infant boy was born a month after his mother was acquitted of more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York "Panther 21" court case. His mother, Afeni Shakur, and his father, Billy Garland, were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Subsequent to Shakur's death, the Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department (as well as the official coroner's report, which lists "Crooks" as an aka) released his name as Lesane Parish Crooks. He was named after Túpac Amaru, an 18th-century South American revolutionary who was executed after leading an indigenous uprising against Spanish rule.
Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City.
In 1997, Shakur was honored by the American Music Awards as the Favorite Hip Hop Artist.īorn on Jin New York City, Shakur’s parents were both members of the Black Panther Party whose militant style and provocative ideologies for civil rights would come to influence 2Pac’s music. Today, 2Pac is still considered by many to be one of the biggest influences on modern hip-hop.ĢPac’s career has earned him six Grammy nominations and three MTV Video Music Award nominations. His music earned attention and respect through a poetic style that embraced street vocabulary while being innovative. 2Pac’s unapologetic lyrics were relevant, important, and reflective of the hard lives led by many.
He was most prolific in the music industry, selling over 75 million albums. During his life, he produced an immense amount of artistic work, which included studio albums, major Hollywood feature films, and published works. While 2Pac was most famous for his rap career, he was also a gifted actor, poet and thoughtful while outspoken advocate for the poor and the overlooked in America. Tupac Amaru Shakur was an inspiration to millions.