God Of Rap : Tupac Shakur

Rapper, actor. Born on June 16, 1971, in
New York, New York. Shakur has become a
legend in hip-hop and rap circles for his
talent, his violent behavior, and his brutal
death. The son of a Black Panther activist,
Shakur moved around a lot as a child. In his
youth, he explored acting by becoming a
member of the 127th Street Ensemble, a
Harlem-based theater company.
As a teenager, Shakur attended the
Baltimore School for the Arts, where he took
acting and dance classes, including ballet.
While living in Baltimore, he discovered rap
and began performing as MC New York. In
the late 1980s, Shakur and his family moved
to the West Coast. He joined the Oakland,
California-based hip-hop group Digital
Underground, which earlier had scored a hit
with the song "The Humpty Dance."
In 1991, Shakur emerged as a solo artist —
using the name 2Pac — with his debut
album 2Pacalypse Now. The track "Brenda's
Got a Baby" reached as high as number
three on the Billboard Hot Rap Singles chart.
His second album Strictly 4 My N. I. G. G. A. Z.
crossed over to the pop charts, with singles
"I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up." The
album went platinum, selling more than a
million copies. Around this time, Shakur also
appeared in several films, including Poetic
Justice (1993) opposite Janet Jackson.
2Pac became quite a sensation, earning
praise for his musical and acting talent as
well as condemnation for his explicit,
violent lyrics. Many of his songs told of
fights, gangs, and sex. He appeared to be
living up to his aggressive gangster rap
persona with several arrests for violent
offenses in the 1990s. In 1994, he spent
several days in jail for assaulting director
Allen Hughes and was later convicted of
sexual assault in another case. Shakur
himself fell victim to violence, getting shot
five times in the lobby of a recording studio
during a mugging.
The next year, after recovering from his
injuries, Shakur was sentenced to four and
a half years in prison in the sexual assault
case. His third solo album, Me Against the
World (1995), started out in the number one
spot on the album charts. Many critics
praised the work, noting that tracks like
"Dear Mama" showed a more genuine,
reflective side to the rapper. The possibility
of an early death runs through several
songs on this recordings — something that
many have seen as a chilling moment of
foretelling.
After serving eight months in prison, Shakur
returned to music with the album All Eyez
on Me (1996). He was reportedly released
after Death Row Records CEO Marion "Suge"
Knight paid a bond of more than $1 million
as part of Shakur's parole. In his latest
project, Shakur as the defiant street thug
was back in full force on this recording. The
song "California Love" featured a guest
appearance by famed rapper-producer Dr.
Dre and made a strong showing on the pop
charts. "How Do You Want It" also was
another smash success for Shakur. It
appeared to be a golden time for Shakur.
Besides his hit album, he tackled several film
roles.
During his career, Shakur had become
embroiled in a feud between East Coast and
West Coast rappers. He was known to insult
his enemies on his tracks. On a trip to Las
Vegas to attend a boxing match, Shakur was
shot while riding in a car driven by Knight
on September 7, 1996. He died six days later
on September 13 from his injuries. His killer
has never been caught. Since his death,
numerous albums of his work have been
released, selling millions of copies.