Who Is Tupac Shakur?

copies, and I want that so badly, but I can't do that. I would be wrong to do that, knowing what I know and having the brain that I have, for me to even go and write some simple *censored* would be wrong even though I would get paid and I would get more people's money." (Patrick, Tony, n.p.) This means that Tupac has a strong will and values. He resisted the temptation to write some easy rhyming words and get peoples money. He instead followed his values and worked

The book I chose to read is Tupac Shakur:The Life & Times of an American Icon. This book hasn’t been out for very long. It’s publication date was January 26, 2010 so it is a somewhat newer book. Fred and Tayannah examined very closely and did a great deal of research to write this book. They had to examine all the theories and myths about Tupac Shakur. So i’m guessing you can imagine how hard they worked to write & publish this biography.

     On September 7, 1996, Tupac Amaru Shakur was riding in the passenger side of a black BMW driven by Marion Suge Knight, president of Death Row Records. Tupac and Suge had just finished watching Mike Tyson defeat Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tupac was standing up through the sunroof while the car was stopped at a traffic light. The Cadillac containing the gunmen passed an entourage of Tupac’s allies, many of them bodyguards. Four unidentified men pulled alongside Suge’s car, fired 13 rounds, and sped away. No one gives chase and there were no witnesses on the street. How come? Why not, especially after a heavyweight fight? Tupac was shot in multiple places

Tupac Shakur is one of the most legendary and popular poetic/rap artists to this day. He is considered to be one of the most influential people of his time, influencing every African-American citizen in North America. Thought of as the creator of rap, Tupac has sold over seventy-five million albums worldwide although his career ended as quickly as it started. Six, is the number of years Tupac spent making rap professionally. Thirteen is the number of years Tupac spent writing poetry and rap lyrics. Twenty-five is how old Tupac was when he received four bullets to his chest causing him to pass away. In those twenty-five years, Tupac has influenced millions of people and artists

Tupac Amaru Shakur was a very influential person who overcame many difficulties. Tupac was a rapper of truth that spoke about the things that go on in the “Hood” and the unjust police. He was treated differently because he was black and was even arrested for jaywalking. After he was arrested he was beaten by the cops who wanted him to “learn his place”(Joseph 29). This shows how bad Tupac had it because he was African American. Tupac died an early death at 25 because of a brewing rivalry between the East and West Coast rappers. Shakur was a person who would stand up for what he believed in no matter the cost and died fighting for that. He never let anyone win a battle that he was determined to win and always knew what he was fighting for. His mother was the same, as a loyal member of the Black Panther Party, a group that protected all African Americans from police brutality. Tupac was literally born to be a fighter and carried on his mother's legacy. Despite his rough life, Tupac Shakur became one of the most influential rappers of all time.

Tupac Shakur was one of the most influential artist of our last decade. He not only made several albums, but was also a large role in many films and a poet. Millions of people bought and still buy his albums. He was a pioneer to gangster rap, and he sang about things that mattered. Although, he was a role model and was admired by many, he also had a lot of enemies, and in the end, his enemies over powered his fans by taking his life. Some say that he may still be alive, but no one really knows.

Violent lyrics, a bad-boy image, and a long criminal record are what attracted and connected millions of young adults to the now legendary rapper Tupac Shakur. Tupac was a man of contradictions; for example, his music degraded and also praised strong women. Tupac Shakur rapped about problems that inner-city black Americans could relate to, along with his legal and personal drama; you could not get away from Tupac in the 1990’s. From the womb to the day Tupac Shakur died he went through the struggles many self-proclaimed “gangsters” these days do as well; but using these problems he took the rap and hip-hop game to another level.

Tupac was born to parents of The Black Panther Party, a revolutionary party standing for the rights of African Americans. Having being born into a family of poverty and black activists, Tupac was well aware of the importance of the issues that he highlights in this song as he himself had experienced them first hand.

A few years later his family moved to the West Coast in California where he began to to grew as an artist. In 1995, he became a solo artist and signed to Death Row with label CEO Marion “Suge Knight. That same year he also dropped his album Me Against the World . He record this album while he was in jail. According to a BET article, he was arrested for a felony with a deadly weapon. Despite his issues of being in prison, he was the first artist to go Number One on the Billboard charts while he was in prison. On September 7th 1996, Tupac was gunned down and was pronounced dead after 6 days of fighting for his life. As an artist he spoke a lot of violence and how to be aware of the society that everyone is exposed to. He spoke to the youth and was actively involved in the group the Black Panther which emphasizes equity and black power. Tupac music had meaning and emotion behind it that most struggling people in the urban community could connect to which made his so popular because people could relate. According the Rolling Stone index, Tupac was viewed as “one of the most dynamic, influential and self destructive pop stars of the Nineties.” Despite him going to jail for his wrong doings, he was a man who spoke only of the

His mother and father were Billy Garland and Alicia Faye Williams who were both part of the Black Panthers. The party’s original purpose was to patrol African American neighbourhoods to protect residents from acts of police brutality. His mom started to get more active in the Black Panthers and soon changed her name to Afeni Shakur and named Tupac to Tupac Amaru. He would then get his named changed again to his younger sister Sekiya’s father mutulu Shakur. Tupac’s life was hard. None of his fathers stood around and his family would move from shelter to shelter. His mom would soon later get addicted to crack.

To gaze into the lyrics of both Notorious B.I.G. and Tupac Shakur is like living in the ghettos of New York City where violence never stops. Both of these artists grew up seeing and living a life filled with violence. Gunshots and drive-byes, death and murder were a daily occurrence. Although the lyrics of both artists are simply telling their life stories and how hard it was to grow up in their “hoods” they contain vulgar, hateful, and sexual verses that send the wrong message to their listeners. Whether these listeners are teens or adults, white or black, they are continually sending notions of hatred and fear through their lyrics and actions. Ultimately,

Shakur’s legal troubles continued in 1994 when he punched out Menace II Society co director Allen Hughes and served a fifteen-day sentence for his actions. The sexual charge came back to haunt Shakur in 1994 and he was convicted and sentenced to four and a half years in prison. The same day that Tupac was convicted, he was shot five times and robbed of his jewelry in a mugging Tupac claimed that the Notorious B.I.G., rapper that Tupac argued with over the past couple of years was responsible for hiring those who shot him. This intensified the East Coast – West Coast feud (Venable 98-99).

Tupac Shakur released the song “Keep Ya Head Up” first in 1993 on his album “Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.Z.”, then as a single in 1994. Tupac’s “Keep Ya Head Up”, one of his most notable and recognizable singles, received acclaim upon its release and continues to do so. The record centers on the social climate in the 90’s, and Tupac’s own experiences from his youth. Around the time of the song’s release, Tupac’s indictment in a rape case colored the reception of the song although it remained mainly positive. Tupac speaks on multiple issues through his lyrics, making it effective as a critique of society; moreover, the other creative devices he uses – phrasing, rhythm changes, and samples – make the song effective as an artistic project and back up his social message.

When most people hear the name Tupac, they think of a tattooed thug, a gangsta rapper killed in a tragic shooting who only got what was coming to him, a man who lived by the gun, and who died by the gun. However, those people probably have never taken a chance to look beyond what their eyes tell them, past the ignorance and into the depths of the man who really was Tupac.

When thinking of the Hip-Hop industry, one of the first names that comes to mind is Tupac Shakur. Shakur was born in the Bronx on June 16, 1971. He was reared by his mother Afeni Shakur who was an active member of the Black Panthers. Tupac's family later relocated to Oakland, California, where he spent much of his time on the street. As a kid, he was always getting himself into trouble, and he was very lonely. He started writing songs to keep himself out of trouble. An article from VIBE magazine "Troubled Times for Tupac Shakur" quotes Tupac. "'I was lonely, I didn't have no big brothers, no big cousins until later. I could remember writing songs.... I remember writing poetry.' " 1 Tupac was talented in the areas of