Tupac Shakur

In the Beginning

Tupac Shakur was born in 1971 as Lesane Parish Crooks, in the beautiful Manhattan district of New York City. He grew up with the guidance of his parents, Alice Faye Williams and Billy Garland, notable Black Panther members, and grew up surrounded by similar people. He was in the care of many Black Panther, the Black Liberation Army, and the FBI’s Most Wanted members, but that couldn’t stop the music in his heart. Lesane tried out for Harlem’s 127th Street Reparatory Ensemble and received his first-ever role as Travis in A Raisin in the Sun. He moved to Maryland for his high school years, and dove deeper into theater and music, even learning ballet on the side. However, he wasn’t just an actor. He was a deep thinker, performing Shakespeare, wrote his own rap music and performed it in front of his peers, and would eventually write a book and a few poems.

Career Accomplishments

In 1991, Tupac made his debut in the real music industry by showing what he could do in Digital Underground’s “Same Song.” Lesane officially became Tupac, and he pulled together his first solo album, 2Pacalypse Now. This was his first step into a very drama-laden career, full of controversy because of the topics Tupac brought to life. He tried to make his experiences work for him, writing raps to defend and explain the things young black males go through in the ’80s and ’90s, and what they’re struggling through at the time of his recording. He managed to expose many different topics that people would blame him for pointing out, causing a big stink. However, in five years, he produced 5 studio albums, rising quickly to the limelight.

Most Known For

Tupac is most known for his rapping, and his deep lyrics. He wrote most of his own raps, focusing on the problems of young black males. He was deeply influenced by English rappers and Shakespeare and looked up to the historic playwright. He became famous for his albums, meeting up with other rappers and creating groups between them to make shared albums speaking out against the problems of their time.

Where Is He Now?

On September 7, 1996, Tupac was in an incident where he was shot in multiple places, one bullet piercing his lung. After a few days in critical condition, Tupac finally lost his battle for life, due to heavy internal bleeding that could not be stopped.