411 On Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16 1971 in East Harlem New York. He was also known as 2Pac, Pac and Makaveli.

Although he lived a fairly short life, he left a mark not only in the music industry but also in world entities such as the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism and egalitarianism. He expressed his philosophy in this music. His debut ‘2Pacalysse’ showed his social conscious. The album dealt with social injustice, poverty and police brutality in songs such as “Brenda’s got a baby”, “Trapped” and let’s not forget “Part Time Mutha.”

Tupac worked closely with Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, X-Clan and Grandmaster Flash to name a few. Not only did he perform on stage with other rappers but he also performed on the big screen with famous actor and actresses. He starred in ‘Nothing But Trouble’, ‘Juice’, ‘Drexell’s Class’(tv show), A Different World’ (tv show), ‘Poetic Justice’ ‘In Living Color’(tv show), ‘Above the Rim’, ‘Murder Was the Case: The Movie’, ‘Bullet’, ‘Gridlock’d', ‘Gang Related’, ‘Tupac: Resurrection’, ‘Notorious’ and ‘Live 2 Tell’.

He was ranked number two on MTV’s “The Greatest MCs of All Time” and again in 2003 he was number one MC in MTV’s “22 Greatest MCs countdown”. He was also inducted into the HipHop Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2004 Tupac and a few other rappers received the honor of “VH1 Hip Hop Honors”. Vibe magazine asked fans to take a poll on “the greatest rapper of all time” in 2004 in which Tupac rated top. In October 17 2006 The First Annual Turks & Caicos International Film Festival honored Tupac as an undeniable voice and talent and as a performer who crossed racial, ethnic, cultural and medium lines. On his behalf his mother accepted this award. It doesn’t end there, in 2008 he was recognized as an influential artist and was added to the Definitive 200 list at the National Association of Recording Merchandisers and the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.