- Name: Tupac Amaru Shakur
Date of Birth: June 16, 1971
Date of Death: September 13, 1996
Place of Birth: Brooklyn, New York
Place of Death: Las Vegas, Nevada
Measurements: 6' 0"
Maritial Status: Separated/Married
Occupation: Rapper / Actor
Tupac was born in Brooklyn NY, one month after his mother got out of jail. His Mother, who belonged to the afra-american organisation "Black Panther", was fighting for the rights of afro-americans in the US. As a 12 years old, Tupac visited an acting-school in Harlem. He and his mother moved to San Francisco when he was 17 yeas old, where he acted in school and he was first recocniced.
1989
discovered George Chekhovs, frontman from Digital Underground, Tupac and
hiered him as a dancer. In 1991 could he show his scills as a rapper. He
raped one verse on the 'This Is An E.P. Release'. Short after this he got
an record-contract with the Interscope Label. In the same year he released
his debut Album '2Pacalypse Now'. The next three releases 'Strictly 4 My
Niggaz', 'Me Against The World' und 'All Eyes On Me' proof Tupac's talent
and are very popular with West-Coast-Fans. His dopple-Album (the first
in Hip Hop history) 'All Eyes On Me' made it all up to the top and into
the mainstream. In the U.S. was it soled over 5.000.000 times in only a
few weeks.
Also his career as an actor was uplifting. In the movie "Juice" he acts 1992 a criminal teennager, who becomes a killer. In 1994 he acts together with Janet Jackson in the movie "Poetic Justice". 1996 he worked on the movies "Gang Related" und "Gridlock'd".
All
the time Tupac had a gangsta image and did a lot for it. Once he said:
"Every politican is a gangsta. And cause I'm a black american I haven`t
got the right to get political active, I have to be a big gangsta to get
influence". Therefor he spent a lot of time in jail and in courtrooms.
In January 1993 he and some companion beat up his director, because he
fired him befor. In April on the same year he beat up another rapper with
a baseball bat and had to go to jail for 10 days. The folowing Oktober,
after his own statemnt, he was stopped by two policemen with drawn guns.
He injuried both of them by shooting on them in self-defense. The exect
background details were never investegated and there was never a case because
verybody knew there were not enough facts to bring it infron of court.
In November he was acused by a femal fan, who declared that Tupac would
have raped her. Tupac contested this crime.At the same time his song 'Keep
Ya Head Up' (a Song about the pride and strength of women and against men,
who don't have enough resect of women) got into the US Top 10 . While Tupac
was in Jail because of the rape-story, some colleagues showed there respect
by shoting the video to 'Temptations'. Some of them were Coolio, Ice-T
und Warren G. Mostly West-coast-rapper were involed in this project. This
is certainly because of the shooting which took place in New York in 1994.
When
Tupac and his homie Strech Walker visited Christopher "The Notorios B.I.G."
Wallace in his recording-studio in New York, they got robed an shot five
times. The perpetrator escaped with jewelry worth $40.000. In pril Vibe-Magazine
published that Tupac thinks Strech Walker, Biggi Smalls und Sean"Puffy"Combs
(Boss of the 'Bad Boy' record Label) set him up. Duch diesen Konflikt entwickelte
sich die bekannte Eastcoast Westcoast Feindschaft. In November 1995, exactly
one year after the New York shooting, Stretch Walker was found executed.
Shortly befor that, on the 12. Oktober, Tupac got out of jail after serving
11 month. Marion"Suge"Knight,Boss of the 'Death Row Records Label' paid
the bond of $1.000.000. At the same time Tupac changed from 'Interscope'
to'Death Row'.
On
the 7th.September 1996 was the attempt on Tupac. After a Tyson fight, Tupac
and Suge were on their way to Suge's Club 662.