Even 21 years after his death, Tupac Shakur is still considered one of the best rappers ever by many fans. Thousands rushed to theaters on June 16 to celebrate his life and watch his new biopic All Eyez On Me. The timing was perfect for the highly-anticipated release because it was also the rapper’s birthday. He may be gone, but he’s certainly not forgotten. See pics of him here, and reminisce about his life below.
Tupac’s real name was Lesane Parish Crooks, and he was born in 1971 in East Harlem. He came from a politically active family, many of whom had criminal backgrounds from their time involved with the Black Liberation Army and Black Panthers. However, Pac’s focus was on entertainment from a young age. He was in A Raisin In The Sun at just 12 years old, and studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. At this age is when he met and became friends with Jada Pinkett-Smith. He also got involved in Communism by joining a young Communist club and dating a Communist woman.
Pac got involved with Digital Underground in the early-1990s and released his own solo music. He focused a lot on unjust social policies, but with a poetic spin. However, he took a lot of heat from law enforcement for talking about police brutality and other issues relating to young black men. His iconic albums like All Eyez On Me and Me Against The World are what launched him to legend status.
Tupac also had a significant acting career. He starred in Nothing But Trouble, Juice, Poetic Justice and Above The Rim. He also had a number of celebrity friends like Mike Tyson, Rosie Perez, Biggie Smalls, and Snoop Dogg. Of course the Biggie friendship disappeared after Pac was shot five times, and blamed B.I.G. and P. Diddy for setting it up. Tupac spent time in prison on a sexual assault charge starting in 1995, and when he came out, many people claimed that he seemed very different. Sadly, he was murdered in Las Vegas on Sept. 7, 1996.
HollywoodLifers, what’s your favorite 2Pac song? Let us know!