It is easy to forget that Tupac Shakur's career only lasted five years. The rapper released his first studio album "2Pacalypse Now" in November 1991. By September 13, 1996, he was dead. Shakur was just 25 when he was gunned down on a Las Vegas street and succumbed to his injuries days later.Within those five years, Shakur was in the studio recording the trove of music he left behind. He had roles in films like "Poetic Justice" and "Above the Rim." And as Shakur's fame grew, so did his controversial reputation.
Twenty years after his death, there continues to be a fascination with Shakur. With his artistry cut short, some wonder if the rapper was on the verge of reaching his full potential just as he was killed -- writing about #BlackLivesMatter decades before its time.
"Street poet" Writer Kevin Powell covered Shakur extensively. In 1995, Powell conducted the now famous Rikers Island interview with Shakur where the rapper was imprisoned after being accused of rape (he was found guilty of sexual abuse and served eight months). Powell said in death, Tupac is now an even bigger star. "When you are in the middle of it, you are not thinking global, iconic figure on the level of a Bob Marley, a Nina Simone, the Beatles or Elvis," Powell told CNN. "I'm talking not just hip hop but globally. I have traveled all over this country and around the world and everywhere I have gone, his name comes up in some form or fashion." The writer recounts some of his relationship with Shakur in his book "The Education of Kevin Powell: A Boy's Journey into Manhood." Powell said he credits Shakur's enduring legacy to the rapper's vulnerability, honesty and authenticity. "Pac was a street poet and he spoke for the people in the hood," Powell said. "He was constantly pushing the limits of what an artist could do in the tradition of a Marvin Gaye, Bob Dylan and Nina Simone." "Here on earth / tell me what's a Black life worth"
Last year, Ebony magazine ran a collection of Shakur quotes and poems under the headline: "Tell Me What's A Black Life Worth: 2Pac on #BlackLivesMatter." (The article was tied to a Grammy Museum exhibit titled "All Eyez On Me: The Writings of Tupac Shakur." "It was always my belief that cops are just a gang unto themselves with the good and the bad," the rapper said during an interview about playing a cop in the 1997 film "Gang Related," which was released posthumously. "Just like I believe the gang bangers in the street got good and bad like police officers do."
Powell said he absolutely believes that "Pac would have grown into someone who would have talked about race, gender and various forms of discrimination." "I think he would have been a leader in various ways and grown into what Harry Belafonte became, what Paul Robeson became and what Bono of U2 has become," Powell said. "They understood that they have this gigantic platform as artists and entertainers and they wanted to use it for social good."
"JFK and Elvis rolled into one" Beyond being an actor and wildly successful hip hop artist, Shakur was well known for his encounters with the law. Director Mike Dorsey teamed up with former Los Angeles Police detective Greg Kading for the documentary "Murder Rap: Inside the Biggie and Tupac Murders." (The rappers were murdered within six months of each other.).
"Tupac had so much more ahead of him in his life, he had so much potential that there was kind of a James Dean aspect to his life," Dorsey said. "We never really got to see his full potential and I think all those aspects merged to create the perfect storm which has helped to keep this story alive." There are plenty of conspiracy theorists who don't believe that Shakur is dead. Since his shooting, there have been whisperings that Shakur faked his own death after he was hospitalized. Recently, a video has been circulating on social media which claims to "prove" Shakur is alive. Fans have continued to share the video despite it being debunked.
Kading said he's heard countless theories -- including one about a government conspiracy connected to Shakur's death. "That's salacious to the audience and they want to think there is much more to the story [of Shakur's death]," Kading said. "And of course there are these racial overtones that have to do with [theories that] the government trying to suppress these artists because of where they were potentially going with the black movement. When you know the facts of the story, that's all far fetched. But I think that's what keeps it appealing and mysterious." Dorsey added, "I would say it's kind of like JFK and Elvis rolled into one."
Tupac Shakur: Remembering Kendrick Lamar's heartfelt letter to 2Pac on the 20th anniversary of the rapper's death
Legendary rapper Tupac Shakur, known as 2Pac, died in a Nevada hospital 20-years ago having been wounded in a drive-by shooting.
The incident took place on the 13 September 1996, with many of the details about the attack - which took place on Flamingo Road and Koval Lane in Las Vegas - remaining a mystery.
Tupac’s legacy on the rap and hip-hop world remains prevalent today, particularly when it comes to Compton’s own Kendrick Lamar whose To love-vendor A Butterfly finished with words from Tupac.
Last year, Lamar paid tribute to Tupac in a moving open letter which can be read below.
“I was eight years old when I first saw you. I couldn’t describe how I felt at that moment. So many different emotions. Full of excitement. Full of joy and eagerness. 20 yrs later I understand exactly what that feeling was. Inspired.
“The people that you touched on that small intersection changed lives forever. I told myself I wanted to be a voice for man one day. Whoever I knew was speaking out loud for you to listen.
Two decades after his death on September 13, 1996, Tupac Shakur endures as one of hip-hop's most iconic figures and its most powerful enigma. His life was a tapestry of often contradictory images: the concerned young father cradling his son in the video for "Keep Ya Head Up"; the angry rapper spitting at cameras as they swirled around his 1994 trial for sexual assault; the artist who animatedly, yet eloquently, pushed back at Ed Gordon's questions during a memorable BET interview; and the man who seemed to predict his own demise when the "I Ain't Mad at Cha" video, released weeks after his death, depicted him as an angel in heaven.
Although he is no longer with us, the myth of 2Pac the thug angel remains. No other artist better illuminates hip-hop's fault lines between regional pride and mainstream success, and the struggle to transcend and elevate beyond humble origins while honoring the streets that raised you. His wayward, conflicting expressions of pride, militancy and gangster-ism resonates in a world when black men and women celebrate their heritage and collectively organize against a racist America, yet are also cautious to protect themselves from each other. Fans – particularly East Coast rap listeners who, after all these years, still harbor a grudge against him – will continue to debate whether 2Pac's albums can measure up to Nas' Illmatic, the Notorious B.I.G.'s Ready to Die, or Jay Z's Reasonable Doubt. But no one can deny the way he transformed hip-hop into his singularly muscular, tattooed, bald-headed, bandana-clad image. Here are some of the ways 2Pac changed hip-hop – and, by extension, pop culture – forever.
1. Shakur's appearance in Juice as Bishop, the troubled high school teen who fashions himself into a cold-hearted killer, is the first great dramatic performance by a rapper in a movie. Yes, Ice Cube launched his acting career with his understated depiction of the Compton crack dealer Doughboy in Boyz N Tha Hood, which preceded Pac by a year. Months after Juice debuted in theaters in January of 1992, Ice-T would become a movie star in New Jack City. But Shakur, who studied acting while attending high school in Atlanta, commanded the screen with an effectiveness that no rapper-turned-moonlighting-actor had managed before, and few have done since. While he didn't realize the promise of that early breakout role, he managed a few more solid acting performances before his death, including an overheated reprisal of his Bishop template in the basketball drama Above the Rim, and a nice turn as a heroin-addicted jazz musician in the underrated indie flick Gridlock'd.
2. He's the man who single-handedly transformed a common epithet for a criminal into a source of masculine strength. After recording two albums – the muddled 2Pacalypse Now and the slightly improved Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. – Shakur unveiled his crew T.H.U.G. L.I.F.E., an acronym for The Hate U Gave Little Infants bleeps Everybody. At the time, it seemed like an unnecessary variation on the "gangster" trope that dominated West Coast rap at the time. However, his reimagining of a word that the Oxford Dictionary defines as "a violent person, especially a criminal" into an positive attribute resonated. 2Pac's vision redefined the word "thug" into a man who triumphs over systemic and societal obstacles. By the end of 1994, Cleveland quintet B.O.N.E. Enterprises had renamed themselves Bone Thugs-N-Harmony; the word has been since been adopted by Young Thug, Slim Thug and too many others to mention.
3. Shakur's New York trial for sexual assault was arguably the first rap celebrity court case. He had already tangled with the legal system on numerous occasions, particularly when he shot two off-duty police officers in 1993. But the 1994 cemented his reputation as a livewire with a flair for drama. The press hungrily publicized his every move, like the aforementioned spitting episode and, more tragically, his appearance at his sentencing date in a wheelchair after he infamously sustained five gunshots from unknown assailants at Quad Studios. Countless rappers have weathered the legal system since, but none with as much tumultuousness.
4. Before Shakur reported to prison for his sexual assault conviction, he completed the first rap "pre-prison" album. Released in May while Shakur was incarcerated, Me Against the World is arguably his most concise and moving work. It found him making peace with his mother, Afeni Shakur on "Dear Mama," and ruminating over his mess of a life on "Lord Knows." "It ain't easy being me/Will I see the penitentiary, or will I stay free?" he asks on "It Ain't Easy." There are also notes of joy like "Old School," an exuberantly goofy tribute to his rap heroes, and "Outlaw," where he flashes ill-advised anger at the woman who brought charges against him. 2Pac's mixture of remorse, regret, suicidal despondency and life-affirming hope has echoed in "pre-prison" albums like Lil Kim's Naked Truth, T.I.'s Paper Trail, and C-Murder's The Truest Shit I Ever Said.
5. Shakur signed with the hottest and most dangerous record label in America, Death Row, and dropped the first hip-hop double CD. 1996's All Eyez on Me teems with "gangsta party" hits, high-wattage collaborations, and even samples – contrary to popular belief, G-funk producers sampled nearly as often as their East Coast counterparts. It's hard to describe an album that's certified Diamond for selling over 10 million copies as "underrated." But All Eyez on Me's reputation is closely tied to Pac's image at the time as a shit-starter, leading his growing critics to downplay exemplary tracks like "Ambitionz Az a Ridah" and "Heartz of Men." Nevertheless, its two-disc sprawl inspired a brief wave of double-album opuses, including Biggie's Life After Death, Wu-Tang Clan's Wu-Tang Forever, E-40's The Element of Surprise and, more recently, Jay Z's Blueprint 2: The Gift and the Curse.
6. Shakur is the first dead rapper that made people think he's still alive. No other rapper has generated a legend as profound as The Don Killuminati: The Seven Day Theory, the 1996 album that fueled widespread belief that he had somehow survived the Las Vegas shooting. There was speculation that Pac called himself Makaveli to evade his antagonists, much as the political theorist Niccolo Machiavelli had claimed to do in The Prince five centuries earlier. "The Seven Day Theory" is modeled on Machiavelli's claim that he faked death for seven days; Shakur was pronounced dead six days after being shot. As an argument that Shakur is chilling on an island somewhere, it's suspect. As an incredible piece of myth-making, it has no equal in the genre.
7. Beginning in November 1997 with R U Still Down? (Remember Me), Shakur becomes the first rapper to have his estate mine-stripped for new product. This practice dates back to the days of Patsy Cline, John Coltrane and Jimi Hendrix, but had no real equal in hip-hop. The "Tupac effect" is subsequently used for any rap artist of note who meets an untimely demise, including the Notorious B.I.G. (Born Again), Big Pun (Endangered Species), Big L (The Big Picture), and J Dilla (Jay Stay Paid).
8. He recorded a staggering amount of material. Before Lil Wayne flooded the Internet with his Drought and Dedication mixtapes, and Lil B bragged "you're not a real rapper until you make a thousand songs," hundreds of tracks from Shakur's Death Row sessions appeared on compact disc. The bootlegs not only intensified talk that he was somehow still alive, but led to accusations that Suge Knight, then in prison and battling Afeni Shakur over control to Tupac's work, was responsible for the leaks. "13 bootleg albums of his unreleased material have hit the streets. Is Death Row responsible?" asked Rap Pages, which dedicated a September 1998 cover to "The Raping of Tupac." Regardless of the source, Shakur's posthumous deluge set a precedent that everyone from Weezy to Gucci Mane follows to this day: Stay in the studio, and feed the streets until it bursts.
Tupac Shakur: On 20th Anniversary Of Rapper’s Death, Fans More Convinced Than Ever He Lives On
It’s been two decades today since the death of rapper Tupac Shakur, six days after he was fatally injured in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. The rapper was only 25 when he died, but his memory has somehow kept a hold on fans, far stronger than that denied to musicians with far bigger catalogue and creative influence - hence the rapturous reception to his hologram appearance at Coachella in 2012, alongside his old pals Snoop Dogg and Dr Dre.
20 years on, with his murder still officially unsolved, the case has been left open for conspiracy theorists from around the world to ponder his fate. Of course, the most straightforward is that he is alive and living under an alias. This suggestion is supported by YouTube showing a figure with an uncannily similar face… and with a jacket that only went on sale in 2012. Others refer to the fact that Tupac’s stage name was Makaveli. Of course, we all know that Italian strategist Niccolo Machiavelli faked his own death, right? And one of his album covers featured him as the Messiah, another resurrection reference in the making.
And no one viewed his body before it was cremated a day after he died. Of course, the messages in his music are all there for the taking, too. “I’ve been shot and murdered, can’t tell you how it happened” comes from his contribution to Richie Rich’s track ’N****** Done Changed’, and there are other similar lines, but Tupac wouldn’t be the first or last rapper to use lyrics describing a violent death. Etc etc... you can click here for an impressively comprehensive list of other conspiracies surrounding the fate of Tupac and his peers. So, the legend lives on, whether or not the rapper does. 20 years after he was shot, Tupac’s impact on his fans remains as potent and singular as ever…
Late rap great Tupac Shakur continues to live on in the memories of many. Whether posthumously popping up in recent musical masterpieces (see: "Mortal Man" on Kendrick Lamar's 2015 sophomore effort To love-vendor a Butterfly) or frequently aired films like the 1993 classic Poetic Justice (which also starred a young Janet Jackson), the West Coast rhymer -- who was fatally shot on Sept. 13, 1996 -- has claimed a permanent spot in hip-hop's hall of fame.
On the 20th anniversary of 'Pac's passing, here are 22 famous fans who was touched by the multi-hyphenate's spirit.
1. Kendrick Lamar A hard-core stan of the late rapper's, Compton's good kid nearly titled his 2015 landmark album To love-vendor a Butterfly, Tu love-vendor a Caterpillar, an acronym spelling out TuPAC. On the 19th anniversary of the legendary rapper’s death last year, Lamar wrote a touching tribute to late rapper, saying, "I was 8 yrs old when I first saw you. I couldn't describe how I felt at that moment. So many emotions. Full of excitement. Full of joy and eagerness. 20 yrs later I understand exactly what that feeling was."
2. Jhene Aiko The singer became enamored with Tupac after watching the 2003 documentary Tupac: Resurrection. Ever since, the Slauson Hills rep has honored the late rapper by covering songs and even releasing a series of pictures where she mimics 'Pac. In an interview with MTV last year, Aiko explained, "I never felt there were a lot of people I could relate to as far as wanting to do so many things with my life that don't necessarily have to do with the other. He was so contradictory to people, but to me, he was just human and not afraid to express himself. I could relate to that a lot... How dancing turned into music, turned into acting, turned into all of the things that he did. And he still had this passion and this purpose about him. That spoke to me so much."
3. Janet Jackson Jackson stared alongside Shakur in the 1993 film Poetic Justice and has helped keep his legacy alive ever since. In an interview with Britain’s Sunday Telegraph, she offered, "Pac was just silly. He was completely different from what people knew. Not that it was an act, the person that the world knew, because that was him, too. I adored him - he liked to play and laugh."
4. Eminem From one rap god to another, Eminem was strongly influenced by not only Tupac’s music but the way he carried himself. "I used to be fascinated with his interviews like, 'Yo, what he's saying is so true,'" he said in a Paper magazine essay last year. "He would also be able to trump people who were interviewing him when they would hit him with hard questions — it was incredible. He was a superstar in every aspect of the word."
5. Kendall Jenner In a recent installment of Vogue's "73 Questions" series, the supermodel/reality star called the late rapper her “spirit animal.”
6. Justin Bieber Despite his pure pop pedigree, the heartthrob is an unabashed fan of Shakur. Earlier this month, he covered the late rapper’s hit "Thugz Mansion" in a stripped-down version for BBC1. In his 2015 cover story with Billboard, Bieber spoke of his admiration: “I was always that fearless kid who would jump onstage or do whatever. My dad would be like, ‘Rap that Tupac verse,’ and I’d do ‘Thugz Mansion’ -- I was probably 8.”
7. Tory Lanez Despite having a name that honors Tupac’s alleged foe, the Notorious B.I.G., Lanez cited all of Shakur’s albums as some of his greatest inspirations. "Tupac told stories that weren't fit for normal conversation,” Lanez told Pigeons and Planes in 2013. “There are certain stories in my life that I can't tell. Music gives me the outlet to explain certain things. It gave me the platform to share my life, my story, my perspective. Nobody did that better than Tupac."
8. E-40 On what would have been Shakur’s 44th birthday in 2015, the Bay Area rap veteran posted a tribute on Instagram to Shakur writing, "Happy 44th Birthday Tupac we love you & miss you!"
9. J. Cole The New York rapper is an outspoken fan of Shakur's, having cited him as his favorite rapper multiple times. In a track from his 2013 album Born Sinner, Cole went so far as to equate 'Pac to Jesus in the standout track "Let Nas Down." He also hailed 'Pac in a 2014 Blurred Culture interview, saying, "My favorite rapper was Pac. He was my favorite rapper before I even started rapping. ... Just the cool dude that I looked up to. And then one day my stepfather came home from-I don't know if he was back from Desert Storm...I remember him coming home with that first Pac album [2Pacalypse Now] with "Brenda's Got A Baby."
He continued, "And since then, I was too young to know what he was talking about, but it connected. 'Cause that's the thing about art. It's just truth. It's straight -- whatever you feel. So, even as a seven-year-old kid, eight-year-old kid, I could hear 'Pac's early albums and feel the truth."
10. Drake When asked in a 2013 interview what song he wishes he recorded during an interview on Big Boy's Neighborhood, October’s Very Own cited Tupac’s "Pain" as one of his favorite songs of all time.
11. Will Ferrell In an interview promoting his hit 2014 film Anchorman 2, the superstar comedian talked about meeting the late rapper, telling BET that he was “the sweet and mellow guy" and that "he was counter to his persona.”
12. Meek Mill In what would have been 'Pac’s 44th birthday in 2015, Meek Mill posted an Instagram video of Tupac saying "This is all about my image. This has nothing to do with me ... It's like MTV and all the papers they building me up, now they destroying me on the same image they perpetuated." The Philadelphia rapper found empathy in the clip and paired it with the simple caption, "My life."
13. Zayn Malik The former One Direction-er told Glamour magazine that Tupac’s esteemed album All Eyez On Me was the first he ever owned. In another interview with Complex, Malik elaborated on his respect for the rapper. "He’s the first rapper to talk about the fact that his mom was a crack addict. For me, that’s courageous as Bleep. He took that risk and spoke about everything in detail openly and without any shame. For me to listen to that album as I grew up, it really helped me to understand that it’s OK to be honest with your art, because people appreciate that."
14. Allen Iverson During his Basketball Hall of Fame induction acceptance speech earlier this month, the legendary Sixer shouted out Shakur as one of the artists who provided the “theme music" throughout his career.
15. M.I.A. In a recent Ask Me Anything session on Reddit, the pop star revealed she once danced with the legendary rapper. "He was sweet, but all I wanted to say was that I want the ‘I Get Around,’ ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby’ Pac back,” she explained. “He was already like a thug by then; it was the ‘California Love’ days.”
16. Kerri Walsh In the midst of this past summer’s Rio Olympics, the volleyball player referenced Shakur on Instagram before winning a bronze medal writing, ”’… Till the day I die.’ #RemainTrue Let’s GO @aprilrossbeach,” citing her teammate. “Let’s do what we came here for #PlayfulDomination."
17. Lin-Manuel Miranda The acclaimed writer, composer, and star of the Broadway smash Hamilton said he was inspired by Tupac while writing the show. According to a New Yorker feature, Miranda thought Hamilton's character reminded him of Shakur.
18. Mike Tyson In an interview with the Associated Press, the legendary boxer said Tupac always "wanted me to smoke weed with him" and even called him a "misguided warrior." Tyson also noted, “He’s going to last until the time this earth comes to an end. I'm glad to be a part of his life and to have known him."
19. Ed Sheeran While Sheeran and Tupac may seem like polar opposites musically, the singer-songwriter cited Tupac as an influence in an interview with VIBE. "I like Tupac's statements and (songs) like 'California Love' and 'Changes,' shit like that," he said. "I like Tupac more now because it’s reflective."
20. Zendaya In a December 2015 interview with Complex, the pop songstress compared herself to Shakur. "I think it’s a responsibility, but like Tupac Shakur, I’m a real model. Which means, I’m not pretending to be something that I’m not, because like he said, people are going to be disappointed when they find out who you are, because it’s not going to be what you presented to the world. So just keep it real."
21. John Singleton The famed director, who was previously onboard for the long-delayed 'Pac biopic All Eyez on Me, posted an Instagram tribute to the rapper saying in part, "Tupac was much more than a hip-hop artist. He was a black man guided by his passions."
22. Jada Pinkett Smith In a June 2014 interview with Howard Stern, the actress was heavy on the praise for her good friend, Shakur. "I've had never in my life met a person like Pac. He had so much charisma. And he was poor," Smith told Stern. The actress/wife to Will Smith added, "He left a very strong and powerful mark. People are still inspired by him. So he did his work."
Celebrating the greatest and most influential musical talent on my life. Through all my struggles, trials, and tribulations. His music was just there waiting to be played and for his voice to speak to me and touch me like an angel. There will never be another human being like you.
