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2Pac was born
Lesane Parish-Crooks on June 16th 1971. His mother Alice-Faye later changed his
name to Tupac Amaru Shakur (Tuapc Amaru meaning "Shining Serpent" and
Shakur meaning "Thankful To God"), and her name to Afeni Shakur. Tupac
was born only shortly after Afeni was acquitted of bomb charges!.
1975-83-
Tupac and his family live in New York, in between The Bronx and Harlem. They are
so poor that they often have to live in shelters. Aged 12, Tupac stars as Travis
in "A Raisin In The Sun" in the 127th Street Ensemble of the Harlem
Theater Group.
1986-
Tupac and his family move to Baltimore where Tupac enrolls in Balimore School
For The Arts and studies ballet and acting.
1988-
The Shakur family move to Marin City in California. Tupac cites this move as a
major turning point in his life. He soon moves in with a neighbor and starts
selling drugs. Tupac claims that he took this action in order to fit in with the
local crowd. In the same year, Tupac's stepfather, Mutulu is given 6 years in
prison.
1990-
Tupac starts his journey on
the road to imfamy by joining local rap group Digital Underground. He begins as
a roadie and dancer on a huge D.U tour. Whilst on this tour he discovers that
his mother has been using crack. The following year Tupac has excelled himself
enough with D.U that they allow him to rap on "This Is An E.P
Release". This is Tupac's official recording debut.
1991-
"2PACalypse Now", Tupac's first album is released. It contains such
singles as "Brenda's Got A Baby", "Trapped" and "If My
Homie Calls". This album was later denounced as having "No place in
American society" by then Vice President Dan Quayle, following an incident
in which a teenager shoots a Texas Trooper and blames 2Pac's music.
1993-
Tupac hits back at Dan Quayle by releasing "Strictly For My
N.I.G.G.A.Z" This album elevates Tupac's popularity by eventually going
platinum. Tupac experiences much trouble this year...
MARCH 13 1993- Tupac
has a fight with a limo driver who accuses him of using drugs in the back of his
vehicle. Tupac is arrested for this offence but charges are later dropped.
APRIL 5 1993- Tupac
beats a Michigan rapper with a baseball bat during a concert. He is given 10
days in jail for assault and he later regrets his actions.
OCTOBER 31 1993-
Tupac is arrested for
shooting 2 off duty police officers. Charges are eventually dropped.
NOVEMBER 18 1993- A
19 year old woman comes forward with an allegation that Tupac raped her on
November 14th 1993.
1994-
Tupac begins the year with trouble by punching out a movie director for dropping
him from his upcoming movie "Higher Learning" which Tupac was set to
star in. Later that year Tupac stars in his second movie as Birdie in
"Above The Rim". In November, whilst still on trial for rape, Tupac is
cornered and shot several times and allegedly robbed of thousands of dollars of
jewellery, in a Times Square recording studio. The next day Tupac is found
guilty of rape, for which he is later sentenced to 4 1/2 years in jail.
1995-
In February Tupac begins serving his sentence in Rikers Island Penitentiary. He
becomes the first person to have a #1 album whilst in jail. The album "me
Against The World" debuts at #1, riding on the sucess of its main single,
"Dear Mama". The album soon goes several times platinum. From behind
bars Tupac implicates rival rappers Puff Daddy and The Notorious B.I.G in his
November shooting. The pair later deny any involvement. The rivalry escalates
when Tupac, upon his $1.4m release from jail and transfer to Death Row Records,
alleges that he has slept with Biggie's wife, Faith Evans.
1996-
"All Eyez On Me" which was recorded immediately after Tupac's prison
release becomes rap's first double album. This album sells copies to such an
extent that it goes seven times platinum, fuelled by the heightened East-West
rivalry. Later that year, words are exchanged and a weapon is brandished amongst
the rival Death Row and Bad Boy camps. The event occurred at the 1996 Soul Train
Awards, hosted in L.A. Following this event, Tupac teams up with his group The
Outlawz, to make a classic "diss" record, "Hit 'Em Up",
which takes shots at numerous rival East Coast rappers....
Tupac's
untimely death shortly followed, please refer to my 'final
hours' link for details of this unfortunate event.
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