The Life & Death of Tupac Amaru Shakur: Hip-Hop’s most iconic figure

A THREAD:

Early Life:

On July 16th, 1971, Afeni Shakur gave birth to the Hip-Hop icon we all know and love, Tupac Amaru Shakur. Tupac’s mother was a political activist (member of the Black Panther Party) and was his biggest role model.

Before I get into his story, I just wanted to say that without Afeni Shakur, Tupac would never have become 2Pac. Ever since Pac was a child, he loved to perform in plays and shows. When he was 12 years old, he performed “A Raisin in the Sun” …

and later attended a prestigious school of arts in Baltimore. Pac loved to read and write. Some of his favorite books included “The Catcher in the Rye” and “Moby Dick”. There is no surprise that Pac loved literature, as we can clearly tell from the beauty of his own writing.

Rise to Stardom:

At the age of 17, Pac and his family moved to Marin City, California, where he studied theatre and the performing arts. Tupac wrote poems and raps from as early as he started to read. In 1991, he signed a deal with Interscope Records.

Being a label that didn’t know much about Hip-Hop, Interscope executives wanted Pac to remove “Brenda’s Got A Baby” from the tracklist because of the intense subject matter and obscene imagery.

But, he explained why the track was important to him and to the world. Later that year, 2Pac released his debut album, “2Pacalypse Now” under Interscope Records, with no songs left out. 2 years later, still with Interscope, his sophomore album was released, titled “Strictly 4 My"

The Turning Point:

In the same year, 1993, Tupac received a sexual assault conviction after Ayanna Jackson reported that him and 2 other men were responsible for sexually assaulting her. Pac denied these charges and to this day most people believe that he was innocent,

and that it was done by his associates who were in the hotel room with him at the time. He cut ties with them and was furious that everyone wanted to see his demise just because of the name he built for himself, instead of holding the real perpetrators responsible.

Not long after, Tupac was headed to the building on 7th Avenue in Manhattan to record a few songs because he needed the money after Interscope refused to pay him what they owed. As he was approaching the elevator, 3 men held him at gunpoint, wanting to rob him of his jewelry.

The other men complied, but Pac escalated the situation, which resulted in him getting shot 5 times

Against doctor's orders, Pac checked himself out of the hospital soon after being admitted and went to court for his sexual assault charges, where he was found guilty by the jury

While Pac was in prison, The Notorious B.I.G’s album, “Ready To Die” was released and it featured the track, “Who Shot Ya?”. Pac assumed that this was a diss track about him, which is where the infamous Biggie Smalls vs 2Pac feud all began.

When he was released from prison, Pac dropped the most iconic diss track of all time, “Hit ‘Em Up”, which was a shot at Biggie, Bad Boy Records, and Puffy (better known as Diddy). While still in prison, Tupac’s album “Me Against the World” was released under Interscope Records.

Pac was the first artist to have an album go #1 while being incarcerated. This record, featuring tracks like “Dear Mama”, “F**k the World”, “So Many Tears”, and more, has gone down as one of the greatest Hip-Hop albums ever released and was Pac’s best, most personal work.

Suge Knight & Death Row Records:

Before getting released from prison, Pac had no money to post his bail after Interscope Records didn’t compensate. That’s when Suge Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records, helped pay and signed Pac to his label.

His later albums, “All Eyez On Me” and “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” (under the alias of ‘Makaveli’) were both released under Suge Knight and Death Row. Both of these records just added to the incredible catalog that Pac already had.

Every detail about the events leading up to Tupac’s death may not be fully accurate, but this is how I know the story from what I've watched and read.

The Death of Tupac Shakur:

On September 6th, 1996, Tupac was at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas for the Mike Tyson vs Bruce Seldon fight. After it concluded, being the hot head he is, Pac confronted a man at the casino, Orlando Anderson, because of a previous altercation involving...

him and Suge Knight’s crew. As a result, Keefe D, a member of the southside crips, put a hit on Pac (Keefe has admitted to having involvement in the murder of Tupac Shakur). Pac was in the passenger seat when Suge was driving…

and that’s when another car rolled up and a person inside fired shots at Tupac, who was hit 4 times. This person is believed to be Orlando Anderson. Six days after being shot, Tupac passed away at a Las Vegas hospital.

There are many theories and conspiracies revolving around his death and about him faking it, but to our knowledge, Tupac was pronounced dead at the hospital after almost a week of fighting for his life.

I could write an entire book about Tupac and his life, but this thread highlights some of the most important parts of his come up and success. Tupac Amaru Shakur is the most important figure in Hip Hop history.

From touching the hearts of millions with his music to his overall influence in the culture today, there is no doubt that Pac is a legend. In my eyes, Tupac is the biggest “what if?” story and everyday I think about how the world would be today if it wasn’t for his tragic passing

Thank you all so much for reading this. Pac is my favorite rapper and I decided to write a brief thread about his life. Please let me know if I missed any important details or if I had something wrong because what I wrote is how I know the story.

My top 5 2Pac Songs:

1. F**k the World
2. To Live and Die in L.A.
3. Only God Can Judge Me
4. Thug Passion
5. So Many Tears

To the man who changed the world in just a few short years, thank you.

His birthday is June 16th, I put July there, my bad