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Tierrah Devine
Prof. Dabian Witherspoon
English 101_18
1 December 2014
Tupac Shakur
A Hip Hop legend, with variety and explicit lyrics, which was based upon poverty, pain
and reason. Tupac Shakur was the son of Afeni Shakur who was a member of the Black Panther
Party. Tupac Shakur aka Lesane Parish Crooks which was his real name until the Panthers
changed it. Tupac Amaru comes from the Incas meaning shinning serpent and Shakur is
Arabic meaning thankful to God. He was born in New York City and then he and his family
moved to Marin City, California. Tupac Shakur was embroiled in a feud between east coast and
west coast rappers. Even before the feud he was a poet and wonderful dancer. His story is more
than just violence its a revolution.
As a teenager, Tupac attended The Baltimore School for the Arts, where he took acting
and dance classes. He has a difficult childhood moving frequently around New York City
boroughs of Bronx and Brooklyn. He also saw some of lifes hardships through his mothers
struggles with substance abuse. He spoke what he was feeling or going through in his lyrics.
Growing up without a father in a family that never had much money.
June 1988, was just the beginning of Tupac turning to the drug life shortly after moving
to California. Tupac also starts writing raps under the name MC New York. He then joins Digital
Underground as a dancer, rapper and actor. Two years later he filmed his first movie Juice and
Poetic Justice. His rap career begin to grow with the album 2pacalypse Now. As a member
of the Grammy-nominated group Digital Underground his album took over the US stores.

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Tupac became quite a sensation, earning a remarkable praise for his musical and acting
career as well as criticism for his explicit and violent lyrics. On September 7, 1994 two
Milwaukee teens murdered a police officer and cited Tupacs Souljas Story as their
inspiration. Many of Tupac songs told of fights, gangs and sex. He uphold his gangsta rap
persona.
During his career, Tupac had become a part of a feud between east coast and west coast
rappers. He was known to diss enemies on his songs. On a trip to Las Vegas, Tupac was shot
while riding in a car driven by Knight on September 7, 1996. He died six days later of September
13, 1996 from bullet wounds to the chest. The suspect who shot Tupac was never discovered.
Tupac life has inspired numerous book and theatrical productions.
Tupac Shakur said . . .If God gave me breathe for twenty more years, I see myself
changing the world because my thoughts patterns are opposite of whats the norm. (Tupac
Shakur) His moral in life was changing the world, his outspoken mentality gave him power to
strive in the best with his music and to speak to people. And they would listen. He began to read
a lot of books to keep his sanity of the differences and opinions between him and others. Hes a
struggler, striver and he took care of his family. He may not be politically correct but he believed
in family values. May his legacy always live on.

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Works Cited
"Tupac Shakur." Bio. A&E Television Networks, 2014. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"2Pac2K.de - Links." 2Pac2K.de - Links. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.
"Tupac's Biography." Tupac's Biography. N.p., n.d. Web. 02 Dec. 2014.