Tupac Shakur

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996) was a highly influential, best-selling American hip hop artist, considered by many to be one of the greatest rappers of all time. His aliases included 2Pac aka Makaveli. Among his fans especially, he is remembered simply as "Tupac". The names "Tupac Amaru" and "Shakur" mean Shining Serpent or Royal Serpent in Quechua and Thankful (to God) in Arabic, respectively. The name "Tupac Amaru" comes from Túpac Amaru II, grandson of the last Sapa Inca (Túpac Amaru).

The second shooting

Shakur was fatally shot in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 7, 1996 after attending the boxing match between Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon. He died in the University Medical Center hospital six days later from the four gunshot wounds.

Related Topics:
Drive-by shooting - Las Vegas, Nevada - September 7 - 1996 - Boxing - Mike Tyson - Bruce Seldon

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The Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department and Compton police, although they never officially solved the case, concluded that Shakur was shot by Southside Crips after the Tyson fight. Hours before the shooting, Tupac had been involved in a fight in the lobby of the MGM Hotel after the Tyson-Seldon fight. Shakur started the fight when he noticed 21-year-old "Baby Lane" Anderson, who had beaten up one of his bodyguards in a shopping mall a few weeks earlier, lingering nearby. Anderson and others were interviewed by police later in connection with the murder, though no suspects were ever publicly named.

Related Topics:
Las Vegas Metropolitan Police Department - Compton - Crips - MGM - Shopping mall

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Shakur and the crew at Death Row generally depended on members of the Bloods gang for security, while Biggie and the Bad Boy Crew depended on Crips members for security when visiting California. An investigation by the Las Vegas Times, while not naming its gang-member sources, stated that Biggie (who was also in town for the fight) offered to pay the Crips in exchange for Shakur's death. It was noted by the Compton Gang Unit that the Crips were bragging about the killing soon after returning to Compton. Compton Police were disappointed with the lack of initiative showed by Las Vegas police in pursuing the killing.

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After the fight with Anderson, Tupac left the MGM Hotel, went to the hotel with his fiance, Kadida Jones. Then, he met up with Suge to go to Death Row's Club 662 in Las Vegas. The two drove together in Suge's 1996 black BMW sedan e38 7-series, part of a larger convoy of cars including some of Shakur's friends, the Outlawz, and bodyguards. Tupac was not wearing a bulletproof vest that night, even though Death Row had provided him with one. At 11:15 P.M., Suge's car stopped at an intersection on East Flamingo Road. A white Cadillac was seen pulling up to the passenger side of the car, and firing thirteen rounds into the car as Tupac attempted to climb to safety in the back seat. Tupac was hit four times, twice in the chest, and in his arm and thigh, while Suge was scratched by a piece of flying glass. Tupac then went on to live off of life support for 7 days and his mother finally had the plugs pulled on September 13, 1996 at 4:03 PM.

Related Topics:
Sedan - Cadillac

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The high profile nature of the killing and ensuing gang violence caught the attention of British filmmaker Nick Broomfield who made the documentary Biggie & Tupac, which examines the lack of progress in the case and the controversy and theories surrounding it by speaking to those close to Biggie, Tupac and the investigation.

Related Topics:
Nick Broomfield - Biggie & Tupac

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Shakur's close childhood friend — and a member of the Outlawz — Yafeu "Kadafi" Fula, was in the convoy when the shooting happened and told police he might be able to identify the assailants. He, too, was killed shortly thereafter in New Jersey. Two teenagers took plea bargains and are serving time for Fula's murder. The eerie video for the single "I Ain't Mad at Cha", shot a month before his death, showed Tupac being shot and killed and later in heaven jamming with Billie Holiday, Donny Hathaway, Jimi Hendrix, Louis Armstrong, Marvin Gaye, Miles Davis, Nat King Cole, Redd Foxx, Robert Johnson, and Sammy Davis Jr.

Related Topics:
New Jersey - Billie Holiday - Donny Hathaway - Jimi Hendrix - Louis Armstrong - Marvin Gaye - Miles Davis - Nat King Cole - Redd Foxx - Robert Johnson - Sammy Davis Jr.

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Shakur's last album created while alive was '. Released two months after his death, this album was portentous and dark, predicting his own death in many songs. The entire album is said to have been created in only seven days, and one of the more popular songs off this album, "Hail Mary", was reportedly made in only thirty minutes. Probably the strangest thing on the album is on the first song. Just before a reporter starts talking, in first two seconds of the first track, in background you can hear silent "Suge shot 'em" or "Suge shot me" that someone says. Some people say it was outlaw "Kadafi" who said it.

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The album has sold over five million copies to date.

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Tupac took on the name Makaveli after being influenced by Machiavelli, an Italian philosopher, author of The Prince. He also considered himself to depict Jesus for the same tragic lifestyles they had in common.

Related Topics:
Machiavelli - The Prince

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Posthumous music career

Shakur has in fact released more songs posthumously than while he was alive. Conspiracies notwithstanding, Shakur was extremely dedicated to his work during his short career. Shock G remembered fondly that Pac would spend entire days in the studio, drinking Hennessy, smoking marijuana, and experimenting with new raps. Much of his work was only dug up and edited after his death, many songs being cuts that he did not feel were worthy of release. His music is still being actively released and remixed.

Related Topics:
Hennessy - Marijuana

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Rights to Tupac's music are now owned by Amaru Entertainment, which is controlled by his mother, and artist royalties are assigned to the Tupac Foundation, which has used the revenue to build the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia. His mother believes that getting Tupac into a Harlem arts program as a teenager saved him from drugs, and the new center will have a similar philosophy.

Related Topics:
Amaru Entertainment - Stone Mountain, Georgia - Harlem

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