Describing the life of Tupac Amaru Shakur the voice of the Blacks

BLACK EXCELLENCE: TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR A TYPICAL EXAMPE
STORY BY: UDOH ERIKAN GERSHOM

Udoh Erikan Gershom

He was born on June 16, 1971 and September 13, 1996, is widely considered one of the most influential and successful rappers of all time. Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. He is also known as 2Pac or Makaveli. He was one of the biggest American rappers and probably one of the Greatest of All Time. Much of Shakur’s music has been noted for addressing contemporary social issues that plagued inner cities.

Tupac was born on the 16th of June 1971 in New York City, United States to two African American Afeni Shakur and Billy Garland who were active members of the Black Panther Party.

Raised by his mother, Afeni Shakur, he relocated to Baltimore in 1984 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. With the release of his debut album 2Pacalypse now in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip hop for his conscious rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up albums Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (1993) and Me against the World (1995). His Diamond certified album All Eyez on Me (1996), the first double-length album in hip-hop history, abandoned his introspective lyrics for volatile gangsta rap. In addition to his music career, Shakur also found considerable success as an actor, with his starring roles in Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), Above the Rim (1994), Bullet (1996), Gridlock'd (1997), and Gang Related (1997).

Shakur’s double-length posthumous album Greatest Hits (1998) is one of his two releases—and one of only nine hip hop albums—to have been certified Diamond in the United States. Five more albums have

Shakur’s double-length posthumous album Greatest Hits (1998) is one of his two releases—and one of only nine hip hop albums—to have been certified Diamond in the United States. Five more albums have been released since Shakur’s death, including his critically acclaimed posthumous album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996) under his stage name Makaveli, all of which have been certified Platinum in the United States. In 2002, Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. In 2017, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in his first year of eligibility. Rolling Stone ranked Shakur among the 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. In 2023, he was awarded a posthumous star on the Hollywood Walk of States. 

Legal issues: Sexual assault case, prison sentence, appeal and release

On November 1993, Shakur and two other men were charged in New York with sodomizing a woman in Shakur’s hotel room. The woman, Ayanna Jackson, alleged that after she performed oral sex on Shakur at the public dance floor of a Manhattan nightclub, she went to his hotel room a later day, when Shakur, record executive Jacques “Haitian Jack” Agnant, Shakur’s road manager Charles Fuller and an unidentified fourth man apprehended and forced her to perform non-consensual oral sex on each of them. Shakur was also charged with illegal possession of a firearm as two guns were found in the hotel room. Interviewed on The Arsenio Hall Show, Shakur said he was hurt that “a woman would accuse me of taking something from her”, as he had been raised in a female household and surrounded by women his whole life.

December 1, 1994, Shakur was acquitted of three counts of sodomy and the associated gun charges, but convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse for “forcibly touching the woman’s buttocks” in his hotel room. Jurors have said the lack of evidence stymied a sodomy conviction. In February 1995, he was sentenced to 18 months to 4+1⁄2 years in prison by a judge who decried “an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman”. Shakur’s lawyer characterized the sentence as “out of line” with the groping conviction and the setting of bail at $3 million as “inhumane”. Shakur’s accuser later filed a civil suit against Shakur seeking $10 million for punitive damages which was subsequently settled.

Shakur began serving his prison sentence on sexual abuse charges at Rikers Island on February 14, 1995; before being transferred to Clinton Correctional Facility in March. While imprisoned, he began reading again, which he had been unable to do as his career progressed due to his marijuana and alcohol habits. Works such as The Prince by Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli and The Art of War by Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu sparked Shakur’s interest in philosophy, philosophy of war and military strategy. On April 29, 1995, Shakur married his girlfriend Keisha Morris; the marriage was later annulled. While in prison, Shakur exchanged letters with celebrities such as Jim Carrey and Tony Danza among others. He was also visited by Al Sharpton, who helped Shakur get released from solitary confinement.

On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur was in Las Vegas, Nevada, to celebrate his business partner Tracy Danielle Robinson’s birthday and attended the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match with Suge Knight at the MGM Grand. Afterward in the lobby one of Knight’s associates spotted Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a Southside Compton Crip, and told Shakur he had tried to rob them earlier that year. The hotel’s surveillance footage shows the ensuing assault on Anderson. Shakur soon stopped by his hotel room and then headed with Knight to his Death Row nightclub, Club 662, in a black BMW 750iL sedan, part of a larger convoy. At about 11 pm on Las Vegas Boulevard, bicycle-mounted police stopped the car for its loud music and lack of license plates. The plates were found in the trunk and the car was released without a ticket. At about 11:15 pm at a stop light, a white, four-door, late-model Cadillac sedan pulled up to the passenger side and an occupant rapidly fired into the car. Shakur was struck four times: once in the arm, once in the thigh, and twice in the chest with one bullet entering his right lung. Shards hit Knight’s head. Frank Alexander, Shakur’s bodyguard, was not in the car at the time. He would say he had been tasked to drive the car of Shakur’s girlfriend, Kidada Jones.

Shakur was taken to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada where he was heavily sedated and put on life support. In the intensive-care unit on the afternoon of September 13, 1996, Shakur died from internal bleeding. He was pronounced dead at 4:03 pm. The official causes of death are respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest associated with multiple gunshot wounds. Shakur’s body was cremated the next day. Members of the Outlawz, recalling a line in his song “Black Jesus”, (although uncertain of the artist’s attempt at a literal meaning chose to interpret the request seriously) smoked some of his body’s ashes after mixing them with marijuana.

On July 18, 2023, the Las Vegas Police Department executed a search warrant in connection with Shakur's murder.

On September 29, 2023, the AP reported that Las Vegas police had arrested a suspect, Duane "Keffe D" Davis, in Shakur's murder. Police had two months previously served a search warrant at his wife’s home in the Las Vegas suburb of Henderson.

Shakur is considered one of the most influential rappers of all time. With Rolling Stone listing him as one of greatest artists of all time. He is widely credited as an important figure in hip hop culture, and his prominence in pop culture in general has been noted. Dotdash, formerly About.com, while ranking him fifth among the greatest rappers, nonetheless notes, “Tupac Shakur is the most influential hip-hop artist of all time. Even in death, 2Pac remains a transcendental rap figure.” Yet to some, he was a “father figure” who, said rapper YG, “makes you want to be better—at every level”. In 2023, Billboard ranked Tupac at number 4 among the top 50 rappers of all time. In 2020, The United States of America vice president Kamala Harris called Shakur the “best rapper alive”, which she explained because “West Coast girls think 2Pac lives on”.

In 1977, Shakur’s mother founded the Shakur Family Foundation. Later renamed the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TASF), it launched with a stated mission to provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents. The TSAF sponsors essay contests, charity events, a performing arts day camp for teenagers and undergraduate scholarships. In June 2005, the TSAF opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA), In Stone Mountain, Georgia. It closed in 2015.

In 2002, Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame. In 2004, Shakur was among the honorees at the first Hip Hop Honors.

In 2015, the Grammy Museum opened an exhibition dedicated to Shakur.

On June 7, 2023 Shakur received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His half-sister, Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, accepted the award in the honor.

INDEED TUPAAC AMARU SHAKUR IS AN EXAMPLE OF BLACK EXCELENCE:

Tupac had a deep commitment to addressing social issues such as poverty, racism, and inequality. He was involved in philanthropic efforts, including starting up the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation (TSAF).

One of my favorite quote by Tupac is the one in which he said “I’m not saying I’m gonna to change the world but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world”.

Tupac Amaru Shakur’s life story is a testament to his resilience, talent and the lasting impact he had on music and the society.

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