Tupac Amaru Shakur

Rachel Galyean, Bethany Powell, Briana Price,

Johnny Gardner

Early Life Born to 2 members of the

Black Panthers Tupac Amaru Shakur Birth name may possibly be

Parish Lesane Crooks or Lesane Parish Crooks

Unknown father Mother: Alice Faye Williams

a.k.a Afeni Shakur Pregnant and incarcerated,

Afeni rubbed her stomach and said, “This is my prince. He is going to save the black nation.”

Early Life

Born in East Harlem on June 16, 1971

One month prior, his mother had been acquitted on 156 counts of conspiracy to overthrow the government

Step Father: Mutulu Shakur stayed on FBI’s Ten Most Wanted Fugitives for 4 years, also a Black Panther

Half Sister: Sekyiwa Step Brother: Mopreme

Shakur

Early Life

“Black Prince” For misbehaving, his punishment- read an entire edition of the New York Times

Surrounded by poverty, struggle and incarceration, his mother taught him to respect the value of an education

Education Age 12- Enrolled in “127th

Street Ensemble” in Harlem 1984- Family moved to

Baltimore, MD, spent 2 years at Paul Lawrence Dunbar High School and then transferred to Baltimore School for the Arts

1988- Moved to Marin City California and attended Tamalpais High School and joined the Ensemble Theater Company

Age 17- Mother’s crack addiction forced them to move in with Leila Steinberg and he dropped out of school

Early Career 1990- Tupac signed with

Atron Gregory who hooked him up with Digital Underground

Initially a back-up dancer/roadie but eventually debuted his rapping skills

Had gotten into some legal trouble and facing prison the next day when shot 5 times and robbed leaving a record studio

East Coast-West Coast

Controversy over the allegations sparked the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry

After serving 11 months, Marion “Suge” Knight financed his release in return to produce 3 records under Death Row Records

“When I die, let me be, and when they come for me, Bury me a G” September 7, 1996

After leaving Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon boxing match and an altercation with Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, a Southside Crip, Tupac and Suge Knight headed for Club 662

The famous shot taken in the last moments of his life

Died on Sept. 13, 1996

Rap Career 2 Pac or Makavelli 1990-Debuted on “Same

Song”, Digital Underground 1991-2Pacalypse Now 1993-Strictly 4 My

N.I.G.G.A.Z. 1994-Thug Life 1995-Me Against the World 1996-All Eyez on Me 1996-The Don Killuminati:

The 7 Day Theory

Posthumous Albums

1997-R U Still Down? (Remember Me)

1999- Still I Rise 2001- Until the End of

Time 2002-Better Dayz Tupac: Resurrection Loyal to the Game Pac’s Life Beginnings: The Lost

Tapes 1988-1991 Along w/ 14 Greatest

Hits/Mixtape Albums

Honors

2002- Inducted into Hip-Hop Hall of Fame

2003- MTV’s “22 Greatest MC’s” #1

VH1 Hip Hop Honors 2004- Vibe Magazine’s rated “Greatest Rapper of All Time

Tupac Amaru Shakur FoundationFounded in 1997Mission Statement: “Provide training and support for students who aspire to enahnce their creative talents”

Sponsors essay contests, charity events, a performing arts day camp for teens and undergraduate scholarships”

Center for the Arts

The Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation officially opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, GA on June 11, 2005

Statue of Shakur in the Peace Garden in Stone Mountain

Harvard University

April 17th, 2003- “All Eyez On Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero”

Topics from entertainment to sociology

State University of New YorkEnglish Professor Mark Anthony Neal“Thug N***a Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity Gramscian”

Public Status and Public Persona“Organic Intellectual”Since death has left a “leadership void amongst hip-hop artists”

Northeast University

Professor of Communications Murray Forman“Tupac Shakur: O.G.(Ostensibly Gone)Mythical status surrounding Shakur’s life & death

Addressed symbolism & mythology surrounding Shakur’s death

Tupac’s fans have “suceeded in resurrecting Tupac as an etheral life force”

Northeastern University

Professor of Music Emmett PriceCompared Tupac’s public image to that of a trickster African American to those who gave the “bad man” image post slavery

“Profilific artist” who was “driven by a terrible sense of urgency” in a quest to “unify mind, body, and spirit”

Other Universities

University of Pensylvania Michael Dyson “Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur”

“Spoke with brilliance and insight as someone who bears witness to the pain of those who would never have his platform

University of California Student-led course “History 98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur”

Virginia Tech Memorial

The Rose That Grew From ConcreteDid you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete?

Proving nature’s law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet.

Funny it seems but by keeping it’s dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air.

Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared.

And Tomorrow

Today is filled with anger, fuel with hidden hate.Scared of being outkast, afraid of common fate.Today is build on tragedies which no one want’s to face.Nightmares to humanity and morally disgraced.Tonight is filled with Rage, violance in the air.Children bred with ruthlessness cause no one at home cares.Tonight I lay my head down but the pressure never stops, knowing that my sanity content when I’m droped.But tomorrow I see change, a change to build a new,Build on spirit intent of heart and ideas based on truth.Tomorrow I wake with second wind and strong because of pride.I know I fought with all my heart to keep the dream alive.

Quotes

“For every dark night, there's a brighter day” “A coward dies a thousand deaths…a soldier dies but once” “My mama used to always tell me: If you can’t find somethin’ to

live for, you best find somethin’ to die for” During your life, never stop dreaming. No one can take away

your dreams” “Why am I fighting to live, if I’m just living to fight?

Why am I trying to see, when there ain’t nothing in sightWhy am I tyring to give, when no one gives me a tryWhy am I dying to live, if I’m just living to die?Someone tell me y”

Changes

“I see no changes wake up in the morning and I ask myselfis life worth living should I blast myself?I'm tired of bein' poor & even worse I'm blackmy stomach hurts so I'm lookin' for a purse to snatchCops give a damn about a negropull the trigger kill a nigga he's a heroGive the crack to the kids who the hell caresone less hungry mouth on the welfareFirst ship 'em dope & let 'em deal the brothers

give 'em guns step back watch 'em kill each otherIt's time to fight back that's what Huey said2 shots in the dark now Huey's deadI got love for my brother but we can never go nowhereunless we share with each otherWe gotta start makin' changeslearn to see me as a brother instead of 2 distant strangersand that's how it's supposed to beHow can the Devil take a brother if he's close to me?I'd love to go back to when we played as kidsbut things changed, and that's the way it is”

Changes

“I see no changes all I see is racist facesmisplaced hate makes disgrace to racesWe under I wonder what it takes to make thisone better place, let's erase the wastedTake the evil out the people they'll be acting right'cause both black and white is smokin' crack tonightand only time we chill is when we kill each otherit takes skill to be real, time to heal each other

And although it seems heaven sentWe ain't ready, to see a black President, uhhIt ain't a secret don't conceal the factthe penitentiary's packed, and it's filled with blacksBut some things will never changetry to show another way but you stayin' in the dope gameNow tell me what's a mother to dobein' real don't appeal to the brother in youYou gotta operate the easy way"I made a G today" But you made it in a sleazy waysellin' crack to the kid. " I gotta get paid,"Well hey, well that's the way it is”

Changes

“We gotta make a change...It's time for us as a people to start makin' some changes.Let's change the way we eat, let's change the way we liveand let's change the way we treat each other.You see the old way wasn't working so it's on us to dowhat we gotta do, to survive.”

YouTube Clip

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DAn5RYUiiZE&feature=related

Tupac’s Influence

“Tupac was one of the most influential rap artists of the 90’s. His ideas on racism and drugs and violence are as true today as they were then. His lyrics are so powerful and true, that it’s hard to disagree with the values he represented. The songs he sang had such uplifting messages that encouraged people to stand up and help make a change. I believe anyone can pick up one of his albums and learn something. Tupac had a lot to say in the short time he was here on earth, but his words of wisdom are worth listening to.”

Tupac Amaru Shakur

Any Questions?