Tupac+Shakur


 * Tupac Shakur**

Tupac Amaru Shakur (1971-1996) was a lyricist. When he was not rapping, he was either writing poetry or acting. He was a man that was very active about telling the public what goes on in the land of the impoverished. He wanted to see improvement and equal rights for his people. He had a demeanor like a political activist but kept his thug mentality.
 * Table Of Contents:flat**



=**//Starin’ Through My Rearview//**=

Tupac Shakur was born as Lesane Crooks in Brooklyn, New York. He was a man whose words could potentially start up social movements. While Tupac’s mother, Alice Williams, also known as Afeni Shakur,was pregnant with him, she was locked up for being charged with conspiracy in New York City. While she was in jail, she rubbed her belly saying "This is my prince. He is going to save the black nation." When Tupac was born on June 16, 1971, she was no longer in jail. She had already been acquitted of 156 counts after defending herself in court. After getting out of jail, she found work as a paralegal and tried to teach her son the importance of education. While growing up, everyone who was familiar with Tupac they called him “Black Prince.” When he misbehaved, his mom made him read an edition of The New York Times. But when Tupac asked about his father, Afeni did not have much to say. He said, “she told me, ‘I don’t know who your daddy is. It wasn’t like she was a slut or nothin’. It was just some rough times.” At the age of two, his little sister, Sekyiwa, was born. Sekywia father, Mutulu, was apart of the Black Panthers who, before her birth, was sentenced 60 years in prison. Since Tupac stepfather and mother was apart of the Black Panthers, he was very aware of the divisions between blacks and whites.

Since Mutulu was away, Tupac and his family stayed in a homeless shelter. "I remember crying all the time. My major thing growing up was I couldn't fit in, because I was from everywhere. I didn't have no buddies that I grew up with." As life went on, Tupac began to feel troubled by the absence of his father. “I don't know. I just didn't feel hard. I could do all the things my mother could give me, but she couldn't give me nothing else." When he felt loneliness, he wrote poetry and love songs. Acting was an escape from his life. "The reason why I could get into acting was because it takes nothin' to get out of who I am and go into somebody else." At the age twelve, he landed his first role when his mother enrolled him in the 127th Street Ensemble, a theater group in Harlem. He played Travis in A Raisin in the Sun.

While living in Baltimore, he began rapping. Since people feared New York’s bad reputation, he called himself MC New York. He used this name so people could believe he was tough. Soon after, he began school at BaltimoreSchoolfor the Arts. His focus was on acting and ballet.

=//Str8 ballin’//=

Tupac had been arrested about eight and had served eight months for sexually abusing a female. He had an lawsuit against him that involved a 6 year old boy who was killed after mistakely running into a gang shooting between Tupac’s gang and another group. All of this happened for he was the age of twenty.

During 1993, he released his album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A., an album that many believed made land him a spot on the pop charts. Bad news soon followed this, because he was accused of a attacking an officer and sexual misconduct. Around the same time, he starred in Poetic Justice with Janet Jackson.

=**//Runnin’ (Dying to Live)//**=

During November of 1994, he was shot 5 times while thieves took $40,000 worth of his jewelry. After his recovery, he started producing his most successful tracks. When Me Against the World in 1995 was released, it sold two million copies. =**[|Ambitionz As a Ridah]**=

Soon after his recovery, Tupac released Me Against the World; it sold two million copies in 1995. He also released the double-CD All Eyez on Me, which sold almost three million records. =**//Death Around the Corner//**=

After leaving a Mike Tyson fight on Saturday September 7, 199, he was shot to death. He was not pronounced dead until Friday September 13th. Even though this shooting was unexpected, Tupac always rapped about being murdered by someone he didn’t know. This includes many songs like Life Goes On and Death Around the Corner. The video I Ain’t Mad Atcha was released a few days before the shootings, and it showed him as an angel. This makes many believe that he knew he was going to be shot. =//**Makaveli**//=

Tupac had read about Nicolo Machiavelli, who wrote a book about bluffing his death to mislead his enemies. Many believe Tupac might still be alive. There was also a seven day theory about him. This theory is about him coming back seven years after his death. This was significant because he died on September 7th and the number seven keeps popping up when his death is talked about.

=**Analysis**=

Since Tupac Shakur picked up the mic, he has made a huge impact in hip-hop. His rhymes and music is still remembered today. He is not only remembered for his lyrical content, but his view of society. He influenced the youth and society itself. Tupac Shakur was a political leader, a man who was influeced by his childhood, and an important aspect of the 20th century. Even though Tupac never really considered him a political leader, I believe the way he behaved and the words he spoke made him appear as one. He was a political leader because he motive was to influence the public and take a stand. At one point, Tupac Shakur was suggesting to be like some of the well-known political leaders, like Malcolm X and Martin Luther King Jr. He said, “We talk a lot about Malcolm X and Martin Luther King JR, but it’s time to be like them, as strong as them.” Some might say Tupac influenced the public in a negative way, I disagree with this, but one can not deny he was influential. In June 1993, Tupac Shakur was blamed for influence for a nine year old boy killing a state trooper. Ronald Howard refuted that Shakur’s lyrical content that was against police officers influenced him to do such an act. If one believes that this is true, there must be power in the music. Whether his influence was good or bad, his words and actions screamed political leader. Next, Tupac Shakur decided to take such a strong stand in his community because of the hardships he faced as a kid. He also knew a great amount about the Black Panthers. Tupac says, “ All my roots to the struggle are real deep. My stepfather at the time, Mutulu Shakur, he was also a well-known revolutionary. And then my godfather, Geronimo Pratt, he had a top official rank position with the Panthers on the West Coast.” Since Shakur was up close and personal with the problems in black community, because his relatives was a part of The Black Panthers, he always knew what was going on. This is what made his voice so powerful, because he knew what was going on. He took up the responsibility to educate people outside of his community about what goes on in his community. Since he overcame difficult obstacles in his youth, he knew what the struggle felt like. His childhood influenced his lyrical content and rhymes. This is why he always considered himself to be a thug. A sterotypical person would probably have a negative view of a thug, because Shakur explained why he called himself that. He says, “When I say thug I mean not a criminal, someone who beats you over the heard, I mean the underdog. You have two people – one person has everything he needs to succeed and one person has everything he needs to succeed and one person has nothing. If the person who has nothing succeeds, he’s a thug. Cuz he overcame all the obstacles. Don’t ask me why, but it doesn’t have anything to do with the dictionary version of thug. Sorry.” Shakur was a man who let his childhood obstacles speak through him. This is what seperates him from other rappers. Lastly, Tupac was a very important aspect the 20th century. Even though Shakur is no longer living, the life of his words still lives on. His rhymes and lyrics had so much meaning, there was a class about him taught at the University of California that analyzes his lyrics. Because his lyrics was much more than just lyrics, it was poetry. Shakur was also featured in the //Guinness Book of World Records, //because he sold over 73 million albums worldwide. This would make him the best selling rapper ever. So Tupac Shakur was and still is an important part of history, because of everything he left behind. From being main topic for discussions to being featured in //Guinness Book of World Records //, Tupac Shakur has left back more than enough reasons why he was important to the 20th Cenutry. He not only left back his legacy, but also his poetry. His words of wisdom and political standpoint. Tupac Shakur was the man. When mentioning the name “Tupac Shakur”, you get more than “he was a rapper”, because he was much more than that. He influenced the public while letting his childhood speak through him. There is no denying his accomplishments, because they are written down in a book; check his credentials. If he is not apart of the list of important aspects of the 20th century, then someone must have their list all wrong. Tupac did not only make a huge impact on the hip-hop industry, he also made an impact on the world today.  　 Work Cited

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