Rapper, actor, poet, producer, activist
1971-1996
Whether offering heart-rending snapshots of his troubled family life, sneering at rivals or tearing on a bitter misogynistic streak, Tupac Amaru Shakur's songs were packed with a baffling mix of venom and vulnerability.
On several occasions, the rapper who spent several years living in Marin City with his mother and recording with Digital Underground in Oakland predicted his own violent death and eventual comeback, casting himself as an immortal force whose influence reached far beyond the stylistically erratic albums he managed to put out, starting with his modestly titled 1991 debut, 2Pacalypse Now.
Since he was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting in September 1996 at age 25, Shakur's legendary status has only grown. His image has become as iconic as that of his prematurely deceased rock counterparts such as Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. Thanks to his mother Afeni Shakur's tireless business dealings, he has become a regular on Forbes magazine's annual list of the Richest Deceased Celebrities. He's become the subject of several university courses, including one at Harvard, Modern Protest Literature: From Thomas Paine to Tupac. And it's widely acknowledged that his work showed the way forward for multi-platinum acts such as Eminem, 50 Cent and Kanye West.
But who was the real Tupac Shakur? The sensitive poet with the middle-class background who wrote eloquently about his mother's substance abuse problems and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts where he studied violin and ballet, or an unrepentant thug who actually believed he could find glory in guns, money and harebrained regional rivalries? It gets harder to figure out every year.
There's a fairly popular theory that Tupac, inspired by his hero Machiavelli, faked his own death to avoid being finished off by whoever shot him on the streets of Las Vegas. If that's the case, it's also likely he was thinking about the huge earning potential of posthumous releases, especially after an artist has already peaked commercially in the mortal realm.
Tupac only released four albums in his lifetime, with his last, All Eyez on Me, entering the charts at No. 1. Since his demise, there have been seven full-length studio recordings, eight Top 10 singles and 14 other discs ranging from compilations to live collections. There have also been two books of poetry, 13 documentaries and at least 25 related biographies. More are set for release this year.
His first official postmortem release was a mere two months after his death, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.
In one of his most popular songs, 1995's Me Against the World, Shakur rapped, "After death/ After my last breath/ When will I finally get to rest?"
It's a question he may want to bring up to Elvis the next time they bump into each other in Havana.
The Black History Month series of profiles of African Americans from the past runs Monday through Friday through February. For more information, including the Jan. 27 Sunday Datebook coverage of Black History Month, go to sfgate.com/entertainment.
To hear the music of Tupac Shakur go to www.myspace.com/2pac.
Source: SFGate.com
1971-1996
Whether offering heart-rending snapshots of his troubled family life, sneering at rivals or tearing on a bitter misogynistic streak, Tupac Amaru Shakur's songs were packed with a baffling mix of venom and vulnerability.
On several occasions, the rapper who spent several years living in Marin City with his mother and recording with Digital Underground in Oakland predicted his own violent death and eventual comeback, casting himself as an immortal force whose influence reached far beyond the stylistically erratic albums he managed to put out, starting with his modestly titled 1991 debut, 2Pacalypse Now.
Since he was killed in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting in September 1996 at age 25, Shakur's legendary status has only grown. His image has become as iconic as that of his prematurely deceased rock counterparts such as Jim Morrison, Jimi Hendrix and Kurt Cobain. Thanks to his mother Afeni Shakur's tireless business dealings, he has become a regular on Forbes magazine's annual list of the Richest Deceased Celebrities. He's become the subject of several university courses, including one at Harvard, Modern Protest Literature: From Thomas Paine to Tupac. And it's widely acknowledged that his work showed the way forward for multi-platinum acts such as Eminem, 50 Cent and Kanye West.
But who was the real Tupac Shakur? The sensitive poet with the middle-class background who wrote eloquently about his mother's substance abuse problems and attended the Baltimore School for the Arts where he studied violin and ballet, or an unrepentant thug who actually believed he could find glory in guns, money and harebrained regional rivalries? It gets harder to figure out every year.
There's a fairly popular theory that Tupac, inspired by his hero Machiavelli, faked his own death to avoid being finished off by whoever shot him on the streets of Las Vegas. If that's the case, it's also likely he was thinking about the huge earning potential of posthumous releases, especially after an artist has already peaked commercially in the mortal realm.
Tupac only released four albums in his lifetime, with his last, All Eyez on Me, entering the charts at No. 1. Since his demise, there have been seven full-length studio recordings, eight Top 10 singles and 14 other discs ranging from compilations to live collections. There have also been two books of poetry, 13 documentaries and at least 25 related biographies. More are set for release this year.
His first official postmortem release was a mere two months after his death, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory.
In one of his most popular songs, 1995's Me Against the World, Shakur rapped, "After death/ After my last breath/ When will I finally get to rest?"
It's a question he may want to bring up to Elvis the next time they bump into each other in Havana.
The Black History Month series of profiles of African Americans from the past runs Monday through Friday through February. For more information, including the Jan. 27 Sunday Datebook coverage of Black History Month, go to sfgate.com/entertainment.
To hear the music of Tupac Shakur go to www.myspace.com/2pac.
Source: SFGate.com
