Tupac Shakur

Biography

Tupac Amaru Shakur ( TOO-pahk shə-KOOR; Spanish: Túpac; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. He was one of the most influential musical artists of the 20th century, and a prominent political activist for Black America. He is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Some of Shakur's music addressed social injustice, political issues, and the marginalization of African Americans, but he was also synonymous with gangsta rap and violent lyrics.

Shakur was born in New York City to parents who were Black Panther Party members. Raised by his mother, Afeni Shakur, he relocated to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. His debut album 2Pacalypse Now (1991) cemented him as a central figure in West Coast hip-hop for his political rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his subsequent 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 hip-hop double album, abandoned introspective lyrics for volatile gangsta rap. It yielded two Billboard Hot 100-number one singles, "California Love" and "How Do U Want It". Alongside his solo career, Shakur formed the group Thug Life and collaborated with artists like Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, and the Outlawz. As an actor, Shakur starred in the films Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), Above the Rim (1994), Bullet (1996), Gridlock'd (1997), and Gang Related (1997).

In November 1994, Shakur was shot five times in the lobby of a New York recording studio and experienced legal troubles, including incarceration. He served eight months in prison on sexual abuse charges, but was released pending appeal in 1995. Following his release, he signed to Marion "Suge" Knight's label Death Row Records and became embroiled in the East Coast–West Coast hip-hop rivalry, which included a high-profile feud with his former friend the Notorious B.I.G. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was murdered by an unidentified assailant in a drive-by shooting in Paradise, Nevada; he died six days later. On August 31, 2026, South Side Compton Crips member Duane "Keffe D" Davis was convicted of orchestrating Shakur's murder, but the shooter (suspected to be Baby Lane) has not been conclusively identified.

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 the acclaimed The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory (1996) under the stage name Makaveli, all of which have been certified multi-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 Fame. His influence in music, activism, songwriting, and other areas of culture has been the subject of academic studies.

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