Tupac Amaru Shakur: From the cradle to the grave

The first time I heard Tupac’s “Brenda’s got a baby” I was blown away by the lyrics of the song and I wondered who’s song it was…. Then I watched the movie “Juice” shortly after and didn’t know whether to love Tupac or to hate him, because the role he played in the movie Juice was so intense, it left such an impact in my young mind.

From then on, I began to follow his career, and he wowed me more and more with songs like, “I get around”, “Bury Me a G”, “Pour Out a Little Liquor”, “How Long Will They Mourn Me?”, “Cradle to the Grave”, “Me Against The World”, “Lord Knows”, “Dear Mama”, “Life Goes On”, “California Love”, “I Ain't Mad at Cha”, “Picture Me Rollin”, “Ratha Be Ya N____”, “All Eyez on Me”, “Just Like Daddy”, “To live and die in L.A”, “Krazy”, “Against all Odds”, “White man’s world”, “Me and my girlfriend” and lots more from the albums “Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.”, “Thug Life Vol. 1”, “Me Against the World”, “All Eyez on Me”, “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory”

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks on June 16th 1971 in Brooklyn, New York to Afeni Shakur, a member of the Black Panther Party. His mother changed his name from Lesane Parish Crooks to Tupac Shakur. The name is from an Inca Indian tribe and means ‘shining serpent’, and his last name, Shakur, means ‘thankful to God’. While a young child, Tupac discovered his love for dance and music. His mother encouraged him and as a teenager, his family moved to Baltimore, MD.

While living there, Tupac started attending the Baltimore School for the Performing Arts, studying acting and ballet. He began his career in 1991 as a member of the group Digital Underground and in the same year he received individual recognition for his album “2Pacalypse Now”.

Tupac always shared his life experiences through his music. Every song was about his journey through life, and to me, he was a poet. I also saw him as a regular kinda guy, and he seemed rather like someone I could hang with. He was very out-spoken and his music reflected his many sides, some lyrics were motivated by love, some sought self-understanding and others were angry responses to the cruel injustices of life. He was also an actor having acted in movies like Juice, Poetic Justice, Above the Rim, Gang Related, Gridlock'd and Bullet.

His life was filled with a lot of drama and he has been romanticized to the level of a martyr. During his lifetime, he was seldom out of the spotlight with a 15-day jail term in 1994 for assault and battery, a conviction in 1995 for sexual assault of a female fan, his influence in promoting gangsta rap, his war of words with the Notorious B.I.G aka Biggie smalls/East coast rappers/Bad Boy Records and his constant talk about his death and funeral.

There are mixed views from people regarding Tupac, with people seeing him as Inspirational, a thug, a poet, a gangsta, and a realist. To me, Tupac was the Ultimate. His lyrics, beats and poetry are second to none and it was sad when he died exactly 10 years ago today, following a drive- by shooting after a boxing match in Las Vegas 6 days earlier, from which he suffered severe gun shot wounds. He was only 25.

I remember him today and hope that his music positively affects all those who listen to him.

……..Rest in Peace Pac!............