Who was Tupac Shakur?

        Tupac Shakur was a lyrical genius who used the style of rap to its greatest potential. He lifted the style to its supreme heights and made it a global trend. Until Tupac came along rap was a small and mostly unheard of style which nobody really paid attention to but once this man stepped into the scene, he had transformed it into what you hear today. Of course you had Dr. Dre and N.W.A. but the trend was not at its full potential. When 2pac entered, the scene has been changed forever.

        He began his singing career as MC New York as part of Digital Underground and then progressed to his first solo album in 2pacalypse Now, in which he first used his new Artist name in "2pac". He was again to change his recording name to "Makaveli" after the Italian philospher Nicollo Machiavelli. He had a huge impact on other artists as well such as "Bone Thugs 'n' Harmony" who named their album "The Art of War" in which Tupac features on a few track such as "Thug Luv".

        Unfortunately, Tupac Shakur had a bitter rivalry with once friend, Christopher Wallace, a.k.a. "Notorious BIG". This rivalry had escalated from where each (2pac and BIG) had claimed one had copied the others style. They continued to accuse each other and a bitter rivalry formed separating the East coast from the West coast, so much so that the rap community had been spilt into two groups. Death Row Records (the recording label in which 2pac belonged to) and Bad Boy Records (in which Notorious belonged to) had become great rivals and took and chance to insult each other to the point where Tupac was shot five times, and then accused Biggie of setting the shooting up.

        Then came the songs such as "Hit 'em up" which were used to accuse and belittle each other. The rap community had been well and truly split up, however, the awareness of rap and sales had increased dramatically and had effectively taken the rap art form to a whole new level and had even placed it on the map as a style all on its own.

        Tupac Shakur's last album released was Makaveli The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The reason it has been named so is because those closest to 2pac say that he had written and recorded the album in its entire completed form in a solitary week.

        While leaving Mike Tyson's comeback fight, Tupac and Death Row CEO Suge Knight had been caught on video in a confrontation. Later that night, Shakur and Knight had been attacked while sitting at a red light. A gunman had got out of the car next to them and opened fire upon the passenger side and Shakur was taken to hospital in critical condition. Knight had escaped with a grazed head. Seven days later, Shakur was pronounced dead at the time of 4:03 PM. For more information and an in-depth look, click here.

        Tupac Shakur has not only influenced music, but he also influenced the lives of many people, young and old, across the nation. His personal style influenced many Hip-Hop artists, as well as the artists of numerous other genres. From his rebellious lyrics in songs such as "Hail Mary" in which he states that he was made "a product made to crumble" to the motivating words in the poem "The Rose That Grew From Concrete" in which he talkes about being born from nothing and making something of himself, every poem and every song from Shakur contained a message, whether it be keeping one’s head up in the face of adversity, or not to let one’s surroundings decide his/her future. These messages spoke to people of all races and ages. There is no doubt that Tupac Shakur was one of the most musically talented rappers to be involved in the industry. Whenever a new rapper emerges, Tupac comparisons begin. When the Notorious B.I.G. is heard, Tupac’s style is evident. Even if he does say so himself, "They know I was the truest nigga involved with Biggie’s success." When the popular rapper DMX emerged in mainstream media, with a bald head and aggressive rap style, every interview contained questions about the Tupac comparison. Tupac influenced not only those who liked him, but his so called rivals as well. It is nearly impossible to have an occupation in Hip-Hop without experiencing Tupac.

While he maintained a thug image, Tupac was a man of contradictions, recording sentimental raps in support of black women, including "Brenda's Got A Baby," and "Keep Ya Head Up." So when people hated him became who they were, Tupac influenced their style by his music being imposed upon them. Therefore, regardless of what other artists think of him, they do think of him. His stylistic influences are insurmountable and uncanny. He not only influenced musicians during his lifetime, but he also continues to influence even after his death. Since his albums have yet to stop releasing, young rappers continually gain knowledge and influence from this man who died nearly five years ago. Although he had many problems with other rappers, and quite possibly had more enemies than friends, his influence is evident on more records than anyone else. In fact, recently after his death, it was thought that he re-emerged as rapper Blac Haze because their styles were incredibly similar, and rap artist Crazy has been on many Tupac bootlegs because of the stylistic similarities. There is also a tremendous cult following for the "Tupac is Alive" theory. Therefore, Tupac not only influences other artists right now, but will continue to influence the artists of the future.


Tupac’s influence lives on today, and will live on for a long time. U.C. Berkley offered the course "History ’98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur". His albums are still being released, and people are still hearing the message, only now less reluctantly. In the continual influence comes continual growth. Omar Epps, Shakur’s co-star in "Juice" probabily summarized his life the best. He said, "Pac was just the truth. He always brought it from the heart. Sometimes the truth hurts or the truth can set you free. In his case it did both. Some said he was the rappin’ Nostradamus, like he could prophecize. But he was just sayin that ill shit that niggas be thinking and no one wanted to say. The thing was he lived his life in a way that the lyrics had to come true. He just went all out. Everyday was his first and last."

        This is the real story, who Tupac Shakur was, what he meant to the rap style and how he became a legend. Enjoy the rest of the site.