| Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in 1971 in the Bronx. He moved to Baltimore to attend his High School for Preforming Arts, where he began writing rap. He then moved to Marin City, Calif., near Oakland, and continued to write and record. As a member of the Grammy-nominated group Digital Underground he appeared in 1991 on the track "Same Song" from "This is an EP Release" and on the album "Sons of the P." That same year Shakur achieved individal recognition with the album "2Pacalypse Now," which spawned the successful singles "Trapped" and "Brenda's got a baby." The album, with refernces to police officers being killed, drew notoriety when a lawyer claimed a man accused of killing a Texas tropper had been riled up by the record. Then-Vice President Dan Quayle targeted "2Pacalypse Now" in his 1992 battle with Hollywood over traditional values. Shakur followed up in 1993 with the strong selling album "Strictly 4 my N.I.G.G.A.Z...", which produced the singles "I get around", "Keep Ya Head Up", and "Papa'z Song". That year he was nominated for an American Music Award as best new rap hip hop artist. The next year he appeared with Thug life on the "Above The Rim" soundtrack and on the group's album "Volume 1." In a photo on the album liner he framed his face between his two extended middle fingers. While in prison, he indicated he was rethinking his lifestyles. "Thug Life to me is dead. If it's real, let somebody else represent it, because I'm tired of it." Shakur told Vibe magazine. "I represent it too much. I was a thug life. while serving his sentence for sexual abuse, Tupac's third solo release, "Me aganist the World", spent four weeks at number one. |
