they are down now
2PAC
 
1971 - 1996?
Tupac Amaru Shakur
DOB: June 16, 1971 - Brooklyn, NY
DOD: September 13, 1996 - Las Vegas, NV
Height: 5'10 Weight: 168
Mother: Afeni Shakur
Father: William Garland
Step Father: Jeral Wayne Williams
AKA Mutula Shakur
Half Sister: Sekyiwa Shakur
Half Brother: Maurice Harding
(Mopreme of Thug Life)
Godfather: Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt
Music Groups: One Nation Emcees, Two From The Crew, Strictly Dope, Digital Underground, Thug Life, Outlaw Immortalz/Outlawz
Aliases: MC New York, 2Pac, Makaveli (the don)
Marital Status: Divorced (Keisha Morris) & Engaged (Kidida Jones)
Tupac Shakur was born Lesane Parish Crooks in Brooklyn, NY in 1971. While still a small child, his mother changed his name to Tupac Amaru after an Inca Indian revolutionary, "Tupac Amaru", meaning "Shining Serpent". "Shakur" means "Thankful To God" in Arabic. By the age of twelve, Tupac had discovered his loves for acting, writing love songs and poetry. As a young teen, his family moved to Baltimore , MD, where he attended The Baltimore School for the Performing Arts studying acting and ballet. At this school, Tupac left a lasting impression on his teachers and was showing tremendous potential. Unfortunately, Tupac was unable to continue his training. He moved to Oakland, California with the rest of his family. That's when Tupac began to, as he called it, "Hang with the wrong crowd."
Not held back by his lack of formal education, Tupac joined the Rap group Digital Underground as a dancer. Not long before the group achieved award winning success, Tupac released his own album "2Pacalypse Now", which was also a success. The hit single "Brenda's Got A Baby" launched Tupac's career like a rocket. His stunning talent also got him a role in the motion picture, "Juice". Tupac eventually released a second album "Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.Z.," which was an even bigger success and introduced Tupac's music onto the pop charts.
The highlight of Tupac's acting career came when he appeared in "Poetic Justice" besides Janet Jackson. The role made Tupac a household name and showed the world that music may not be Tupac's #1 attribute. In the midst of a role in the movie "Above the Rim" and a Platinum album "Me against the world," Tupac's rising career was snagged. He was brought up on sexual assault charges by a woman he met at a nightclub. Hours before Tupac would be found guilty, Tupac was robbed at gun point by men whose intent and purpose is still uncertain. Tupac was eventually released at over $1 Million in bail. After his release, Tupac answered his critics by releasing his best album, "All Eyes On Me." "All Eyes On Me" has currently sold over 6 million copies, which is revolutionary for a double CD, especially in Hip Hop music. Tupac also had costarring roles in three other films, "Gridlock'd", "Bullet", and "Gang Related."
2pac strange dead
Well this page is all about that number that we keep hearing about, 7... The 7 Day Theory and all that. Here are some strange and interesting facts about this number that is known. Maybe it was his favorite number? I guess we'll never find out huh! Look at the list, it's grown rapidly..
If you think about it, you really can't add all the 7 stuff that happened after he died because common sense should let you know that is set up to keep you thinking, that's how they make money because the attention is still on him after he died. This could be the case in all this..
STRANGE:
* On the greatest hits album, the first disk has 12 songs, the second disk 13, 1+2+1+3=7, also 12+13=25, 2+5=7.
* I have heard from a couple different people that Tupac did the "Don Killuminatti" in 7 days, from start to finish, getting only 4 hours of sleep. I would call this a rumor because I have only heard this and i have no real proof. He told Fatal that the only thing to come to a sleeping man is dreams, nothing else.
* On tha Daz Dillenger album "Retaliation, Reveng and Get Back" there is one song on there with Tupac, and its none tha less Track #7..
* Tupac was gunned down exactly 7 months after All Eyez on Me was released.
* He was shot on September 7th
* He survived on 7th, 8th, 9th, 10th, 11th, 12th, and died the 13th. (Basically being 7 days). Could explain the 7 day theory?
* His age adds up to 7. He was 25 (2 + 5 = 7).
* His date of birth (June 16).. 6 + 1 = 7... I know he can't help that but it's still a fact.
* Even his time of death, 4:03, adds up to 7 (4 + 0 + 3 = 7)...
* His album "R U Still Down, Remember Me" was released on the 25th (2 + 5 = 7)...!
* Will he come back 7 years from his death??
* He has released 7 albums (if you're not counting 1 in 21 and the bootlegs which don't count cause they aren't released)
* In the video "I wonder if heaven got a ghetto", a woman goes into a hotel room and the room number is 7.
* At the end of the song "Hold on be Strong" (new album) he says "Things get tough especially around the 1st and the 15th" I know that those are rent and bill days but look.. 1+1+5=7.
* On Jon B's CD "cool relax" the song "Are You Still Down" featuring 2pac is track #7..
* The Big Cross on Tupac's back. It says "Exodus 18:11" in the middle of the cross.
This is probably just coincidental but, 18 - 11 = 7..
* On the Makaveli album, on one song it says, "And if the Lord returns in the coming 7 days then we'll see you next time."
* In the song When We Ride W/ the Outlawz, in the begining the intro goes:
"..Picture, if you will, 7 deadly human beings. Blessed with the gift to speak, The power to reach each nigga on every street..."
* The number 7 is in the BIBLE alot. Like the 7 wonders of the World, the 7 deadly sins, the 7 deadly plagues, and on the 7th day GOD rested.
* In the movie "Gang Related", Tupac's badge number is 115 (1+1+5=7)
* If you take the year he died, which was 1996, and add it up 1+9+9+6= 25 (his age), and then add that 5+2= 7.
* He was born in 1971 and died in 1996.
1+9+7+1=18
1+9+9+6=25
25 - 18 = 7
* Club 662 (6+6+2=14) (14/2=7)
EMINEM
The average rapper wouldn't be able to grace the pages of Rap Pages, VIBE, Spin, The Source, URB and Stress and go on a national tour months before their major-label debut album is released. Then again, Eminem isn't an average rapper. He's phenomenal.
The impending release of the Slim Shady LP, his first set on Aftermath/Interscope Records, already has underground hip-hop heads fiending for Eminem. Chock full of dazzling lyrical escapades that delve into the mind of a violently warped and vulgar yet extremely talented wordsmith, the 14-cut collection contains some of the most memorable and demented lyrics ever recorded.
For Eminem, his potentially controversial and undoubtedly offensive songs will strike a chord with a multitude of hip-hop loyalists who believe they have little to lose and everything to gain.
"I'm not alone in feeling the way I feel," he says. "I believe that a lot of people can relate to my sh*t--whether white, black, it doesn't matter. Everybody has been through some sh*t, whether it's drastic or not so drastic. Everybody gets to the point of 'I don't give a f**k.'"
Those words are more than just a slogan for the Detroit resident. "I Just Don't Give A F*ck" and "Brain Damage" are the two songs comprising Eminem's initial single from the Slim Shady LP. Each tune is sure to paralyze meek listeners with their relentless lyrical assault. Produced primarily by long-time collaborators FBT Productions, the Slim Shady LP also features beatwork from Aftermath CEO Dr. Dre. The N.W.A. alum handled beats for "My Name Is" (the second single), "Guilty Conscience" and "Role Model."
Dr. Dre was so impressed after hearing Eminem freestyling on a Los Angeles radio station that he put out a manhunt for the Michigan rhymer. Shortly thereafter, Dre signed Eminem to his Aftermath imprint and the two began working together. Thoroughly impressed with Eminem's previously released independent Slim Shady EP, Dre said they would include many of the EP's tracks on the album.
"It was an honor to hear the words out of Dre's mouth that he liked my sh*t," Eminem says. "Growing up, I was one of the biggest fans of N.W.A, from putting on the sunglasses and looking in the mirror and lipsinking to wanting to be Dr. Dre, to be Ice Cube. This is the biggest hip-hop producer ever."
But like many other rappers, Eminem's rise to stardom was far from easy. After being born in Kansas City and traveling back and forth between KC and the Detroit metropolitan area, Eminem and his mother moved into the Eastside of Detroit when he was 12. Switching schools every two to three months made it difficult to make friends, graduate and to stay out of trouble.
Rap, however, became Eminem's solace. Battling schoolmates in the lunchroom brought joy to what was otherwise a painful existence. Although he would later drop out of school and land several minimum-wage-paying, full-time jobs, his musical focus remained constant.
Eminem released his debut album, Infinite, in 1996. Desperate to be embraced by the Motor City's hip-hop scene, Eminem rapped in such a manner that he was accused of sounding like Nas and AZ.
"Infinite was me trying to figure out how I wanted my rap style to be, how I wanted to sound on the mic and present myself," he recalls. "It was a growing stage. I felt like Infinite was like a demo that just got pressed up."
After being thoroughly disappointed and hurt by the response Infinite received, Eminem began working on what would later become the Slim Shady EP -- a project he made for himself. Featuring several scathing lines about local music industry personalities as well as devious rants about life in general, the set quickly caught the ear of hip-hop's difficult-to-please underground.
"I had nothing to lose, but something to gain," Eminem says of that point in his life. "If I made an album for me and it was to my satisfaction, then I succeeded. If I didn't, then my producers were going to give up on the whole rap thing we were doing. I made some sh*t that I wanted to hear. The Slim Shady EP, I lashed out on everybody who talked sh*t about me."
By presenting himself as himself, Eminem and his career took off. Soon after giving the Rap Coalition's Wendy Day a copy of the Infinite album at a chance meeting, she helped the aspiring lyrical gymnast secure a spot at the Coalition’s 1997 Rap Olympics in Los Angeles, where he won second place in the freestyle competition. During the trip, Eminem and his manager, Paul Rosenberg, gave a few people from Interscope Records his demo and he made his major radio debut on the world famous Wake Up Show with Sway and Tech. Realizing that this was the opportunity of his lifetime, Eminem delivered a furious medley of lyrics that wowed his hosts and radio audience alike.
"I felt like it's my time to shine," Eminem says of that performance. "I have to rip this. At that time, I felt that it was a life or death situation."
Eminem would soon record the underground classic "5 Star Generals." This record helped establish him in Japan, New York and Los Angeles. It also helped him earn a spot on the inaugural Lyricist Lounge tour, which took him to stages from Philadelphia to Los Angeles.
Set to take the hip-hop world by storm with his unique lyrical approach and punishing production, Eminem and his Slim Shady LP are sure to have listeners captivated.
"I do say things that I think will shock people," he says. "But I don't do things to shock people. I'm not trying to be the next Tupac, but I don't know how long I'm going to be on this planet. So while I'm here, I might as well make the most of it."
TQ
Although born in Mobile, Alabama, TQ's family immediately moved to LA's infamous Compton, birthplace of N.W.A. and other rap legends. Raised in the church, where he sang in the choir, and his real education came from the streets, where hip-hop was the soundtrack of his life. "From Monday to Saturday I was hangin', partying, chasing girls, getting in trouble, and straight up acting the fool," recalls TQ. "But on Sunday my mother dragged me out of bed to go to church where I developed my singing voice and learned how to make people feel me."
TQ, whose grandfather predicted his grandson would one day, "be somebody," was never a thug in its purest sense of the word. His hard-working parents instilled positive values in him, but didn't hesitate to set him straight when he was wrong. At 16, when his mom found a gun in his room, she sent him to live for a while with his aunt in Atlanta. In effect it rescued him from himself and the streets, where he says in retrospect, the lure of the streets was just too hard to resist. "Sending me down south saved my life," he reveals. "It made me straighten up- for a while, anyway."
Growing up under such conflicting circumstance honed TQ's survival instincts, personally and later, professionally. His passion for hip-hop at its rawest and R&B at its purest is how TQ lived. "The little money I had to buy records was spent on rap," TQ explains. "See I really wasn't much into my generation's R&B. I listened to more to the old-school soul that my parents had in the house. So my music now is more a combination of that and hard-core hip-hop.
Like many young black males growing up in the hood, early on TQ thought about being a rapper, but fortunately realized his strength was singing. In 1994, after working as an intern at A&M records, he was chosen to sing lead in a group called Coming Of Age. Signed by Zoo Entertainment, they had a mild-hit single entitled "Coming Home To Love". Seeking a solo career, TQ left the group and landed a solo deal with Atlantic, where, informs TQ, he was asked to water-down his lyrics.
Despite his unlimited potential, TQ is nevertheless aware that some of his album's lyrical content will no doubt spark controversy. Accepting such, he nonetheless refuses to acquiesce, secure and honesty, talent, and freedom of expression is on his side. "Like Protons and neutrons, life is about positives and negatives, little pluses and minuses," he breaks it down. "If you cover up the minuses then the pluses don't mean shit. That's why I'll never sugar coat my lyrics to keep a record deal or to satisfy anybody else's view of what my music should be," he adds. "What I love about ClockWork/Epic is that I have complete creative control, and that nobody fucks with me about my songs. As an artist who believes in God, himself and his music, I couldn't ask for more than that."
MORE COMING SOON
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