  2Pac - Tupac Shakur - was born
in New York City, the son of Black Panther
member, Afeni Shakur who was pregnant with
2Pac while in jail on bombing charges. When
2Pac was 15, his family moved to Baltimore
where 2Pac wrote his first rap under the name
MC New York. Three years later, 2Pac's family
would move to California and 2Pac began
selling drugs. By the time 2Pac was 25 years
old, he had been arrested, jailed, shot,
involved with gangs, and become one of the
biggest rap stars ever. 2Pac wrote, sang and
rapped about what he knew about, what he
experienced, and what he felt. Before a
shooting incident in Las Vegas that
eventually took his life, 2Pac had perfected
the combination of gansta rap music and
poetic messages. His music brought the
despair and hard life of the ghetto to the
mainstream. Ironically, 2Pac's gansta rap
image has now become a symbol of the results
of hardcore rap. 2Pac was originally a member
of the rap act Digital Underground
in the late 80s as a combination roadie,
dancer, and rapper. The group hit it big in
1990 with the hit "Humpty Dance,"
but 2Pac left the group in 1991 to strike out
on his own.
 2Pac released 2pacalypse
Now, which showed more of
2Pac's gangsta rap persona. The LP was a
moderate hit for 2Pac, especially with fans
of rap music.
2Pac began his acting career
with a starring role in Juice.
 # 39
Singles Artist of the Year
 2Pac released Strictly
4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. and found
himself with 2 Top 10 pop hits: "I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up."
2Pac also found trouble with the
law with accusations of sexual battery and
assault.
Critical acclaim with acting
continued for 2Pac with the release of John
Singleton's Poetic
Justice (playing opposite Janet
Jackson).
 2Pac hit the Top 40 with "I Get Around."
Strictly
4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. was certified gold.
2Pac hit the Top 10 with "I Get Around."
2Pac hit the Top 40
with "Keep Ya Head Up."
The singles "I Get Around" and "Keep Ya Head Up" were certified
gold.
2Pac hit the Top 10 with "Keep Ya Head Up."
 # 158
Singles Artist of the Year
2Pac was nominated for an American Music
Award for Favorite
Rap/Hip-Hop Artist.
2Pac was robbed and shot several
times outside a music studio in New York.
Although his wounds were severe, 2Pac
recovered and returned to finish his next LP.
2Pac could be seen in the film, Thug
Life.
 # 50
Singles Artist of the Year
2Pac was sentenced to 4+ years
in prison for sexual abuse. 2Pac was later
released on bail awaiting appeal.
 While legal problems persisted,
2Pac's next LP was released - Me
Against The World - and it
became 2Pac's first #1 LP. From this LP, 2Pac
rapped an ode to his mother, with "Dear Mama," a song he wrote
while in prison. 2Pac wrote or co-wrote a
majority of the songs on the LP.
The single "Dear Mama" was certified
platinum by the end of the month.
2Pac hit the Top 40 with "Dear Mama."
2Pac topped the Billboard
R&B Singles Sales chart for a week, the
Hot Dance Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart for
4 weeks, and the Hot Rap Singles chart for 5
weeks with "Dear Mama."
Me
Against The World topped the Billboard
Pop Albums chart for 4 weeks and the R&B
Albums chart for 4 weeks.
Strictly
4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. was certified
platinum, 2pacalypse
Now was certified gold and Me
Against The World was certified
platinum.
Me
Against The World was certified 2x
platinum.
2Pac topped the Billboard
Year-End Chart-Toppers as the Top R&B
Album Artist - Male.
 # 39
Singles Artist of the Year
2Pac hit the Top 40 with Dr. Dre with "California Love."
 2Pac was nominated for 2 Grammy Awards for Best Rap Album (Me
Against The World) and Best Rap Solo Performance ("Dear Mama").
2Pac released All
Eyez On Me and has appearances by
Snoop
Doggy Dogg, George Clinton,
Method Man, Michel'le,
Roger, and Redman.
2Pac could be seen in the crime
thriller, Gang
Related.
All
Eyez On Me topped the Billboard Top 200
Albums chart for 2 weeks and the Top R&B
Albums chart for 3 weeks.
2Pac hit the Top 10 with "California Love."
All
Eyez On Me was certified 5x platinum.
2Pac topped the Billboard Dance
Music Maxi-Singles Sales chart for 12 weeks
with "How Do U Want It/California Love."
2Pac hit the Top 40 with "How Do U Want It."
2Pac topped the Billboard Hot
100 Singles chart for 2 weeks, the Hot 100
Singles Sales chart for 4 weeks, the Hot
R&B Singles chart for 3 weeks, and the
Hot R&B Singles Sales chart for 7 weeks
with "How Do U Want It/California Love."
2Pac hit the Top 10 with "How Do U Want It."
The video for "California Love" was nominated
for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rap Video.
As legal problems continued,
2Pac was also noted for his rivalry with
other rappers, especially The
Notorious B.I.G.
On September 7, 1996, 2Pac was
shot in Las Vegas in a drive-by shooting
after leaving a Mike Tyson fight. 2Pac's
right lung was removed during surgery and
2Pac was left in a medical coma. Six days
later, 2Pac succumbed to his wounds at the
age of 25. The shooting still remains
unsolved.
All
Eyez On Me was certified 6x platinum.
 A posthumous LP by 2Pac under
the pseudonym "Makaveli" was
released, Don
Killuminati - 7 Day Theory, and became 2Pac's 3rd
# 1 LP.
Don
Killuminati - 7 Day Theory topped the Billboard
Top 200 Albums chart for a week and the Top
R&B Albums chart for 6 weeks.
Videos released after 2Pac's
death ironically show 2Pac focusing on the
hardcore lifestyle he lived in, and the
deadly results.
Tracks such as "White Man'z
World" and "Krazy" kept 2Pac's
music on radio airways into 1997.
 All
Eyez On Me was certified 7x platinum.
Don
Killuminati - 7 Day Theory topped the Billboard
R&B Albums chart for 6 weeks.
 # 166
Singles Artist of the Year
Gridlock'd starring 2Pac was
released. Most critics felt 2Pac's
performance as a drug addict demonstrated a
seriously talented actor had been lost.
2Pac won an American Music
Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop
Artist.
Don
Killuminati - 7 Day Theory was certified 2x
platinum.
2Pac was nominated for 3 Grammy
Awards for Best Rap Album (All
Eyez On Me) and Best Rap Performance (for
both "California Love" and "How Do U Want It").
Don
Killuminati - 7 Day Theory was certified 3x
platinum.
 2Pac's voice was still heard on
many collaborations and unreleased tracks,
his persona was still expressed in a few
films, and his estate was challenged numerous
times in court.
A woman who was paralyzed in
Arkansas at a club where 2Pac was performing
in 1993, won a $16.6 million judgment from
2Pac's estate (the ruling was later
over-ruled by a judge).
2Pac's biological parents were
battling in court to decide who should claim
his estate. The latest estate challenge
occurred when 2Pac's estate was sued by C.
DeLores Tucker, who claimed that 2Pac's LP All
Eyez On Me has ruined her sex
life. Tucker is a member of the National
Political Congress of Black Women and is
known for her outspoken protests of what she
calls "gangsta porno rap." The $10
million suit contends that the LP's lyrics
has caused her "great humiliation,
mental pain, and suffering" with songs
such as "Wonda Why They Call U
Bytch" and the hit "How Do U Want It."
2Pac was back in the Top 40
helping out Scarface and Johnny
P with "Smile."
Vibe magazine released
a hard-cover collection of essay and photo
portraits (Tupac Shakur) of 2pac to
commemorate the first anniversary of the
rapper's death. The profiles looks at 2Pac's
life, career achievements, and controversial
death.
2Pac's name continued to be
involved with many lawsuits. The estate of
2Pac and Suge Knight (head of Death Row
Records) was sued by a man claiming to be a
victim in the Las Vegas casino attack on the
evening 2Pac was shot. The alleged victim,
who is also said to be a suspect in 2Pac's
murder, claimed he was beaten by 2Pac,
Knight, and others in the MGM Grand Hotel.
The man was also believed to be a member of
the Los Angeles Southside Crips street gang.
Knight had been currently serving a nine-year
jail sentence from a previous assault case.
2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur, won
her court case against Death Row Record to
receive 150 unreleased songs by her son.
 A new double CD with 24 tracks
by 2Pac called R
U Still Down? (Remember Me) was released
and the first single should be "I Wonder
If Heaven Got A Ghetto." The LP was the
first release from the record company started
by 2Pac's mother, Afeni Shakur. The tracks
were recorded between 1991 and 1994 when 2Pac
was with Interscope (prior to his involvement
with Death Row Records).
R
U Still Down? (Remember Me) was certified 4x
platinum.
R
U Still Down? (Remember Me) topped the
Billboard R&B Albums chart for 2 weeks.
2Pac topped the Billboard
Year-End Charts as the Top Billboard
200 Album Artist - Male and the Top R&B
Artist - Male (singles & albums).
 # 141
Singles Artist of the Year
All
Eyez On Me was certified 9x platinum.
In His Own Words was
released in the U.S. The LP included
unreleased material including 2 songs with
the The
Notorious B.I.G. and an interview. The
release was considered to be a bootleg by
2Pac's mother and a cease-and-desist order
was issued to stop sales of the LP.
The single "How Do U Want It / California Love" was certified 2x
platinum.
A few court cases against 2Pac's
estate were settled. 2Pac's biological father
dropped his lawsuit seeking half of the
estate and settled for over $800,000. The
lawsuit from a woman hit by a stray bullet at
a 2Pac concert will most likely be settled
for about $2 million.
 A 2-CD greatest hits collection
was released: Greatest
Hits with the hit "Changes."
2Pac hit the Top 40 with "Changes."
Greatest
Hits topped the Billboard R&B
Albums chart for 2 weeks.
 # 87
Singles Artist of the Year
2Pac hit the Top
10
with "Changes."
Greatest
Hits was certified platinum.
Don
Killuminati - 7 Day Theory was certified 4x
platinum.
2Pac was
nominated for a MTV
Video Music Award for Best Rap Video and Best Editing ("Changes").
 A new 2Pac LP, Still
I Rise, was released.
MTV: 100
Greatest Videos Ever Made includes
"California Love" at # 9.
2Pac was
nominated for a Grammy
Award for Rap Solo
Performance ("Changes").
Still
I Rise was certified platinum.
Greatest
Hits was certified 5x platinum and
the single "Do For Love" was
certified gold.
2Pac was
featured in a new book, Static: My Tupac
Shakur Story by Chopmaster J. one of the
co-founders of Digital Underground.
Court cases
involving 2Pac's family and the family of a
man 2Pac was accused of assaulting (who was
shot to death 2 years after 2Pac died).
Greatest
Hits was certified 9x platinum.
 The next collection of 2Pac's
music - Until
The End Of Time - was released and
sold over 425,000 copies in its first week in
the U.S.
Until
The End Of Time topped the Billboard 200 LP
chart for a week and Billboard
R&B/Hip-Hop LP chart for 4 weeks.
Until
The End Of Time was certified 3x platinum.
2Pac hit the U.K. Top 10 for the
1st time with "Until The End Of
Time."
A controversial
report from the Los Angeles Times
reported that The
Notorious B.I.G. was
directly linked to the murder of 2Pac,
including paying for the hit and supply the
weapon. The report states the shooter was
paid $1 million and given Biggie's own gun
for the hit.
 2Pac could be heard on Irv
Gotti Presents... The Remixes with
"Pledge" (with Ashanti, Nas,
and Ja Rule).
Another
posthumous LP was released - the double LP Better
Dayz.
Better
Dayz topped the Billboard Hot
R&B/Hip-Hop Albums chart.
 # 138
Singles Artist of the Year
Better
Dayz was certified 2x platinum.
 VH1: 50
Greatest Hip Hop Artists includes 2Pac at # 3.
2Pac's collaboration with Nas on "Thugz
Mansion" was nominated for a MTV Video Music
Award for Best Rap Video.
 Death
Row Presents 2Pac Nu-Mixx Klazzics was released - the LP
featured remixes of 2Pac material from his
time at Death Row Records.
The soundtrack for Tupac:
Resurrection containing 2Pac tracks was
released.
 Tupac:
Resurrection was certified platinum.
 # 123
| 
