The Life and Legacy of Tupac Shakur

By Ericka Foster * click photos for photo credit

On June 16 th , Tupac wou ld have been 49 years old. You can’t help but to wonder what he would say as people around the world protest police brutality and racism. Tupac had his own run - ins with the law – including serving a few months in jail for sexual assault. However, he was complex and multi - faceted. To characterize him as just one thing – thug, rapper, and actor – would be unreasonable and unrealistic. The truth is, no one is all one thing. Tupac was one of those rare individuals who was able to be many different things to many different people while being authentic.

In an interview with MTV last year, singer Jhene Aiko explained, "He was so contradictory to people, but to me, he was just human and not afraid to express himself. I could relate to that a lot... How dancing turned into music, turned into acting, turned into all of the things that he did. And he still had this passion and this purpose about him. That spoke to me so much."

Tupac the R apper

Rappers like Game, Kendrick Lamar, and J. Cole (pictured left) openly discuss the influence that Tupac has had on their careers. “ You can’t just listen to ‘Pac, you feel ‘Pac. If you listen to him, you gonna feel him.” Eminem said when describing Tupac’s i nfluence during a Shade45 radio special.

Tupac began his rap career in the group Digital Underground. He released his first solo album in November 1991, 2Pacalypse Now. He released his second in February 1993 Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z ., and his third solo album, March 1995's Me Against the World . The fourth 2Pac solo album, and last in his lifetime, February 1996's All Eyez on Me .

Although California Love is STILL on everybody’s party playlist, songs like Keep Ya Head Up , Dear Mama and Brenda’s Got a Baby , demonstrated his gift to portray a thoughtful humanity to the “thug” persona that had previously(and presently) painted Black men as one -dimensional.

“ Everything in life is not all beautiful,” he told j ournalist Chuck Phillips. “ There is lots of killing and drugs. To me a perfect album talks about the hard stuff and the fun and caring stuff. ... The thing that bothers me is that it seems like a lot of the sensitive stuff I write just goes unnoticed.”

He’s had an impact on artists across all genres: "He’s the first rapper to talk about the fact that his mom was a crack addict. For me, that’s courageous as fuck. He took that risk and spoke about everything in detail openly and without any shame. For me to li sten to that album as I grew up, it really helped me to understand that it’s OK to be honest with your art, because people appreciate that." says singer Zayn Malik in an interview with Complex magazine. To many, he was more than a rapper, he was a poet.

Tu pac the Poet

While we use the word poet to describe a lyricist who can paint a picture, Tupac’s estate actually released a book of poetry, The Rose That Grew from Concrete , in 1999. Between 1984 and 1988, Tupac lived in Baltimore, Maryland, and attended Ba ltimore School for the Arts, studying acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. As his world was opened to a variety of arts and artists, Tupac integrated all of those influences into his life’s work.

Famous poet Nikki Giovanni wrote the foreword for his book, and also has Thug Life tattooed on her forearm as a tribute to the rapper she never met.

Tupac the Actor

In high school, both in Baltimore, and in Marin County, Tupac starred in multiple high school plays, including Shakespearen productions. In 1992, he had his breakout role in 1992’s Juice , playing Bishop. H e also starred as Lucky, opposite Janet Jackson, in Poetic Justice, directed by John Singleton . Additionally, Tupac had acting parts in TV and movies such as Above the Rim, Gridlock’d, and Gang Related .

Tupac was much more than a hip-hop artist. He was a black man guided by his passions." ~John Singleton.

Tupac’s legacy

Tupac’s legacy began where all of our legacies do, with our forefathers. Afeni Shakur was a member of the Black Panther Party. Several of Tupac’s family members had ties with the Black Panther Party. He was no stranger to political advocacy, to speaking out against injustice, and going toe - to- toe with law enforcement. He was born in Harlem, and grew up in low- income neighborhoods.

In addition to his tremendous talent and work ethic, he had a charisma that transcended music. People who weren’t into hip - hop, or his style, were still affected by the way he carried himself, he was “woke” before that was a word.

Though he was murdered more than 20 years ago, Tupac’s influence lives on not only in music, movies, and pop culture – but also in the hearts of those who never even met him.