“Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.”

-Tupac Shakur

2Pac. When people hear that name they think may things; a thug, rebel, revolutionary, big mouthed, savage, warmhearted etc. Some see him as a rapper, an actor, an activist, but people often forget that he is all of those things, he is Tupac Shakur the human that forever changed rap.

Tupac Shakur was born June 16th, 1971 in New York. His mom, Afeni Shakur raised him and his young sister. To say he had a troubled childhood is an understatement. At a young age, he was introduced to crime by the places he lived which some might say were ghettos. Tupac’s mom was a member of the Black Panthers, a civil rights group and struggled to raise her two children. Even though he had a rough childhood, he learned from it and wrote some of his most popular songs about it.

This year, on his birthday, the film, “All Eyez On Me” comes out, an untold movie about his life. Demetrius Shipp Jr. plays 2pac, showing the story of his life in his first ever film. This film has been long awaited, going in an out of production since 2013 then finally started in 2015.

Songs to listen to in memory of 2Pac

Hail Mary

Hey Mama

Keep Ya Head Up

California Love

All Eyez On Me

So Many Tears

Trapped

Me Against The World

Runnin’

After Death

Tupac was the first rap/hip-hop artist to be created into a wax figure. Madam Tussauds made his wax figure after he died, getting measurements from his mother and referencing photos. In 2012 a crew at Coachella made a holograph of him performing live with Snoop Dog and Dr. Dre.

Most Recent

This year Tupac has made the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. Right now in Cleveland, Ohio, where the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame items are, you can find Tupac’s notebook where he wrote songs like “Brenda’s Got a Baby”.

On April 7th Snoop Dogg gave a speech in memory of Tupac talking about his greatest memories of him. He talked about Tupac as a human being, not a rapper, gangster, actor, or activist. He said that Tupac proved that, “To be human is to be many things at once: strong and vulnerable, hardheaded and intellectual, courageous and afraid, loving and vengeful,” the list goes on.

He changed the history of rap and used his words for the good.  After his death, he still lives on.