Ahead of His Time

"Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real."



Tupac Shakur

Jada Pinkett now Jada Pinkett Smith and Tupac as teenagers

Lesane Parish Crooks who later become known as Tupac Amaur Shakur was born on in East Harlem on June 19, 1971. His mother was Afeni Shakur and his father Billy Garland were active members of The Black Panthers Party for Self-Defense. By 1986 his family relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. He briefly attended Paul Laurence Dunbar High School and transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts where he met future actress Jada Pinkett and they developed a close friendship until his death in fact they actually dated each other. Most people don't know that honestly if Tupac wasn't dead in time she would have married him. Two years later his family moved  to Marlin City, California where he would finish high school at Tampalais High School. He began attending poetry classes of Lelia Stein berg in 1989.


The Beginning...... Also that same year in 1989 he participated in a concert organized Lelia Steinberg featuring his rap group Strictly Dope after this he was signed by Atron Gregory who helped give Tupac a job as a "roadie" aka backup dancer with young alternative rap Digital Underground known for songs such as "The Humpty Dance" and " Kiss You Back."

Foot in the Door.........He began his rap career officially in the early 90's by appearing on the track "Same Song" which was a Digital Underground hit and he also appeared in the music video as well as film with the same. He appeared on another Digital Underground before his 1991 debut album 2Pacalypse Now and it did not do well on the charts or spawn any top ten hits but it has a breakout single "Brenda's Got a Baby."


His second album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. was released in '93 and had hits such as "I Get Around" and " Keep Ya Head Up." After Tupac's career went on to the fast track although he also had trouble with the law. He appeared in many movies cult favorites among black audiences with films such as Juice, Above the Rim, and Poetic Justice.


Everything came to an end on September 13, 1996 when he was shot 4 times on the Las Vegas strip after altercation in a lobby. He was there to see a Mike Tyson fight on this same night Suge Knight told me not to wear his bullet proof vest. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he would die 6 days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.

Tupac and Janet Jackson in 1993 film Poetic Justice

Why We Loved Him and Interesting Facts......... Tupac was always honest and said what was on his mind and possibly sometimes that got him into trouble but people can appreciate a celebrity who is real for the most part. Tupac was voracious reader and was also inspired by writers such as William Shakespeare, Alice Walker, Maya Angelou, Khalil Gibran, Niccolo Machiavelli just to name a few. Also he did not get his driver's licence until he was 21.


Personally this  is what I loved about Tupac as a young kid in the 90's and my mom was huge fan as well.  ( Besides the fact he was very attactive)Tupac's music and philosophy comes from American, African-American, and World entities, including the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. Tupac could address any subject  because he was intelligent and versatile and had meaningful things to say whether he was being aggressive or charming.



More Facts......
Many analyst have described him as a deist. Let's not forget about that name he was named after Tupac Amaur II, a Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and he was executed for his efforts. Did this name foreshadow his own life and personality? Honestly I believe it did. But his mother gave him the name Lesane Parish Crooks to protect him from being attacked by her enemies.

Tupac and Shock G formerly of Digital Underground

Tupac never wanted to really sign with Death Row Records but at this point he was between a rock and a hard place the people at Interscope Records felt as though they could not control him yet they made money off him. There is no doubt in my mind he is dead the man was shot, stabbed, shot, after awhile you can't survive stuff like that. I miss you and I hope that you are at peace. If you think about it Tupac like Tammi Terrell was living fast because he had a feeling his days were numbered. He was only 25  when he died and today on this day he would have been 40 years old.