TROTWOOD TIMES NEWSPAPER:
POETIC JUSTICE
TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR
THE EARLY LIFE OF TUPAC SHAKUR
Lesane Parish Crooks (Later known as Tupac Amaru Shakur) born on June 16, 1971. From birth, Tupac resided in The East Harlem section of Manhattan, NYC. Tupac was named after Tupac Amaru ll. His mother stating, "I wanted him to know he was apart of a world culture and not just from a neighborhood."
Later, in the 1980's, Tupac's mother was struggling heavily with a tragic drug addiction and was having difficulty finding work. 4 years later, his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland. In his later teenage years, he attended school at Baltimore School for the Arts where he studied and slowly learned acting, poetry, and jazz.
FILM AND MUSIC CAREER
Tupac's first film ever was his appearance in "Nothing but trouble", 1991. It was a cameo for Digital Underground.
In 1992, Tupac starred in "Juice," where he played Roland Bishop.
In 1993, he starred along with Janet Jackson in "Poetic Justice", made by John Singleton.
Tupac's debut album was named "2Pacalypse Now", referencing a film made in 1979, called "Apocolypse Now". The album being made in November of 1991, it had three singles. The album was certified gold, with half a million copies sold worldwide. The album talks about black struggles and what it's like to live in the body of a black male.
INFLUENCE
Tupac is considered one of the biggest rappers of all time, going on to influence the flow of modern-day rappers, such as now deceased Juice WRLD, at one point Juice even went by "Juice The Kidd", inspired by Tupac's 1992 film, "Juice".
Tupac also inspired another modern-day rapper J.Cole. Cole stating in an interview that "he was my favorite rapper before I started rapping."
Tupac's influence on the world was overall phenomenal. Everybody wanted to be like him, dress like him, and rap like him.
TUPAC'S DEATH
Tupac changed the world with his music, and influenced black style forever. Sadly, Tupac's reign came to an end on September 7, 1996, when he was fatally shot by an unknown passenger of a Cadillac Sedan. He was shot once in the thigh, once in the arm, and twice in the chest, with one bullet entering his right lung. On the afternoon of September 13, 1996, after six days in a coma, his mother chose to let him go.
His death is one of the most debated mysteries to this day. His killer was never found or convicted.
Though his life was short, he made a great legacy for himself by acting in movies and releasing songs people could relate to. He continues to inspire people to this day, with old-time rap slowly making a comeback. Tupac is a symbol of black freedom, and justice. Tupac rests in his mother's garden, residing in Stone-Mount, Georgia. Tupac's legacy goes on, as one of the most important and influential black people in history.