Books:
s!
Timeline of Tupac's Life1968
September:
Tupac's mother, Afeni Shakur, joins the New York Black Panther
Party at age 22.
1969
April:
Afeni is arrested and charged with conspiracy to bomb several
public areas in New York City. While out on bail,
Afeni courts two men: Legs, a local hood, and Billy,
a member of the party.1971
February:
Afeni, pregnant with Tupac, has her bail revoked; she's sent to
the Women's House of Detention in Greenwich Village.1971
June 16th:
Shortly after his mom is acquitted on bombing charges,
Tupac Amaru Shakur is born in New York.
Tupac Amaru are Inca Words meaning "shining serpent."
Shakur is Arabic for Thankful to God.1975-1983
Tupac's family shuttles between the Bronx and Harlem,
at times living in shelters.1983
Legs comes to live with the Shakur family;
Tupac "claims" him as his father.
Legs introduces Afeni to Crack.September:
Afeni enrolls 12-year-old Tupac in the 127th Street Ensemble,
a Harlem theater group. In his first performance,
Tupac plays Travis in a Raisin the Sun.1986
June:
Shakur's family moves to Baltimore;.
As MC New York Tupac writes his first rap.September:
Tupac enrolls at the Baltimore School for the Arts,
where he studies ballet and acting.1988
June:
Tupac and his family move to Marine City, California
"Leaving that school affected me so much," he said later.
"I see that as the point where I got off track." Shortly after,
Tupac moves in with a neighbor and begins selling drugs.Augest:
Mutulu Shakur, Tupac's stepfather, is sentenced
to sixty years in prison for his involvement in a
1981 armored-car robbery.1990
Tupac joins Digital Underground as a rodie/dancer/rapper.
While on tour, he learns that his mother is using crack.1991
January 3rd:
Tupac makes his recording debut on DU's.
This is an E.P. ReleaseNovember 12th:
2Pacaplypse Now is released. Shorty thereafter, Tupac files
a $10 million lawsuit against the Oakland police for
alleged brutality following an arrest for jaywalking.
1992
January 17th:
Tupac makes his big-screen debut in Ernest Dickerson's Juice,
earning praise for his portrayal of Bishop. He is
perhaps best remembered for the line
"I am crazy, and I don't give a f-ck!"April 11th:
Ronald Ray Howard, 19, shoots a Texas trooper.
Howard's attorney claims 2Pacalypse Now,
which was in his client's tape deck, incited him to kill.Augest 22nd:
Tupac has an altercation with old acquaintances in Marine City.
A 6 year old bystander is shot in the head.
Tupac's half brother, Maurice Harding is arrested but
released due to lack of evidence.September 22nd:
Tupac is denounced by Vice President Dan Quayle,
who says 2Pacalypse Now "has no place in our society."1993
February 1st:
Strictly 4 My NIGGAZ is released and eventually goes platinum.March 13th:
Tupac has a fight with a limo driver in Hollywood who
accuses him of using drugs in the car.
Tupac's arrested but the charges are dropped.April 5th:
Tupac is arrested in Lansing Michigan, for taking a swing
at a local rapper with a baseball bat during a concert.
He's sentenced to 10 days in jail.July 23rd:
John Singleton's Poetic Justice, starring Tupac and
Janet Jackson, is released. Before filming began,
Jackson demanded Shakur take an HIV test before
she would do any kissing scenes.October 21st:
Tupac is arrested for allegedly shooting two off-duty
Atlanta police officers who he says were
harassing a black motorist.
Charges are eventually dropped.November 18th:
A 19 year old woman, whom Tupac picked up 4
days earlier in a New York nightclub, is allegedly
sodomized and sexually abused by the rapper
and 3 of his friends.December:
John Singleton is forced by Columbia Pictures
to drop the rapper from the cast of his upcoming film,
Higher Learning.1994
March 10th:
Tupac is sentenced to fifteen days in a Los Angeles
jail for punching out director Allen Hughes.
(Hughes and his brother, Albert, had dropped
Tupac from Menace II Society.)March 23rd:
Tupac stars as Birdie, a troubled drug dealer,
in Above the Rim. The soundtrack album,
featuring the song "Pour out a little Liquor,"
recorded by Tupac's group, Thug Life, sells
2 million copies.September 7th:
Two Milwaukee teens murder a police officer
and cite Tupac's "Souljah's Story" as their
inspiration.November 30th:
While on trial for sex and weapons charges,
Tupac is shot five times and robbed of $40,000
worth of jewelry in the lobby of a Times Square
recording studio. Tupac checks himself out of
the hospital less than three hours after surgery.
The case remains unsolved.December 1st:
Tupac is acquitted of sodomy and weapons
charges but is found guilty of sexual abuse.1995
February 14th:
Tupac is sentenced to up to four and a half
years in a maximum security prison, convicted
of touching her bum. He immediately begins
serving his time in New York's Rikers Island
penitentiary.April 1st:
While he's incarcerated, Tupac's third album,
Me Against the World, debuts at no. 1 on
Billboard's pop chart. Fueled by the single
"Dear Mama," the album goes double platinum
in 7 monthsIn a vibe interview from jail, Tupac renounces "Thug Life"
personal and commits himself to positive works.
He also implicates Biggie Smalls, Puffy Combs,
Andre Harrell, and his close friend Stretch, and
others in the recording studio ambush.May:
Shakur married longtime girlfriend, Keisha Morris.
(I ain't sure about this one, so any info would be useful)Augest:
Biggie, Puffy and Harrell tell Vibe, they
had no connection to Tupac's shooting.October:
Death Row Records CEO Suge Knight posts
$1.4 million bond to release Tupac, who
immediately flies to LA, signs with Death Row
and begins recording All Eyez on Me.
November 30th:
Exactly on year after Tupac's shooting, Randy
"Stretch" Walker is murdered execution-style in
Queens.1996
February:
In Vibe Tupac suggests he's been sleeping with
Biggie's wife, Faith Evans. She denies the stories.February 13th:
Tupac's Death Row Debut, All Eyez on Me,
rap's first double CD, is released.March 29th:
Words are exchanged and a gun is pulled when
Death Row and Bad Boy employees face off
after the Soul Train awards in Los Angeles.April 25th:
All Eyez on Me goes quintuple platinum.May:
Tupac and Snoop Doggy Dogg release
"2 of Amerikaz most Wanted." In the video,
caricatures of Biggie and Puffy and punished
for setting up Tupac.June 4th:
Death Row releases Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up,"
a brutal diatribe against Biggie, Bad Boy,
Mobb Deep, and others.September 4th:
Tupac returns to New York for the MTV
music awards and gets into a scuffle.September 7th:
After leaving the Mike Tyson-Bruce Seldon
fight in Las Vegas in Suge Knight's car,
Shakur is shot four times in the chest by
an assailant in a white Cadillac. Knight,
who has connections with the Bloods, escapes
with a minor injury. Shakur is rushed to
University Medical Center, where he undergoes
surgery, including the removal of his right lung.
September 11th:
A Compton man who police say is associated
with the LA Crips is shot to death while sitting in
his car, the first in a series of gang releated murders.
Police begin investigating possible connections to
Tupac's shooting.
Liberty Needs Glasses............................excuse me but lady liberty needs glasses
and so does mrs justice by her side
both the broads r blind as bats
stumbling thru the system
justice bumbed into mutulu and
trippin on geronimo pratt
but stepped right over oliver
and his crooked partner ronnie
justice stubbed her big toe on mandela
and liberty was misquoted by the indians
slavery was a learning phase
forgotten with out a verdict
while justice is on a rampage
4 endangered surviving black males
i mean really if anyone really valued life
and cared about the masses
theyd take em both 2 pen optical
and get 2 pair of glasses
When Ure Hero Falls........................when your hero falls from grace
all fairy tales r uncovered
myths exposed and pain magnified
the greatest pain discovered
u taught me 2 be strong
but im confused 2 c u so weak
u said never 2 give up
and it hurts 2 c u welcome defeat
when ure hero falls so do the stars
and so does the perception of tomorrow
without my hero there is only
me alone 2 deal with my sorrow
your heart ceases 2 work
and your soul is not happy at all
what r u expected 2 do
when ure only hero falls
Jada ...........................u r the omega of my heart
the foundation of my conception of love
when i think of what a black woman should be
its u that i first think ofu will never fully understand
how deeply my heart feels 4 u
i worry that we'll grow apart
and i'll end up losing uu bring me 2 climax without sex
and u do it all with regal grace
u r my heart in human form
a friend i could never replace
In The Depths of Solitude ........................i exist in the depths of solitude
pondering my true goal
trying 2 find peace of mind
and still preserve my soul
constantly yearning 2 be accepted
and from all receive respect
never comprising but sometimes risky
and that is my only regret
a young heart with an old soul
how can there be peace
how can i be in the depths of solitude
when there r 2 inside of me
this duo within me causes
the perfect oppurtunity
2 learn and live twice as fast
as those who accept simplicity
And 2Morrow .........................Today is filled with anger
fueled with hidden hate
scared of being outcast
afraid of common fate
Today is built on tragedies
which no one wants 2 face
nightmares 2 humanities
and morally disgraced
Tonight is filled with rage
violence in the air
children bred with ruthlessness
because no one at home cares
Tonight I lay my head down
but the pressure never stops
knawing at my sanity
content when I am dropped
But 2morrow I c change
a chance 2 build a new
Built on spirit intent of Heart
and ideals
based on truth
and tomorrow I wake with second wind
and strong because of pride
2 know I fought with all my heart 2 keep my
dream alive
Fallen Star .........................They could never understand
what u set out 2 do
instead they chose 2
ridicule u
when u got weak
they loved the sight
of your dimming
and flickering starlight
How could they understand what was so intricate
2 be loved by so many, so intimate
they wanted 2 c your lifeless corpse
this way u could not alter the course
of ignorance that they have set
2 make my people forget
what they have done for much 2 long
2 just forget and carry on
I had loved u forever because of who u r
and now I mourn our fallen starAmbition Over Adversity.....................Take one's adversity
Learn from their misfortune
Learn from their pain
Believe in something
Believe in yourself
Turn adversity into ambition
Now blossom into wealth
The Rose that Grew from Concrete.....................Did you hear about the rose that grew
from a crack in the concrete?
Proving nature's law is wrong it
learned to walk with out having feet.
Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams,
it learned to breathe fresh air.
Long live the rose that grew from concrete
when no one else ever cared.
I Cry......................Sometimes when I'm alone
I Cry,
Cause I am on my own.
The tears I cry are bitter and warm.
They flow with life but take no form
I Cry because my heart is torn.
I find it difficult to carry on.
If I had an ear to confiding,
I would cry among my treasured friend,
but who do you know that stops that long,
to help another carry on.
The world moves fast and it would rather pass by.
Then to stop and see what makes one cry,
so painful and sad.
And sometimes...
I Cry
and no one cares about why.
Can You See the Pride in the Panther .....................Can You See the Pride In the Panther
As he grows in splendor and grace
Topling obstacles placed in the way,
of the progression of his race.
Can You See the Pride In the Panther
as she nurtures her young all alone
The seed must grow regardless
of the fact that it is planted in stone.
Can You See the Pride In the Panthers
as they unify as one.
The flower blooms with brilliance,
and outshines the rays of the sun.In the Eve nt of My Demise......................In the event of my Demise
when my heart can beat no more
I Hope I Die For A Principle
or A Belief that I had Lived 4
I will die Before My Time
Because I feel the shadow's Depth
so much I wanted 2 accomplish
before I reached my Death
I have come 2 grips with the possibility
and wiped the last tear from My eyes
I Loved All who were Positive
In the event of my Demise
