Makaveli – Hail Mary

Rappers of the 1990s found 2Pac to be one of the most intriguing and successful due to his unabashed threat, magnetic star power, and innate ability to appeal to both hedonists and revolutionaries. Decades after his sad demise, these attributes—combined with his frequently copied but never duplicated flow—have given him a lasting effect on hip-hop. With an appearance on the group’s Top Ten R&B/hip-hop track “Same Song,” 2Pac made his debut as an auxiliary member of Digital Underground in 1991. By the end of the year, he had established himself as a firebrand thanks to his critically praised solo debut, 2Pacalypse Now. His breakthrough performance in the criminal drama Juice, the first of many significant acting roles, came at the end of 1992. Within a short period of time, 2Pac amassed a variety of Top 20 pop hits, ranging from “I Get Around” and “Keep Ya Head Up” to “Dear Mama” and the number-one single “California Love.” He also concurrently released a string of platinum full-length albums, including Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. (1993), Me Against the World (1995), and All Eyez on Me (1996). It was shocking to learn of his murder in September 1996, even with his stormy life. With the support of more than six Top Ten posthumous albums, an entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (2017), and the Emmy-nominated documentary miniseries Dear Mama (2023), 2Pac’s legacy has grown enormously.

There is an EP release today.
Tupac Amaru Shakur, the son of two Black Panthers, was born in New York City. Since his parents divorced before he was born, he and his sister spent a large portion of their early years traveling the nation with their revolutionary mother, Afeni. Although Shakur’s family was sometimes impoverished, as a youngster she was accepted to the esteemed Baltimore School of the Arts. His artistic side blossomed at the school, when he started acting and writing raps. At the age of seventeen, his family relocated to Marin City, California, before he could complete his education. He lived on the streets and started hustling during the ensuing years. He eventually got to know Digital Underground’s boss, Shock-G. He was hired by the Oakland-based crew as a roadie and dancer, and while on tour with the group, he worked on his own compositions. Shakur made his debut as 2Pac on “Same Song,” a number seven R&B/hip-hop hit off the group’s This Is an EP Release, in January 1991. In October of that year, he also made an appearance on their second full-length album, Sons of the P. After a month, 2Pac signed with Interscope Records and released his solo debut, 2Pacalypse Now. With the support of the single “Brenda’s Got a Baby,” which peaked at number 23 on the R&B/hip-hop chart, the album eventually earned gold, peaking at number 63 on the Billboard 200. Vice-President Dan Quayle garnered additional attention for his criticism of the song “Soulja’s Story” lyrics during his reelection campaign in that particular year.

Due to his critical praise for his performance in the Ernest Dickerson film Juice, 2Pac was able to secure a lead role in John Singleton’s Poetic Justice the following year. A platinum recording, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. was 2Pac’s second album when the movie opened in theaters. It peaked at number four on the R&B/hip-hop chart (number 24 on the Billboard 200) and gave rise to the Top Ten R&B/hip-hop singles “I Get Around” and “Keep Ya Head Up,” which peaked at numbers 11 and 12, respectively, on the Hot 100. He starred in the basketball film Above the Rim at the end of 1993.

2Pac started having significant run-ins with the law as he started to sell records and receive positive reviews for both his acting and music. He was involved in a number of criminal and civil issues and was convicted of sexual assault in 1994. Three men robbed, battered, and shot him the day before the verdict was made public. He was in the lobby of a recording studio in New York City. 2Pac was given a prison term ranging from 18 months to 4 and a half years in February 1995. He started serving his time later that same month. In March, Me Against the World, his third album, was released while he was incarcerated. With the record debuting at number one on the Billboard 200, 2Pac became the first artist to reach the top of the list while incarcerated. He claimed that Andre Harrell, Puffy Combs, the Notorious B.I.G., and his own close buddy Randy “Stretch” Walker were responsible for planning his New York shooting while he was incarcerated. Suge Knight, the president of Death Row Records, negotiated for 2Pac’s parole and paid his bond, thus the rapper only spent eight months of his sentence. By year’s end, 2Pac had been released from prison and was working on his Death Row debut. 2Pac, meanwhile, was nominated for his first two Grammy Awards. candidates for Best Rap Solo Performance included the number nine pop smash “Dear Mama,” and Me Against the World, one of the candidates for Best Rap Album.

Hip-hop history’s first double-disc of original content was 2Pac’s Death Row debut, All Eyez on Me. When it was released in February 1996, it peaked at number one and, by autumn, had earned a quintuple platinum certification. Despite having three more Grammy nominations under his belt, a number one pop single (the Dr. Dre duet “California Love”), another successful album, and a growing tired of hip-hop, 2Pac turned his attention to acting. He finished two movies in the summer of 1996: the dark comedy Gridlock’d, which starred Tim Roth, and the thriller Bullet. Additionally, he recorded a few songs for Death Row, which was rapidly collapsing without Dre as the house producer, and Knight was deeply entangled in illicit operations.

There were hints that 2Pac was thinking of leaving Death Row—and possibly even rap—at the time of his murder in September 1996. Just as the motives behind his shooting are still unknown, none of those explanations can be verified. Riding in Knight’s vehicle, 2Pac was shot four times during an incident in the MGM Grand Las Vegas lobby. After being admitted to the University Medical Center of Southern Nevada, he passed away on September 13, six days later, from his wounds.

Don Killuminati: The Theory of Seven Days
When word leaked out about 2Pac’s demise, hundreds of people showed up at the hospital, and the whole entertainment world lamented his departure. Many thought the tragedy would put a stop to the much-hyped rivalry between West Coast and East Coast hip-hop, but there were no leads in the case. Tragically, the Notorious B.I.G. was killed in a similar manner six months after 2Pac. Following his passing, 2Pac’s popularity grew, leading to a number of Top Ten posthumous albums. Among the initial releases of Don Killuminati were The 7 Day Theory (released in 1996 under the pseudonym Makaveli), R U Still Down? (Remember Me) (1997), and Still I Rise (1999), in addition to the Grammy-nominated Top 40 track “Changes.” Over the next ten years, other albums were released, including Pac’s Life (2006), Better Dayz (2002), Loyal to the Game (2004), and Until the End of Time (2001).

The existence of more than a dozen documentaries serves as another evidence of 2Pac’s enduring influence. The Academy Award-nominated film Tupac: Resurrection and the Emmy-nominated film Dear Mama are two of the most well-known. The latter was an Allen Hughes miniseries that centered on the lives of Afeni Shakur and 2Pac. In addition, 2Pac and Tupac Shakur are the subjects of the Grammy Museum’s All Eyez on Me: The Writings of Tupac Shakur exhibit. An exhibition called Wake Me When I’m Free opened in Los Angeles. Amidst all of these celebrations, 2Pac was given a speech by Snoop Dogg to mark his induction as the first solo rapper into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame in 2017. An indictment and an arrest in relation to 2Pac’s murder did not occur until 2023.