Ahead of the release of Last Man Standing, we’ve put together some essential facts about legendary rap icon Tupac Shakur, who would have been 50 this 16th June.
tupac’s last name means “thankful”
The rapper’s name descends from the Incas of Peru and the Arabic language. Túpac Amaru was the last leader of Peru’s Incan Empire and the name translates to “shining serpent.” “Shakur” comes from Arabic origins and means “thankful” or “appreciative.” (source: Biography.com)
tupac and biggie were both from New York
Tupac was born in East Harlem, New York City. This may seem surprising as he later helped to fuel a deadly feud between the East Coast and West Coast, with Biggie repping the former and Tupac the latter. He moved to California in 1988.
his parents were black panthers members
Shakur learned about the politics of the Black Panther Party and the associated Black Liberation Army at an early age from his mother and her friends, many of whom were imprisoned or otherwise targeted by the government for their beliefs.
His godfather, Elmer Pratt, another Black Panther, was convicted of murdering a bystander during a robbery and his sentence was later overturned. His stepfather, Mutulu Shakur was on the FBI’s Most Wanted list from 1982-1986 for helping his sister, Assata Shakur escape from a New Jersey prison, where she was imprisoned for killing a state trooper. Mutulu was eventually caught and jailed for the robbery of an armored truck that resulted in the death of a guard and two police officers. (Source: cheatsheet.com)
he had harsh words for Donald Trump
In a unreleased interview with MTV Pac said: "Everybody’s taught that. You wanna be successful? You wanna be like Trump? Gimme gimme gimme, push push push push, step step step, crush crush crush. That’s how it all is… It’s too much money here. Nobody should be hitting the lotto for 36 million and we’ve got people starving in the streets. That’s not idealistic, that’s just real. That’s just stupid… There’s no way that these people should own planes and there are people who don’t have houses." (Source: Capital Extra).
he came back as a hologram
Although the rap legend died in 1996, he returned to the stage at the 2012 Coachella Music Festival via hologram. Tupac's hologram is one of several digitally projected deceased stars like Michael Jackson, Ol' Dirty Bastard and Easy-E. His hologram and music sales continue to generate major earnings posthumously. (source: Biography.com)
he adopted (another) new name
Shakur’s fifth and final studio album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, commonly shortened to The 7 Day Theory, was released in August 1996. The album was released under his new stage name- “Makaveli.” The album went 4x Platinum and is recognized as one of the greatest albums in the hip hop history. (Source: Oh Fact).
he predicted: “i will spark the brain that will change the world”
In one of his most extraordinary interviews Tupac ever gave, with MTV in 1994, the rapper came out with the line that would go on to be the most quoted Tupac statement of all time: "I'm not saying I'm going to rule the world or I'm going to change the world. But I guarantee I will spark the brain that will change the world. That's our job – to spark somebody else watching us." (Source: Capital Extra).
he was a shakespeare fan
While studying at the Baltimore School of Performing Arts, Tupac fell in love with Shakespeare’s literature, which also influenced his work. Tupac said he loved the way Shakespeare had depicted the inter-gang wars and inter-cultural conflict in his dramas (Source: Oh Fact).
