
Tupac Amaru Shakur (1971–1996), better known by his stage name 2Pac and later by his alias Makaveli, was an American rapper, poet, activist, songwriter, revolutionary and he is considered a symbol of struggle and activism against inequality.
He was a great reader, he loved to create parallels between the works of authors such as Plato, Niccolò Machiavelli and William Shakespeare with the dynamics of the boys of the black ghettos, re-proposing it’s artistic, philosophical, poetic and literary characteristics.
Chuck Philips, Pulitzer Prize-winning music journalist, said in 2002: “Shakur had helped elevate rap from a street fashion to a complex art form, setting the stage for today’s hip hop global phenomenon”. One of the most eloquent voices in modern music.” A ghetto poet whose tales of urban alienation have fascinated people of all ages, races and backgrounds. “
Justin Cohen for Hilltop (Washington’s Howard University newspaper) “Pac did more for for the lives of millions of black people than any president before or after his existence and his most significant impact comes from the stream of consciousness provided by his music.”
“Tupac upset the established order: he had a great political, social and cultural impact. In addition to becoming an essential, indisputable, poetic and unique artist, he has risen to the pedestal of myths, revolutionaries and civil rights fighters. He was the Shakespearean Malcolm x of his generation who has prepared us for the world that awaited us in this century. “Bárbara Pistoia, Argentine academic scholar at the University of Buenos Aires.
Calling him an “organic intellectual,” Harvard academic scholar Mark Anthony Neal assessed his death as leaving a “leadership vacuum among hip-hop artists,” as this “walking contradiction” helps, he explained. Neal, “making being an intellectual accessible to ordinary people.” The papers presented cover his ranging influence from entertainment to sociology.” According to Neal: “Tupac’s bookstore was really the bookstore of a young man who, at his age, was extraordinarily well-read and well-rounded intellectual.”
As the academic scholar Vildana Muratovic of the University of Sarajevo described, the rapper has become a symbol of rebellion in Serbia, Croatia and Bosnia and Herzegovina, and in other countries of eastern europe as well.
2Pac – All Eyez On Me – YouTube
As Norwegian University of Oslo professor and academic Knut Aukrust puts it: “Tupac Amaru Shakur (1971-1996) is one of the most famous representatives of hip-hop culture. He has become an icon with saint status far beyond fans. References to him and his message appear all over the world, from Barack Obama’s “change” slogan, to Palestinians and Israelis longing for peace in the Middle East, to the people of Groruddalen (Norway) who want their experiences to be taken on board serious. The course highlights how a single person can fit into a wider network of cultural models and how a local storytelling tradition has become an international cultural phenomenon. “
Tupac still remains influential today because he defied every possible stereotype. He broke into American music when the young black man was demonized, Tupac appeared as an unexpected hero. The peculiarity of Tupac is that he was an exceptional poet – and his lyrics contained emotional depth, his single Dear Mama was one of the first rap songs kept in the Library of Congress. He managed to become an unclassifiable artist, who could not be pigeonholed either as a tough or as a delicate artist. Framed by a romantic tradition, thanks to his activism and musical talent, Tupac has been able to transform civil rights struggles into popular music. ” Nicolás Prados Ortiz de Solórzano, Spanish academic scholar.
There have been rap exhibitions with him among the protagonists at museums in Finland and Japan. Commemorations were held in his honor in Azerbaijan, Iran, Kazakhstan, Bangladesh and a musical was dedicated to him in 2020 in South Korea.
As Prestholdt (Oxford academic specializing in African history, Indian Ocean and global history with a focus on culture and politics): “Tupac Shakur became a widely used symbol during the civil war in Sierra Leone. He was also a symbol in some places like the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the Ivory Coast and Libya. Became a lodestar for Multiple Rebel Factions, Revolutionary United Front Used Tupac T-Shirts as Uniforms. There was a “sense of disillusionment” after the Cold War, a loss of meaning, which Shakur was able to grasp. His message about systemic oppression and poverty attracted many, even those whose experiences were very different from his own. He has become a symbol of possibility from South Africa to the South Pacific. Shakur has offered poignant criticisms of contemporary inequalities. The militant factions of many civil wars of the world have embraced Shakur as an inspirational figure and incorporated his music into their daily reality. “
Steven Gilbers, academic linguistics scholar at the University of Groningen in the Netherlands: “2pac changed his accent by moving to the West coast. He had a melodic and rhythmic flow with an incredible delivery.”
“Tupac Shakur was one of the most iconic figures of the 1900s. For this reason 2Pac still enjoys great recognition globally. His music, his activism and his cultural influence are still relevant today all over the world. “Nelson Rodriguez Vega, Chilean academic scholar at the Pontifical Catholic University of Chile.
“Tupac, like Martin Luther King and Malcolm x, was martyred, his music and activism had that impact. ” Michael Eric Dyson, Georgetown University professor and academic.
in 2005 all of his personal data was entered in the national archives and in the American constitution for his influence in music, activism, and in other areas of culture, as well as having other honors. He was one of the most influential artists, men, poets, intellectuals, activists and revolutionaries of the 1900s.
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Tupac Amaru Shakur (/ˈtuːpɑːk ʃəˈkʊər/ TOO-pahk shə-KOOR; born Lesane Parish Crooks; June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. He is widely considered one of the most influential and successful rappers of all time.
Shakur is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide. Much of Shakur’s music has been noted for addressing contemporary social issues that plagued inner cities, and he is considered a symbol of activism against inequality
Shakur was born in New York City to parents who were both political activists and Black Panther Party members. Raised by his mother, Afeni Shakur, he relocated to Baltimore in 1984 and to the San Francisco Bay Area in 1988. With the release of his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991, he became a central figure in West Coast hip hop for his conscious rap lyrics. Shakur achieved further critical and commercial success with his follow-up albums Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z… (1993) and Me Against the World (1995).
His Diamond certified album All Eyez on Me (1996), the first double-length album in hip-hop history, abandoned his introspective lyrics for volatile gangsta rap. In addition to his music career, Shakur also found considerable success as an actor, with his starring roles in Juice (1992), Poetic Justice (1993), Above the Rim (1994), Bullet (1996), Gridlock’d (1997), and Gang Related (1997).
During the later part of his career, Shakur was shot five times in the lobby of a New York recording studio and experienced legal troubles, including incarceration.
In 1995, Shakur served eight months in prison on sexual abuse charges, but was released pending an appeal of his conviction. Following his release, he signed to Marion “Suge” Knight’s label Death Row Records and became heavily involved in the growing East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times by an unidentified assailant in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas; he died six days later. Following his murder, Shakur’s friend-turned-rival, the Notorious B.I.G., was at first considered a suspect due to their public feud; he was also murdered in another drive-by shooting six months later in March 1997, while visiting Los Angeles.
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