Tupac - Son of Black Panther Activists

Tupac is known as the son of Black Panther activists. Tupac Shakur was only raised by his mother Afeni Shakur, and had not had any contact with his father, Billy Garland, until he became an adult. Afeni originally named Tupac Lesane Parish Crooks, but was soon changed to Tupac Amaru Shakur by his mother. "Tupac Amaru" means "shining serpent." Tupac’s mom had changed his name because Tupac had a difficult childhood, moving frequently around in the New York City boroughs of Brooklyn and the Bronx. Tupac Shakur received an education in radical politics from his mother, but he also saw some of life's rough edges through her struggles with substance abuse. During Tupac’s teen years, he attended the Baltimore School for the Arts. While at this school he enrolled in acting and dance classes, including ballet. When Tupac lived in Baltimore, he discovered rap and began performing as MC New York. Tupac and his family eventually moved out to the West Coast in the late 1980s. Upon arriving in Oakland, California, he joined the Oakland, California-based hip-hop group Digital Underground. Tupac made his first appearances on two of the group’s recording before leaving and going solo. 2Pac became very popular, earning praise for his musical and acting talent. However, there were some people who condemned him for his explicit, violent lyrics. 2Pac has numerous amount of songs that promote fights, gangs, and sex. In the 1990s Tupac seemed to be living up to his aggressive gangsta rap persona due to the several arrests for violent offenses. Tupac Shakur died while on a trip to Las Vegas to watch a boxing match. Tupac was shot while riding in a car driven by someone else on September 7, 1996. Six days later, Tupac died at the age of 25 never finding his killer. Ever since Tupac passed away, many of his albums have been released, selling millions of copies.