Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known as Tupac was and still is a major influence on Hip Hop music. He was born on June 16, 1971, in Brooklyn, New York. His parents were very active in the Black Panther movement which shaped the way Tupac viewed society. He moved to Baltimore at a young age and was exposed to art schools where dance and poetry were part of the core subjects. Here are some fascinating facts about the artist and his legacy.
Tupac was vocal about the struggles of living in the streets as a young African-American rapper. He would share stories of how it was like living on his block while he had run-ins with the police. His outspoken nature even allowed him to try acting. He played the lead role in Juice. Later on, a documentary was released that focused on his life.
Tupac was extremely hard working and would be writing away and speaking from his heart and soul. Because of his upbringing, he had many lyrics that stemmed from his education and history that would, later on, impact millions of people around the globe. In 1997, he won the award for Favorite Rap Hip/Hop Artist at the American Music Awards. What set Tupac apart from other hip-hop artists of his time was his sharing real experiences with real people. People saw into his craft and appreciated him for his rawness and his ability to stay true to his music and himself.
Despite Tupac Shakur’s tragically short-lived life, his memory still lives on in the hearts of his fans. A lot of hip hop today was heavily influenced by the godfathers of Hip hop such as Biggie and Tupac. They were the original hip-hop artists who only had a vision and a good set of vocal cords to share their stories.