Tupac was born to Afeni Shakur, June 16th 1971. His birth name, Lesane Parish Crooks, was changed shortly after his birth to Tupac Amaru Shakur. Tupac Amaru meaning ‘Shining Serpent’, and Shakur meaning ‘Thankful to God’ in Arabic. Two years after his birth, Afeni Shakur gave birth to Tupac’s half sister Sekyiwa. However, shortly before, the father of Sekyiwa - a Black Panther - was sentenced to 60 years for a fatal armoured car robbery. It was at this point Tupac’s ‘Thug Life’ really began. His mother was addicted to crack, and they were moving all the time. Tupac never got the chance to ‘fit it’. A line from Dear Mama reads, “I shed tears with my baby sister, over the years we was poorer than the other little kids.” Growing up around such poverty without a man to guide him, Tupac had to learn to walk on his own. His childhood the was reason he became who he was. Having to deal with all his struggles by himself, seeing the things he did he had no one to sympathize - which is probably the reason he was so sensitive. Tupac existed in Solitude even as a child, until he discovered his love for acting, writing and poetry. “When I was young, I was quiet, withdrawn. I read a lot. I wrote poetry. I kept a diary. I watched TV all the time. I stayed in front of the television. And I could see all these people out there in this pretend world. And I knew I could be part of it if I pretended too. The way Arnold looked on Diff’rent Strokes, I used to like the lifestyle, the way he used to live. So early on, I just watched and emulated. I thought if I can be an actor and act like those characters, I could have some of their joy.” Tupac stated the above in the DVD: Tupac Resurrection. At the age of 12, he discovered rather than keeping all his thoughts and emotions to himself, he could share them through poetry, or perhaps emulate other character’s emotions through acting. Tupac’s first acting job was at the Apollo Theatre, as Travis from Raisin in the Sun. He claimed the feeling that rushed to him as the curtains were lifted was better than anything. I was like, “Whoa, this is it.” Tupac attended The Baltimore School for the Performing Arts where he studied Acting and Ballet after his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, as a result of his mother losing her job in new York. At the time, Baltimore had the highest rate for black killings in the country. This was when Tupac was really exposed to poverty. “I was living in the ghetto. We didn’t have lights and electricity.” At the age of 15 he discovered his love for rap music, and writing lyrics. As MC New York, he wrote his first rap. His family moved to California to escape the violence, but was exposed to more poverty. At this point Tupac began hanging with the wrong crowd. He didn’t have enough credits to graduate, so he dropped out. He needed a way to make money, so he tried selling drugs. But instead, the drug dealers used to give him money and tell him, “Don’t get involved with this. Get out there, do your dream.”

This article was written by Luke Kirk. To find out more about Tupac Shakur, visit: Tupac Shrine - The home for dedicated Tupac fans!