Tupac Shakur

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Tupac Amaru Shakur, whose real name Lesane Parish Crooks, born June 16, 1971 in New York1, known by the stage names of 2Pac and Makaveli (in long form Makaveli The Don Killuminati) 2, and died assassinated on September 13, 1996 in Las Vegas is an American rapper, poet and actor3. He is often considered to be one of the greatest rappers of all time4,5. Coming from a family that militated in the ranks of the Black Panthers, Tupac Shakur has more than 75 million albums sold internationally6. Rolling Stone magazine awarded him 86th place in its ranking of the greatest musical artists of all time7. In addition to his musical career, he was a promising actor8 and a socially engaged citizen. Most of 2Pac's songs are about a childhood of violence and misery in the ghettos, racism, social problems and conflicts with other rappers. He campaigned throughout his career for racial egalitarianism9. Shakur was first a roadie and a dancer for the alternative hip-hop group Digital Underground10,11,12. He was then part of the groups Outlawz, Digital Underground and Thug Life. His success largely contributed to the worldwide commercial explosion of rap during the 1990s. His charisma, his flow, his worked words and his untimely death made him one of the major icons of this musical genre: he was one of the artists with the most albums after his death13, and is ranked 8th dead celebrity bringing in the most money in 2007, notably ahead of James Brown and Bob Marley6. Tupac released his first album, 2Pacalypse Now, in 1991 and made him a major player in West Coast rap during the 1990s14,15. During his career he produced several successful albums like Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. in 1993 and Me Against the World in 199516. That same year, Shakur, who had legal problems, robbery and shootings, came into competition with the
sentenced to imprisonment18. After serving eleven months of his sentence, he was released on bail paid by Marion "Suge" Knight, CEO of the label Death Row Records. In exchange for Suge's help, Shakur agreed to record two albums for the Death Row. On September 7, 1996, Shakur was again the target of shots, but this time, fatal, during a shootout while driving in Las Vegas. After being taken to a city hospital, he died of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest on September 13, 1996.19 His life, his success, his problems with the justice system and his murder at the height of his glory contributed to his status as a street poet, mysterious and melancholy and made Tupac a cultural icon.