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The Life and Legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur
The following timeline is based on the life of raps most talented musicians, Tupac Amar Shakur. The topics mention include his education, music carrer, and personal matters. -
Tupac is born
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City.He was named after Túpac Amaru II, a Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and was subsequently executed. -
Tupac enrolls in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble
At the age of twelve, Shakur enrolled in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble and was cast as the Travis Younger character in the play A Raisin in the Sun, which was performed at the Apollo Theater. -
Family moves to Maryland
The family relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. -
Tupac enrolls in the Baltimore School for the Arts
After completing his second year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School he transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays, and in the role of the Mouse King in The Nutcracker.Shakur, accompanied by one of his friends, Dana "Mouse" Smith, as his beatbox, won most of the many rap competitions that he participated in and was considered to be the best rapper in his school. -
The Shakur family moves to Marin City, California
In June 1988, Shakur and his family moved to Marin City, California, a community of mainly housing projects located 5 miles (8.0 km) north of San Francisco, where he attended Tamalpais High School in nearby Mill Valley. -
Tupac attended poetry classes
He began attending the poetry classes of Leila Steinberg in 1989. -
Tupac gets signed to Digital Underground
That same year, Steinberg organized a concert with a former group of Shakur's, Strictly Dope; the concert led to him being signed with Atron Gregory who set him up as a roadie and backup dancer with the young rap group Digital Underground in 1990. -
Lawsuit over alleged police brutality
In October 1991, he filed a $10 million civil suit against the law enforcement of the Oakland Police Department, alleging they brutally beat him for jaywalking. -
Tupac releases first solo album
2Pacalypse Now is the debut studio album by American rapper Tupac Shakur, released on November 12, 1991.
Though less polished than his later studio albums, 2Pacalypse Now is 2Pac's most overtly political work. In it, he addresses contemporary social issues facing American society, such as racism, police brutality, poverty, and teenage pregnancy, some issues giving a lyrical glimpse into the world of a young black man on the urban streets of the United States. -
Shooting incident in Marin City
Shakur performed at an outdoor festival, and stayed for an hour afterwards signing autographs and pictures. Some earlier negative remarks made by Shakur about Marin City led to a confrontation where the rapper drew a Colt Mustang, and accidentally dropped it. When being recovered from the ground a bullet discharged. Though nobody in the crowd was injured by the gunshot, about 100 yards away, a 6 year old child named Qa'id Walker-Teal was hit and killed by a bullet. -
Tupac releases Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
His second record, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., was released in 1993. The album did better than the previous one debuting on number 24 on the Billboard 200. -
Shooting incident in Atlanta City
Mark and Scott Whitwell, were with their wives celebrating Mrs. Whitwell's recent passing of the state bar examination. As they crossed the street, a car with Shakur inside passed by them or "almost struck them," after which the Whitwells began an altercation with the driver, Shakur and the other passengers, which was then joined by a second passing car. Shakur shot one officer in the buttocks, and the other in the leg, back, or abdomen, according to varying news reports. -
Rape charge
Shakur claimed that he fell asleep shortly after the woman arrived and later awoke to her accusations and legal threats. In the ensuing trial, Shakur was convicted of sexual abuse. In sentencing Shakur to 1½–4½ years in prison, the judge described the crime as "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman." -
Thug Life releases Thug Life: Volume 1
In late 1993, Shakur formed the group Thug Life with a number of his friends, including Big Syke, Macadoshis, his stepbrother Mopreme Shakur, and Rated R. The group released their only album Thug Life: Volume 1 on September 26, 1994, which went gold. The album featured the single "Pour Out a Little Liquor" produced by Johnny "J" Jackson, who went on to produce a large part of Shakur's album All Eyez on Me. The group usually performed their concerts without Shakur. -
November 1994 shooting
The day before the verdict in his sexual abuse trial was to be announced, Shakur was shot five times and robbed after entering the lobby of Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan by two armed men in army fatigues. He would later accuse Sean Combs, Andre Harrell, and Biggie Smalls—whom he saw after the shooting—of setting him up. Shakur also suspected his close friend and associate, Randy "Stretch" Walker, of being involved in the attempt. -
Wrongful Death Suit
In 1995, a wrongful death suit was brought against Shakur by Qa'id's mother. Ballistics tests proved the bullet that killed the boy was not from Shakur's or any members of his entourage's gun. Shakur's attorney stated that the festival was a "nasty situation," and his client was saddened by the death of the young boy. Shakur's record company settled the lawsuit for an undisclosed amount, reportedly between $300,000 and $500,000. -
Prison sentence
Shakur began serving his prison sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility on February 14, 1995. While serving his sentence, he married his long-time girlfriend, Keisha Morris, on April 4, 1995; the couple later divorced in 1996.hile imprisoned, Shakur read many books by Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu's The Art of War and other works of political philosophy and strategy. -
Tupac releases, Me Against the World
The real commercial success of Tupac Shakur began with his third album titled Me Against the World which debuted on top of the Billboard 200 and sold two million copies. -
Tupac releases All Eyez o Me
His following album, All Eyez on Me, was Tupac's biggest commercial success. The album debuted at number 1 and has sold 9 million copies to date and is considered among the best rap albums of all time. The rest of the six albums of Tupac were released after his death. Four of these albums have been certified multi-platinum and three of them topped the Billboard 200 while all of these topped the US R&B charts. Tupac's greatest hit album has sold over 10 million copies in US and is certified Diamo -
Tupac releases Hit Em' Up
On June 4, 1996, he and Outlawz released the diss track "Hit 'Em Up", a scathing lyrical assault on Biggie and others associated with him. In the track, Shakur claimed to have had sexual intercourse with Faith Evans, Biggie's wife at the time, and attacks Bad Boy's street credibility. Though no hard evidence suggests so, Shakur was convinced that some members associated with Bad Boy had known about the '94 attack on him beforehand due to their behavior that night and what his sources told him. -
Makaveli releases The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory
While incarcerated in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur read and studied Niccolò Machiavelli and other published works, which inspired his pseudonym "Makaveli" under which he released the album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. The album presents a stark contrast to previous works. Throughout the album, Shakur continues to focus on the themes of pain and aggression, making this album one of the emotionally darker works of his career. -
September 1996 shooting and death
At approximately 11:15 pm, a white, four-door, late-model Cadillac with an unknown number of occupants pulled up to the sedan's right side, rolled down one of the windows, and rapidly fired a volley of gunshots at Shakur; bullets hit him in the chest, pelvis, and his right hand and thigh. One of the rounds apparently ricocheted into Shakur's right lung.Suge was hit in the head by fragmentation, though it is thought that a bullet grazed him. -
Shakur is inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame
Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002. -
Tupac is named No.6 of the '100 immortal artists of all time'
In a 2005 Rolling Stone magazine vote, Tupac was named No.6 of the '100 immortal artists of all time' behind the likes of Elvis Presley and John Lennon. -
Shakur is inducted to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry
On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Shakur was inducted to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry.
