The Mysterious Death of Tupac Shakur

THE CHARACTER

Who was Tupac Shakur? Believe it or not, he was one of his time's most successful and influential artists. 2pac, his stage name, not only performed his art in rapping but also acted, starring in nearly fifty movies! He sang about emotions, struggles, and his beliefs about society's problems. Because of this, he impacted many people involved in the music world. Tupac was born June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, New York City, New York. He was a black male with an African-American ancestry. Most people were able to identify him with his slim build, bald head, which often had a bandana tied around it, and his French goatee. Many people well knew him, as Alan Light, an American journalist, implies in his journal, Tupac Shakur, “Tupac is authentic and larger than life” (Light). As said before, Tupac was an authentic person, and because of this, he was able to gain a large crowd to follow him and his beliefs. In an interview for The Source, Rayven Ferrell, an actress in his movie “All Eyez On Me”, states that “Tupac was willing to sacrifice himself to better the circumstances of others” (Tupac’s Friends Share). Based on Mrs. Ferrell’s statement, Tupac was a selfless individual. His authenticity was not only shown in his empathy for others but also in expressing his own issues in his songs, to let others know they aren’t alone. Along with his authenticity, came much creativity. In this same interview, Ed Lover, another artist, agreed that “His artistry is the reason so many still feel connected to him till this day” (Tupac’s Friends Share). The expressed reality in his art drew many people, not only to his work, but to him as well.Tupac Shakur was a bold and courageous guy. He experienced many struggles during his short-lived life, and was able to willingly express them through his music. He wrote about the struggles of his Black community in his song “Who Do You Believe In?”, the false image that he received in his song “Pain”, and many more. He faced the feeling of depression because of his community and conflicts and expressed them in his song “Death Around the Corner”. He was a hard-working individual. Among his struggles, he showed strength and dedication to find success out of negative situations.​In an interview for the New York Times, Allison Samuels explains that Tupac was born into a “nomadic” lifestyle (Off The Record). He moved around the cities of New York until finally settling in Baltimore, finding his love for acting. Shortly after, he and his family moved to Oakland, California where he unfortunately watched his mother start to use drugs and slowly lose herself. According to Samuels, because of this tragedy, he ended up on the streets selling crack to earn money (Off The Record). This small act had a huge impact on his future. Tupac was involved in 6 arrests for various charges, although most were dismissed for being false accusations (Montaldo). As most people don’t realize most of his charges were false, many still describe him as a “thug” or “gangster”, especially with the history of his parents being involved in the Black Panther Party. With the courageous act of Shakur singing about controversial topics, he was at risk with the community and crowd he was surrounded by.Tupac didn’t start out with all of the substanial needs in life. He had a hard time moving schools and dealing with his mother, who had just got realeased from jail, and had started doing illegal gestures immediately after. Growing up poor, while also not having a stable home life, affected him to have to work diligently on his goals to achieve what he wanted. He found his love for music and acting, so he was able to gradually move up the scale and increase his talent to get to where he was. He ended up being very successful in his area of work because of his dedication. So, while there are multiple aspects that went into Shakur’s life, he turned out to be an authentic, hard-working, and selfless individual. He took many people’s feelings into consideration and believed in doing the right thing.