What would 2Pac do?

In the face of soaring racial disparities worsened by the ravages of a pandemic, I often think of Tupac Shakur

In “What would 2Pac do?” I would like to examine the current state of America through the lens of the inimitable 2Pac. What follows is part one of a three-part series on the life and music of Tupac Shakur.

Tupac (2Pac or Pac) Shakur was a rapper, actor, and icon of the 1990s. Widely considered one of the greatest rappers of all time, Tupac melded the gangsta and the gentle, the militant and the mild. His music was raw and expressive, examining the many complex, and sometimes contradictory, facets of his being: the belligerent warrior (“Ambitionz Az a Ridah”), the loving soul (“Dear Mama”), the contemplative social activist (“White Man’z World”), the consummate player (“How Do U Want It”), and the sagacious street veteran (“Tradin War Stories”). Sadly, Tupac met his untimely end at the tender age of 25, stricken by the gunfire of a drive-by shooter. His story was one of triumph and tragedy—a story that I would like to examine in this series to inform our understanding of contemporary America. I tend to believe that Pac would have plenty to say if he were still with us today.

I can’t remember exactly when I first heard a 2Pac song. He died shortly after I was born, but I seem to recall hearing his music on the radio or MTV in my early life. In any case, I came to hear many of his most famous tracks as my years—and those after Tupac’s death—grew in number. “California Love” and “Keep Ya Head Up” likely filtered into my musical selections through Pandora, as did “Changes” and “All Eyez on Me.” By high school, I was an unabashed fan; in a scholarship essay for a college I had been considering, I indicated Pac as the historical figure (living or dead) whom I would most like to share a lunch with. I didn’t get that scholarship.

However, the time I took in learning about Tupac’s story endeared him more to me than simply listening to his music had previously. He had a richness of person and an intricacy that appealed to me. Pac was an incendiary and a balm. He was genuine and open, but he never shied from playing a character. Tupac represented the struggles of street life and the allure of celebrity. And he was a global superstar searching for peace in his troubled mind. In short, Tupac had a fascinating life. It was by no means perfect—none of ours are—but it was a story worthy of retelling, which I will endeavor (in part) to do ahead.

Tupac was born on June 16, 1971, to Afeni Shakur in Harlem, New York. He was born Lesane Parish Crooks, but Tupac’s mother changed his given name to Tupac Amaru after joining the Black Panther party. Shakur's namesake, Túpac Amaru II, was an 18th-century Peruvian insurgent who led a popular, but ultimately unsuccessful, indigenous uprising against the Spanish, costing Amaru II his life. In retrospect, it seemed eerily fitting that Afeni would christen her son with a revolutionary name, only for him to take on an often radical mantle and meet a similar fate.

Photo by Benedikt Geyer on Unsplash

Tupac’s father, Billy Garland (another Panther), left from his life when Tupac was five years old. Afeni also gave birth to a daughter named Sekyiwa, whose father was Mutulu Shakur—the inspiration for Tupac’s surname. Like Garland, Mutulu was a Black Panther. And, like Garland, he soon left Afeni, too. Tupac emerged fatherless for a second time—a theme that would later present in Tupac’s music. However, though Pac’s experiences with a father figure were limited, he knew an extended family in the Black Panther Party. Tupac later expressed his admiration for the organization (and, more broadly, his Black countrymen) in this poem called “Can U C the Pride in the Panther”:

Can u c the pride in the pantha
as he glows in splendor and grace
Toppling OBSTACLES placed in the way
of the progression of his race

Can u c the pride in the Pantha
as she nurtures her young all alone
The seed must grow regardless
of the fact that it's planted in stone

CAN'T u c the Pride in the panthas
as they unify as one
The flower blooms with brilliance
and outshines the ray of the Sun

Tupac grew into a man while buttressed by the ideals of Black radical thought and free expression. Afeni had chosen his upbringing to intertwine with a fight for Black liberation; the Black Panthers were among the most influential Black Power groups of the 20th century. Some of Pac’s close relatives and family friends also participated in the Black Liberation Army—an underground revolutionary organization dedicated to engaging the United States in asymmetrical warfare—including his step-father, Mutulu Shakur. Mutulu remains incarcerated for charges stemming from the robbery of an armored car and murder of two police officers in 1981.

In that sense, it could be said that Tupac resembled the tragic hero Achilles: bathed in the River Styx, destined for a warrior’s path. But that soldier’s upbringing camouflaged a delicate and earnest soul. Tupac’s family moved from New York to Baltimore in 1984; three years later, Tupac attended the Baltimore School for the Arts (BSA), where he excelled at acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. Classmates and teachers described him as possessing an unyielding magnetism, incredible acting talent, and an attunement to the plight of the marginalized—particularly those of Baltimore’s poor Black communities. Pac flourished at BSA, composing poems, starring in plays, and effortlessly flowing in informal rap battles around the school. It was there that he met a young actress-to-be, Jada Pinkett (Smith), whom he would remain friends with for the rest of his short life.

Yet all was not well in Tupac’s world. Though he and his family had moved to Baltimore to escape a life of turbulence—they had previously bounced around homes, sometimes living in shelters—Afeni’s crack cocaine addiction grew increasingly debilitating after their arrival. Tupac worked nights and weekends at a restaurant to support his family and often sheltered overnight with friends. And in 1988, Tupac’s senior year, the time came for the Shakur family to move again: this time to Marin City, California. It was in California that Tupac catapulted into stardom.

The next issue will cover Tupac’s meteoric rise to global prominence.