2Pac

Tupac Amaru Shakur, commonly known as 2Pac was an American artist famous for his music, rap, acting as also for his active involvement in social issues.

Born on 16th June, 1971, 2Pac was also known as ’Makaveli’ or ’Pac’. He has also received recognition as the "best selling hip-hop artist" from ’The Guinness Book of World Records’. 2Pac’s songs had an underlying message of racism, societal problems, spats with fellow rappers and growing up around violence. 2Pac was part of the alternative rap group ’Digital Underground’ as a "roadie" and a "backup" dancer. ’2Pacalypse Now’, his debut album, earned him critical acclaim as well as backlash for its lyrics. He was also a member of the group ’Thug Life’. 2Pac starred as ’Bishop’ in the movie ’Juice’ for which he was hailed by Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers as "the films most magnetic figure". He had an illustrious movie career having starred in many films. 2Pac was also faced with legal issues, which led to his serving time in prison. He scripted a screen play ’Live to Tell’ while in prison. On 7th September, 1996, 2Pac was shot in a ’drive-by’ shooting; he received 4 gunshot wounds which resulted in cardiac arrest and respiratory failure causing his death.

2Pac legacy continues to live on through "Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation" set up by his mother. A documentary known as ’Tupac: Resurrection’ was released on 14th November 2003 and in 2005 ’Tupac Shakur Legacy’, DVD was released, showing the final performance of 2Pac. On 21st November, 2006 the album ’Pac’s Life’ was released.

More than a decade after his death, 2Pac still continues to be one of the most popular rap artists in the world today.