256 Culture, Identity, and Community: From Slavery to the Presentinterest in pursuing acting full-time. In the summer of
1996, he starred in Bullet and began fi lming for Gridlock’d
and Gang Related, the last two of which would be released
aft er his death later that year.
At the time of his death, Tupac was recording his sec-
ond Death Row album. Released eight weeks aft er he died,
Don Kiluminati: Th e 7 Day Th eory was widely seen as an
attempt by Knight to exploit Tupac’s death. More signifi -
cantly, it was released under the alias “Makaveli,” a clear
nod to Italian political theorist Niccolo Machiaveli, who
faked his own death in order to take revenge on his ene-
mies seven days later. Th us, the album was less infl uential
as music than it was in perpetuating the myth that Tupac
still lives.
Tupac’s legal troubles began with his rap career. In 1991,
Tupac fi led a $10 million civil suit against the Oakland Po-
lice, claming he was beaten aft er a jaywalking citation. Th e
suit was settled out of court. In 1992, Tupac’s entourage was
involved in an altercation in Marin City that escalated into
a shootout, leaving a six-year-old child dead from a stray
bullet. Although ballistics cleared him of responsibility, the
child’s family brought a wrongful death suit against him in- Tupac was arrested in 1993 for shooting two off -duty
Atlanta police offi cers whom he saw harassing a black mo-
torist. Th e charges were dropped when it was found that the
offi cers had been drunk and in possession of weapons stolen
from the evidence locker. Later that year, Tupac and several
members of his entourage were charged with sexual assault.
Th ough Tupac admitted to having consensual sex with the
woman several days before, he denied the charges that he
or his entourage gang-raped her when she visited his room,
claiming that he had been asleep. One day prior to being
found guilty on three accounts of molestation, though
found innocent on six greater charges, Tupac was robbed
and shot fi ve times while entering a Manhattan record-
ing studio. In jail, Tupac claimed that Sean “Puff Daddy”
Combs, Biggie Smalls (the Notorious B.I.G.), and Tupac’s
close friend and producer Randy “Stretch” Walker had set
him up. Once released from jail, Tupac recorded “Hit ’Em
Up.” On it Tupac claimed he had slept with Smalls’s wife,
Faith Evans, and publicly accused Smalls of orchestrat-
ing the shooting. Th is altercation sparked the famed East
Coast–West Coast rivalry that ended only aft er the murders
of both Smalls and Tupac.
Tupac Shakur was shot on September 8, 1996, in
Las Vegas, Nevada, following the Tyson–Seldon fi ght at
group, “Strictly Dope.” In 1990, Tupac caught a break when
he was hired as a roadie and backup dancer/rapper for the
Oakland-based rap group Digital Underground. Tupac’s
fi rst appearance on a record came with Digital Under-
ground’s 1991 album Th is Is an EP Release. While on tour,
Tupac also read for the part of Bishop in Ernest Dickerson’s
1992 fi lm Juice, landing the role and launching a short but
successful acting career.
In November of 1991, Tupac released his debut solo
album, 2 Pacalypse Now. Th e album reached number 13
on the Billboard R&B chart, eventually going gold, but
quickly drew fi re from politicians, police, and some African
American leaders for its violent imagery and critique of law
enforcement. Not all of the songs on this largely gangsta
rap album were violent. “Brenda’s Got a Baby,” the socially
aware story of a pregnant 12-year-old inspired by a news-
paper article Tupac read, became one of the album’s most
popular tracks.
Tupac released Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. in 1993,
which hit number 4 on the R&B charts before going plati-
num. Th e album was a blend of powerful social commen-
tary and good-time music, as exemplifi ed by the two hits,
“Keep Ya Head Up” and “I Get Around,” which peaked on
the pop charts at numbers 12 and 11, respectively. Fol-
lowing the earlier acclaim of Juice, in 1993 Tupac landed a
role in John Singleton’s Poetic Justice alongside Janet Jack-
son, followed by a role in Above the Rim later that year. In
1994, aft er his near-fatal shooting and while imprisoned for
sexual assault, Tupac released Me Against the World. Filled
with new depth and emotion fueled by his shooting and
ongoing legal troubles, the record was a success, debuting
at number one on the U.S. charts and making him the fi rst
artist to have a number 1 record while incarcerated.
Th ough sentenced to four and a half years, Tupac was
released on parole aft er serving eight months when he
signed to Marion “Suge” Knight’s Death Row records and
Knight posted a $1.4 million bond. Having been produc-
tive in jail, Tupac’s next release was All Eyes on Me, hip-
hop’s fi rst two-disc album of original material. Debuting at
number 1 on the charts, and going quintuple platinum by
fall, All Eyes on Me represented a harder album, with Tupac
unashamedly embracing his thug-icon status. It contained
several popular singles, including the mega-hit “Califor-
nia Love,” and was quickly regarded as a classic example
of gangsta rap style. Aft er moving to Death Row, Tupac
expressed a growing dissatisfaction with hip-hop and an