. This album was immediately accepted. Countless individuals refer to this album as the paramount opus of his career. It is number four on the list of his top grossing albums. This album sold 3,524,567 in the United States as of 2011(13) “Dear Mama” was circulated as the CD’s first single release . The single was released in February of 1995. “Dear Mama” would grow to become the album’s most efficacious oeuvre. Surpassing his competitors, and cresting at the ninth position on the Billboard Hot 100. The single was sanctioned platinum in July 1995. 13)All Eyez on Me was the fourth album completed by Tupac.
This album was distributed on February 13, 1996 by Death Row and Interscope Records. This record released two singles. The first was “How Do You Want It”, the second was “California Love. ” Both singles topped the Billboard hot 100’s list. This album much like , “Strictly 4 My N. I. G. G. A. Z. ” this album had a pop sound. It was still very conscious and unfiltered, but upbeat and lively in tandem. This piece of work is repeatedly recognized as one of the crowning achievements of 1990s rap music.
Tupac published his first book entitled “the rose that grew from concrete”on November 1st, 1999. This publication was his early sonnets stitched together with his maturing ideological odes. This release showed a depth of character, Thus Making Tupac more relatable. Shakur has sold over 75 million records intercontinentally. (13) These statistics make him one of the most efficacious music artists of his time. He has been classified as one of the most paramount artists of all time by numerous magazines. Rolling Stone Magazine ranked him 86th on its list of The 100 Greatest Artists of All Time. 14) He is constantly recognized as a superlative example of a prominent musical luminary, as well as one of the most influential, even to this very day. Many performers such as Nas and, Talib Kweli affirmed Tupac as a vital source of inspiration. (15) Some people associate Tupac only as a rapper, gangster, and actor. However, these people know very little about Tupac. In accordance to lack of knowledge, people have a skewed depiction of the disposition inside that gangster rapper. This distorted education disseminates a misunderstanding of Tupac.
One cannot deny Tupac’s adverse veracities, but this is not the totality of who Tupac was. Tupac unveils diverse physiognomies that extended beyond his known commonalities as rapper, actor and gangster. Tupac was a unique individual. Ostentatiously broaching his eccentricity alienated him from his constituents. After his rise to prominence, he was no longer just a musician and actor. His poetry and activism were an outreach to so many people in poverty. Some even considered him a voice for the voiceless. Destitute people found resemblances between themselves and Tupac.
This implication inspired change. It encouraged people to advance beyond their situations. His unabridged lyrics portray life in the ghetto. He paints depictions of impecunious underage and single mothers. He tells the chronicles of callous men in grave detail. Not making the ghetto out to be a noble place Exemplifying them and expressing the actualities of the life behind the walls of project complexes. On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur attended the Bruce Seldon vs. Mike Tyson boxing match with Suge Knight at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada.
After preceding altercations Tupac and his entourage became engulfed in a brawl that was caught on hotel cameras. After said dispute Tupac began his trip to then Death Row-owned Club 662. He was in the passenger side of Knight’s 1996 black BMW 750iL sedan, with a larger convoy behind them. Shortly after a police stop regarding misplaced license plates Shakur was shot. At approximately 11:15 pm a Cadillac with an unidentified quantity of inhabitants pulled up to the sedan’s right side, rolled down a window, and fired.
On September 7, 1996 Tupac was emitted to University Medical Center of Southern Nevada in Los Vegas having sustained wounds chest, pelvis, and his right hand and thigh. (16)One of the bullets went into Shakur’s right lung. (16)At the hospital, Shakur was eventually put under a barbiturate-induced coma after repeatedly trying to get out of the bed. (16) He was pronounced dead at 4:03 pm six days later, on September 13, 1996, from his injuries at said Las Vegas hospital. (16) His death has been regarded as untimely, and Tupac was publicly mourned by the masses.
There is a massive amount of controversy surrounding the death of Mr. Crooks. (17) One of the most widely spread rumors about his death argue that Tupac was gunned down in a murder-for-hire plot that involved the leader of the record label Death Row, of which Mr. Crooks was signed. (17) The rumor states that Sug Knight, the leader of Death Row, hired assassins to kill Tupac after whispers about him wanting to leave the record label came to light. Quite a few of Tupac’s song lyrics hint at his anxiety about people watching him, insinuating that he knew someone was seeking to take his life.
Three examples I’d like to present are the letter to his un born child, the song “Death Around the Corner”, and the song Thugs Mansion . “Letter 2 My Unborn” was released posthumous as a single from his album Until the End of Time in 2001. In said song Tupac says “… Make way for a whirlwind prophesied I want to go in peace… When I gotta die… On these cold streets, ain’t no love, no mercy, and no friends” he is telling his unborn child to make way for his unavoidable prophesied death. Telling his unborn that there are no friends, love or mercy.
Next, in the song “Death Around the Corner” that originally appeared on his 1995 album “Me Against The World” Tupac is very direct about his anticipated demise. He says; “I expect retaliation in a hurry… I see death around the, corner, any day … Trying to keep it together, no one lives forever anyway… Struggling and striving, my destiny’s to die. ” Saying that no one lives forever, he expects retaliation and that his destiny is to die are obvious indications that Tupac was anticipating death, Lastly, in the song Thugs Mansion he 3 OF 5 prophesizes his own death by saying “Dear momma don’t cry, your baby boy’s doin’ good.
Tell the homies I’m in heaven and they ain’t got hoods. ” In these song lyrics Tupac is feigning talking to his mom form heaven. Although still very much alive at the point this song was recorded Tupac sees his near end. There is also another tale about Tupac’s untimely death that hints at the illuminati partaking in his murder. He termed the coin “Killuminati” in his records meaning; death to the illuminati; a mystical organization that many believe to be behind the deaths of other famous artists and also are believed to be responsible for the seemingly Satanic elements found in today’s entertainment industry. 17)
The final tale about Tupac’s untimely departure is that he has not departed. Just prior to his death Tupac changed his name to Makaveli, a 16th century political theorist (Machiavelli) who said to have faked his death in order to gain political power from his enemies. (18) Some fans and critics alike feel his autopsy pictures were faked. They stake this clam by stating that Tupac’s Makaveli tattoo is not visible on his neck. (Pictures;13)(claim;18) Many still believe Tupac is still alive. Their sole source of evidence is the previously unreleased music that was released postmortem.
Although one could conclude the music was prerecorded. Tupac’s legacy subsists. Even today, His musical sound is implemented in the form of copycat lyrics written by current artists. There has been many movies and documentaries dedicated to his life and achievements. Books and multiple forms of paraphernalia are also in circulation. There are also quite a few songs written about Mr. Crooks, such as “Let Nas Down” where J. Cole said “if Pac was like Jesus, then Nas wrote the Bible,” insinuating that Tupac was the savior of hip hop.
His influence is so vast that he was brought in to perform a few of his most popular hits via hologram at Coachella in 2012, a whopping 16 years post mortem. Mr. Crooks’ mother began the TASF (Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation) to give back to the community through charitable events such as a camp of the performing arts for the underprivileged. This was one of Tupac’s dreams to give back to the underprivileged and allow them to rise above their circumstances. He was such an iconic figure that even Harvard University helped to sponsor a symposium discussing the impact that Mr. Crooks had on not only music, but sociology and society as a whole.