Sep 6th 1996: The most successful hip hop star in the world, Tupac Shakur was the king of rap. To his legions of fans he was the ultimate gangster rapper world reknown for his personal motto: 'thug life.' He was the angry voice of urban America, with some people in the hood even calling him 'Black Jesus' and claiming that he had been sent to save them. Despite his popularity, the authorities and haters in the hip-hop world saw him as a threat to America. Tupac was not unaware of this himself, stating: 'I'm going to die, I'm going to go out in a blaze of glory and very soon that prophecy will come true.'
What follows is a synopsis of Tupac's final 24 hours:
11:30PM SEP 6TH 1996 - Tupac leaves Lacey Studios in downtown L.A where he had been shooting his latest videos. After scoring 6 number 1 albums in just 6 years, Tupac was enjoying a level of success which most recording artists would envy. After driving out to his mansion in the L.A suburbs, Tupac stole a few hours sleep. In the morning he and his cousin left for Vegas. Jamala's birthday was in same month as Tupac's and she wanted to celebrate their birthdays together in Vegas. Also in Vegas with them was Tupac's girlfriend.
Tupac had not been very eager to go to Vegas, quote E.D.I Mean 'Tupac didn't want to go, it was obvious there were some family issues he wanted to deal with back in Atlanta.' But at the urging of his manager Suge Knight, Tupac went along with the idea - it would be the last trip he ever took.
5 years earlier back in 1991 the only plan for Tupac was making it to number 1 in the competitive world of Hip-Hop and with his first album 2pacalypse now, Tupac was well on his way. From the start he forged a strong bond with his fans, rapping about life on the streets. Quote Big Sky 'When he put that pen to paper and when he opened up his mouth on that mic, God had to be working with every song that he wrote -it was like it was taking the blood out of him.' His songs stood up for the powerless, the poor and those with no political voice in society.
In 1994 Tupac released 'Thug Life' and clearly spelled out his philosophy. He wanted the misfits in society who thought that nobody gave a fuck about them to know that he gave a fuck. Thug life was an album about making the wrong choices and winding up in a life you don't want to be in but still making it against all the odds. Tupac's appeal went way beyond the ghetto, appealing to white middle classed suburbia who liked the danger that he brought from the other side of the tracks. He connected with men and women and black and white and old and young.
Because he kept it real the kids could always relate to him but despite his popularity he did not always receive attention for the right reasons, as he climbed the ladder some in the Hip-Hop industry looked upon him with envy and made enemies. Hip-Hop is very competitive, almost like a sport, with people's egos wrestling against each other it's a recipe for destruction.
After leaving his girlfried and cousin behind at the hotel, Tupac headed for the casino, at his side was his trusted body guard Frank Alexander. Quote Frank Alexander 'We go over to the MGM and he's gambling again on the crabs table and he's winning.' At the crabs table Tupac was joined by members of the Outlaws - his backup group. Riding high in the charts, he could afford to gamble.
But 25 years earlier on the strets of East Harlem, NYC few would have laid bets on the success of Tupac. His mother was a member of the radical Black Panther Family. She was arrested and charged for conspiring to blow up a a local building. Quote Afeni Shakur 'I was captivated by the visualness of the Black Panther Family, I was captivated by the rationalness and the sense of service of the Black Panther Family. For me the Black Panther Famiy was a way for me to legitimately express my envy.' Eventually acquitted of all charges and pregnant with Tupac Afenei was released from jail after serving spending 15 months on and off behind bars.
On 6th 1971 she gave birth to Tupac who she named after a South American Incan Revolutionary, meaning 'Shining Serpent.' The absence of his father, a former Black Panther Family member was felt during his childhood. Adding to that instabilitiy was crippiling poverty which at times rendered himself and his mother homeless.
But in 1996 despite those hardships his mothers moved to Baltimore and managed to enroll her son at a unique Baltimore school for performing arts. Tupac fell in love with acting and rap music and saw no boundires or limits to his potential. He was very popular with the other students and began to make a name for himself.But in contrast to his school life, his life at home was not as good, with his mother being beaten by her then boyfriend who she would not allow Tupac to retaliate against which made Tupac very angry.
In June 1988 to protect Tupac, his mother sent Tupac to the other end of the country to live with a friend in California. But 16 year old quickly discovered that he had only traded one nightmare for another due to gangs and violence. Afeni also joined her son in California but any hope of a happy family reunion was made impossible by her own personal struggles with crack addiction. Despite his contempt for his mothers addiction, Tupac moved into the world of narcotics. He sold drugs for about one week but stopped because his heart went out to the people he was selling the drugs to saying 'I'd rather starve or make this rap thing work than do this.' Then at age 17 Tupac hooked up with neigbourhood friend Ray Love to create his first group 'Strictly Dope.'
6:15PM SEP 7TH 1996 - After arriving in Vegas Tupac and his entourage had been taking it easy, gambling at the casino and enjoying a few drinks. Then on the invitation of his manager Suge Knight, Tupac headed out to see a much anticipated heavyweight boxing title match between Bruce Sheldon and his close friend Mike Tyson.
Tupac insisted that his girlfriend and cousin stay at the hotel which they found odd. Tupac then had difficulties getting in to see the match due to crowds of people who recognized him. His recent song 'Get 'em up,' an attack on fellow rapper Biggie Smalls had stirred up anger in the Hip-Hop Community and for his bodyguard Frank Alexander this was a real concern so he called MGM guards for additional backup.
Back in 1990 6 years earlier, few had even heard of Tupac Shakur. But then while still down and out in California he caught the eye of established Oakland rapper Shock G who offered Tupac a gig as a dancer in his group Digital Underground. It was just the break Tupac had been waiting for.
Suddenly Tupac was circling the planet on a world tour. A natural showman, Tupac stepped up behind the mic and the move was an immediate success. Tupac had the ability to take a persons style and do it a little bit better than everyone else could and because of this skill Tupac was able to get a record releasing his first album '2pacalypse Now' in November 1991.
The album featured a strong and sometimes contradictory mix of violent anthems and compassionate social commentaries about poverty, broken homes and drug abuse. In his writing Tupac drew from his childhood. Schooled on the streets, he was a poet who also fantasized of becoming an actor and 1991 he realized his dream by starring in the critically acclaimed film 'Juice.' It was obvious after this that he was on the verge of something really major.
Things were looking good for Tupac, his mother now clean and sober re-entered his life and they were a family again but with the good came the bad: In 1992 Tupac was arrested for allegedly attacking a Limo driver and in 1993 he was charged with assaulting another rapper with a baseball bat. In another incident he was accused of attacking film director Alan Hughes with a weapon, he was also arrested but later released for the alleged shooting of two off-duty police officers in Atlanta, Georgia.
Tupac always felt like he would be a statistic saying 'If I am going to be a statistic and America's going to fuck me over then I'm going to be the ultimate statistic that I can be.' The authorities hated him for being so outspoken.
8:35PM SEPTEMBER 7TH 1996 - Tupac had just finished watching a boxing match in which Mike Tyson pulverized his opponent Bruce Sheldon in less than two minutes. Backstage Tupac was then accompanied by Suge Knight his manager and director of his record company Death Row. With them was Tupac's security guard Frank Alexander and also various Death Row Records associates. It was clear to everyone that Tupac was still very fired up from watching the fight.
As the group entered the lobby, one of Suge Knight's death row employees passed on a message to Tupac, whispering into his ear that he had spotted a man in the hotel lobby who had robbed him a few weeks earlier. The alleged robber was also a member of the South Side Crips with, sworn enemies of the Bloods with whom Death Row Records was said to be affiliated. Tupac decided to teach the man a lesson and attacked him.
Fired up by the boxing the Death Row entourage including Suge Knight also joined in with the brawl. In the chaos which ensued Frank Alexander pulled Tupac out of the brawl, then shortly after this Tupac got into a car with Suge Knight and stopped at a traffic light.
While they were waiting for the light to change a masked assassin pulled up in a white Cadillac and shot at Tupac's car seriously injuring Tupac. The masked assassin then drove off managing to evade Death Row Records associates who perused him. Tupac was drove to hospital but unfortunately he was later pronounced dead from his injuries.
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