Tupac Shakur
Page: 3
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: Raymond Boyd / Getty
Hip-Hop is about to add another name to the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. It has been confirmed that 2Pac will finally receive his star.
As per HipHopDX the late great will be getting one of the most prestigious decorations an entertainer can receive. Earlier this week Variety Magazine revealed that the All Eyez On Me rapper will receive the star posthumously at a ceremony slated for Wednesday, June 7. The event will be hosted by California radio personality Big Boy and Pac’s sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur will receive the honor on her brother’s behalf. It will be the 2,758th star in the iconic walkway. Naturally the organization instantly received some criticism that the honor was long overdue to which they responded saying “2Pac was selected in 2013, and we have been waiting for his family/estate to set a date.”
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born in Harlem, New York City in 1971 and would get his entry into the music business as a dancer and roadie for Digital Underground. He would soon leave the group to pursue his own solo career. In 1991 he released his first album 2Pacalypse Now. Within the next five years he curated some of hist most influential works including Me Against The World and All Eyez On Me. After leaving a Mike Tyson boxing match on September 7, 1996 at the MGM Grand he was shot multiple times in a drive by shooting. His murder has never been officially solved by police.
2Pac is considered one of the genre’s most influential talents ever and is often cited as an inspiration by today’s biggest stars.
Photo:
HipHopWired Radio
Our staff has picked their favorite stations, take a listen…
The Rose That Grew From Concrete is finally receiving his own sidewalk honor: a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. On June 7, legendary rapper, poet and actor Tupac Shakur will receive his star in the recording category during a public ceremony at 6212 Hollywood Blvd.
“Tupac Shakur was a rapper, actor, activist, poet, and revolutionary,” says Ana Martinez, producer of the Hollywood Walk of Fame. “This iconic artist has continued to be part of the zeitgeist for decades after his passing and will continue to be an important cultural figure for many years to come. Surely, as one of L.A.’s own, Tupac’s star will be added to the list of most visited stars.”
Born in New York City but spending his formative years in California, Shakur is revered as a West Coast legend and a cited inspiration to artists across the globe, including Kendrick Lamar, Eminem, J. Cole, Drake, Ed Sheeran, Justin Bieber and countless others.
At the Baltimore School for the Arts, Shakur studied acting, poetry, jazz and ballet. In his early career, Shakur was known as MC New York before taking on the moniker 2Pac during his time with rap group Digital Underground.
As a solo artist, Shakur released his debut album 2Pacalypse Now in 1991 via Interscope Records. He went on to share three more albums before his fatal shooting at age 25 — all of which charted on the Billboard 200, with All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World topping the chart. Following his death, six posthumous studio albums were released through Amaru Entertainment, started by Shakur’s mother, and Interscope Records.
Both All Eyez on Me and Shakur’s greatest-hits collection are RIAA-certified diamond, surpassing the 10-million mark. In 2017, the rap icon was the first solo hip-hop artist to be inducted into the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame. As an actor, Shakur starred in films including Juice, Poetic Justice, Above The Rim, Gridlock’d and Gang Related.
The Walk of Fame star unveiling will be hosted by L.A. radio host Big Boy and guest speakers will include director Allen Hughes (Hulu documentary series Dear Mama), writer Jamal Joseph and Tupac’s sister Sekyiwa “Set” Shakur, who will accept the star.
The ceremony will take place at 10:30 a.m. PT and will stream live here.
HipHopWired Featured Video
Source: MediaNews Group/Bay Area News via Getty Images / Getty
The late Tupac Shakur will now be a permanent part of Oakland, California as a street in the city is renamed after him.
On Tuesday (May 16th) the Oakland City Council voted unanimously to rename a stretch of MacArthur Boulevard in the Lake Merritt area where Shakur once after the iconic rapper. The street will keep its name but gain “Tupac Shakur Way” in addition, with commemorative signs and plaques. The Tupac Shakur Foundation will be responsible for paying for those signs and plaques.
A spokesperson for the City Council said that the Tupac Shakur Way of the boulevard will serve as a lasting reminder of his musical and cultural contributions and provide inspiration for more moments of societal change through art. “Tupac Shakur’s legacy will continue through his contributions in art and social outreach, through his family and fans, touching countless lives of children and elders over the years while alive and after his death, taken too young by gun violence,” the accompanying resolution said. There was no set timeline announced for the change.
The late rapper and actor, who was tragically killed in a drive-by shooting at the age of 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada in 1996, was born in Harlem, New York to Black Panther Party members Afeni Shakur & Billy Garland. He would later move with Afeni to Baltimore, Maryland, and then live in Marin City before settling in Oakland for a time. It was there where he claimed he got his “game” and further expanded his career, linking up with area Hip-Hop legends Digital Underground. “I give all my love to Oakland, if I’ma claim somewhere I’ma claim Oakland,” he once said.
Oakland is no stranger to honoring its heroes. Other notable figures whom the City Council has renamed streets for include Black Panther Party co-founder Huey P. Newton and rapper Too Short. The city also has had a history of celebrating Tupac annually since 2016 when they proclaimed June 16th as “Tupac Shakur Day”.