The Life and Death of Tupac Shakur - Essay Example

Tupac Shakur On September 13th 1996 the world lost one of its most influential poets, Tupac Shakur. Tupac Shakur was a victim of gang wars that saw his assassination on this fateful night. I have chosen to write on Tupac Shakur because of the influence he had on the American population. As a rapper he became a symbol of success and mentor among the youth of the United States. Young artists and rappers became more inclined to emulate the artist. However, his symbol of social ties has been criticized as a way that promoted violence in African American community.

This did not deter his success as more young people looked up to him as a symbol of an African American hero. His influence in the music industry was also very significant as even after his death he was listed as one of the best sellers of all times. Apart from rapping, he was a director, a writer and a music producer. He helped a lot of young artists rise to fame as he recruited them in his music label. By the time of his death Tupac Shakur has the whole globe dancing to his music. His death is viewed as a death of a legend.

He is classified together with music legends like Bob Marley and Elvis Presley (Edwards, pp.96). Tupac was also raised in a family of activists which consequently made him one. At 12, he played the Travis younger in the play A Raisin the Sun in 1986. This was the beginning of his artist career. Later in high school he studied poetry, jazz acting and ballet. He was a frequent character in Shakespeare plays. Later in school Tupac won many rap events and he was branded the best rapper in his school.

Officially, his rapping entertainment career began in 1990. In this year his first debut rap song was titled Same Song which was employed as the background music in the movie Nothing But Trouble the following year. He then later produced his solo album tiled 2paclypse. The album was not a success to the fans but established rappers in the industry termed it inspirational (Edwards, pp.45). However, the album faced a lot of criticism as many young African Americans became brutal towards the police and the claimed that they had been influenced by Tupac's lyrics.

In following consecutive years, Tupac released albums and tracks back to back. One of the most significant albums was For My Niggas which preached a lot brotherhood among the African American population (Edwards, pp.45). Tupac's entertainment career was however overshadowed with many assault cases and gang violence. His concerts were filled with violence and in some cases many people were shot dead. In one of the worst incident, a 6 year was hit by a stray bullet when he was in a playground near a Tupac concert.

Tupac was in and out of penitentiary but his music was still significant in the industry. He quickly rose to fame as the greatest rap artist of his time. Tupac was shot dead by one of his rival gangs but his music remained relevant and significant to the whole music and entertainment industry. Work citedEdwards, Paul. How To Rap, The Art And Science Of The Hip Hop Mc. Chicago: Chicago Review Press. 2009. Print.