Winter 2026
Being in 2026 in the season of Winter represents a new epoch and new opportunities for humanity. We are in the beginning of the end of this decade of the 2020s. We are ever close to the important year of 2030, and that is very surreal to me personally. The reason for his surreal feeling is that time is constantly moving fast. By the year of 2030, the oldest Millennials will be nearly 50 years old, and Generation X people will start experiencing their senior years. I remember my previous memories from the 1980s, the 1990s, the 2000s, and the 2010s just like yesterday. For example, I was in kindergarten in 1988 when Reagan was President. I watched the Dream Team in 1992 on NBC television (when Michael Jordan, Charles Barkeley, David Robinson, and other basketball players were in their primes at Barcelona, Spain). I remembered participating in a STEM program in 1996 at Norfolk State University, and I traveled to Los Angeles, California, in May 2019. During this new generation, new memories are readily in existence constantly being made from me visiting Chesapeake in 2025, etc. Standing up against bigotry and oligarchy remains a very vital philosophical framework in my consciousness. In our time, new tragedies have transpired, like the murder of Ron Reiner and his wife, the attack at Brown University, and the anti-Semitic murder of people in Australia. No one should be deceived. If a person promotes anti-black racism and anti-Semitism, then that person is an agent of evil. There is no other way to put it. We know that critiquing the government of Israel is not anti-Semitism (desiring Palestinians to have freedom, justice, and equality is not anti-Semitism either), but some people exploit the errors found in the Israeli government as an excuse to target all Jewish people collectively (which is completely wrong). We still believe in the Dream wherefore reparations for black Americans are made real, where environment is protected, when healthcare is universally available for all people as a human right, establishing equality for all human beings, and where voting rights are strengthened (without evil restrictions). Our heritage is filled with opposing the dictates of an authoritarian, wicked wannabe king in the White House now. We have a responsibility to reject tyranny in our daily lives, build institutions, treat people with dignity and respect, and do the right thing too.
There are many new developments in the Epstein files. The files show revelations about Donald Trump's travel information regarding the criminal Jeffrey Epstein. The files show that there were discussions about the possible 10 alleged co-conspirators of Epstein. Trump is mentioned in the new documents as a passenger on Epstein's private plane for at least eight flights from 1993 to 1996. The Justice Department claims that many records released contain untrue allegations against Trump. The Trump administration official Wiles said that Trump is mentioned in the files. Trump continues to deny any allegation of sexual abuse of girls. Epstein's associate Ghislaine Maxwell is now serving a 20-year prison term for being a convicted sexual abuser. The Palm Beach police knew about allegations against Maxwell and Epstein since at least 2001. There was a letter about Epstein talking to Larry Nassar that the Department of Justice claims it's fake. Epstein got a slap on the wrist in 2008.
The Epstein files show rare pictures, testimonies, and other images. They show jet logs and FBI records too. The first complaint against Epstein existed as far back as 1996. Chuck Schumer wants to sue the Trump administration over the Epstein files. He accuses the DOJ of not complying with the law. The DOJ recently said that it will release more files in the future. The law says that the Epstein files must be released in full, but many files have been redacted. All of the files haven't been released yet. The truth is that we must oppose sexual exploitation of innocent people, and we must be stand up for accountability. The Epstein situation is beyond political party. Anyone involved in sexual abuse of kids, regardless of political party, should have a trial and be placed into prison. During this time, we see a rise in threats against judges who are just doing their jobs. Many Trump supporters have doxed the names of judges. There is a spike in pizza doxxing against judges in 2025. The judges didn't order the pizza. These people do this to threaten judges. Trump has shown extreme rhetoric against judges who disagree with his extreme, evil policy agenda. Judges and their families should be protected from malicious attacks and threats.
We know that the Nuremberg Code in 1947 said that human experimentation must be voluntary, scientifically justified, and designed to avoid unnecessary suffering. The Declaration of Helsinki in 1964 mentioned that the well-being of the research subject must always take precedence over scientific aims. The Belmont Report of 1979 mentioned that it is opposed to the exploitation of vulnerable populations for administrative convenience. With the Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the CDC has done the opposite of those declarations. For example, it has dismissed the whole 17-member Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP) panel and replaced it with people hostile to scientific research. It has replaced rigorous evaluation with a process that aims to engineer an outcome that they believe is like the Guinea-Bissau trial. Robert F. Kennedy Jr. is hostile to vaccine research, which he wants to radically change immunization for children. That is why diseases like measles have spread rapidly in America. Now, we have acting CDC Director Jim O'Neill approved the abandonment of the 34-year-old universal hepatitis B birth dose vaccination policy for infants born to mothers not known to be infected. Ending the birth dose increases the risk of children being infected with pediatric hepatitis B infections. Maternal screening is a problem in America, with one in five pregnant women in America not being screened during pregnancy. Trump wants to copy Denmark's childhood vaccine schedule, which reduces routine vaccinations from the U.S. standard. This is done on ideological grounds. Gavi has been cut too. Trump and Robert Kennedy Jr. (who is a disgrace to the legacy of his father, as his father supported robust vaccinations and his father would never support a xenophobic, racist, and sexist Donald Trump), promoting anti-scientific propaganda, should make us stand up for truth.
There is some breaking news in the world. On the early morning of January 3, 2026, Donald Trump used the United States military to massively bomb the sovereign nation of Venezuela. Regardless of how you feel about Maduro politically, the U.S. government has no right to bomb a sovereign nation without Congressional approval and for moral reasons. Trump justifies this under the guise of "drug trafficking issues," but international law forbids this action. The Venezuelan President Maduro and his wife have been captured by American forces. This is criminal and it has been planned for months. The hypocrite Trump did this after Maduro said to Trump that he will be open to talks. This comes as no surprise as Trump doesn't want to spread democracy. He wants to gain the resources of Venezuela, he desires to use brutality against those who disagree with him, and this is reminisce of the unjust attack in Iraq back in 2003. American military forces attacked the capital city of Caracas in a hardcore fashion. Explosions and destruction existed. Venezuela Vice President Delcy Rodriquez said that the government doesn't know about the whereabout of Maduro and his wife, First Lady Cilia Flores. These events are not new as such interventions happened in Iran back in 1953, in the Dominican Republic in 1965, in Panama in 1989, etc.
Trump amassed a massive military presence near Venezuela (in 2025 and in early 2026) in order to gain the country's resources (as Venezuela has a large amount of oil and gold resources), compete against China for geopolitical power, and to promote a puppet state in the nation of Venezuela. Journalists from CNN witnessed many explosions in Caracas. The FAA banned U.S. aircraft from Venezuelan airspace amid explosions in Caracas. Some areas of the city have no electricity, and many civilians were running in the streets. This military operation was historic and it's a tragic reminder that Western imperialism is very real in the world. Secretary of State Marco Rubio said that Maduro will stand trial in America. China and Russia are watching this news to witness the military power of America has not massively diminished. The EU is calling for restraint, and Attorney General Pam Bondi said that Maduro will face the "full wrath" of American justice in U.S. courts. Bondi said that Maduro will be charged with narco-terrorism charges in Manhattan, New York City. So, this operation by the Special Forces, Trump, and the CIA is about regime change and trying Maduro for many crimes in America. Trump said that this operation was done by the military and U.S. law enforcement. Trump wanted regime change (that is represented by a militarized foreign policy. Venezuela has 29 million people with diverse terrain. Using aircraft to bomb locations in other nations is not related to law enforcement activities. This is about stone cold militarism to advance reactionary corporate interests) which is the essence of neo-conservative philosophy. Trump voters voted for this as the MAGA movement is based on surprises, hypocrisy, and authoritarian actions. The Trump administration knows that drugs from Venezuela mostly goes into Europe, that Trump allies with the authoritarian Saudi regime for economic reasons, Trump has capitulated to dictators like Putin, and they haven't shown a plan for the aftermath of this militaristic action. Trump, at his press conference (he promoting getting Venezuela's oil) said that he wants America to run Venezuela for a time: "We're going to run the country until such time as we can do a safe, proper, and judicious transition." We all want a completely democratic Venezuela but not at the expense of imperialistic, illegal actions. The Trump administration's policies are clear threats to Americans and the people of the world indeed.
In any generation, you have sellouts. We know many of their names like Jesse Lee Peterson, Tommy Sotomayor, Tariq Nasheed (who regularly makes xenophobic comments about people of the black African Diaspora), the Hodge Twins, Jason Whitlock (who claims to be a Christian, but he made sexist remarks about Joy Taylor's body. People can agree or disagree with Joy Taylor without making sexist remarks about her body), etc. Another sellout is Nicki Minaj, who now supports Donald Trump (Trump disrespects journalists regularly in offensive terms) at the Arizona Turning Point USA' s AmericaFirst convention in Arizona. This gathering had many conservatives and MAGA cultists who wanted to promote extremism, bigotry, and overt lies. Nicki Minaj talked with Erika Kirk, the widow of Charlie Kirk. The murder of Charlie Kirk was evil and unjustified. No one should be unjustly murdered for his or her political views. Yet, Charlie Kirk was wrong to promote bigoted and false views in his campaign. Nicki Minaj criticized Trump in the past over immigration issues, but now Minaj is all in with Trumpism (when Trump has called Somalis "garbage" in a racist fashion, called the wife of Mitch McConnell a racist slur, wants to annex Canada plus Greenland, and wants to ban birthright citizenship). Ironically, many of the same MAGA hypocrites who claim to hate undocumented immigration support Nicki Minaj when she is an undocumented immigrant. Nicki Minaj claims to want legitimate dialogue but called California Gov. Gavin Newsom "New scum" over political disagreements. That's not very Christian or moral. Nicki Minaj admires Trump and Vance (Vance made the recent racist remark about Jasmine Crockett as faking a "street girl persona," and that persona is being as real as her nails. Crockett is not showing a fake persona. She is being a very intelligent black woman) when Trump has gone out of his way to promote an economy-crushing tariff policy, once hesitated to release the Epstein files, and expressed admiration for authoritarian dictators in real life. MAGA cultists lie and say that we are trying to prevent people from believing what they want. MAGA people have the right to believe in what they want, and people have the right, conversely, to disagree with MAGA views. See, they don't want people to disagree with them. Some of Trump followers want individuals to face consequences for refusing to ally with a tyrant in the White House.
Nicki Minaj mocked Malcolm X (until she made her apology), made light of Megan Thee Stallion's mother in a rap battle song in an inappropriate way, and went out to lie and say that black women put down the image of white women to feel good about themselves. The truth is that Western society glorified whiteness for centuries. Most black people don't put down the images of white people, but we don't worship white people or view white people as infallible or superior to us. We acknowledge our own black beauty and our black African heritage. That's ironic because Minaj is afraid to confront the massive anti-black racism found in America and throughout the world on that stage. Nicki Minaj intentionally ignores how Trump called black people IQ if they disagree with him, promoted massive federal government jobs cuts against innocent people, and is a habitual liar. Minaj can't invoke religion or faith in trying to justify support of Donald Trump. There is nothing wrong with being a Christian. It is perfectly fine to defend Christians in Nigeria, but the terrorists in Nigeria are targeting Christians, Muslims, animists, and all people who resist terrorism. There is nothing wrong with believing in God. I believe in God, but I won't use my religious views to oppress other people. Christianity teaches to love your neighbor, but Trump curses out his neighbors and said publicly that he hates his enemies. Christianity teaches about forgiveness and redemption, but Trump said that he doesn't ask God for forgiveness for any wrongdoing. All people, in my view, should repent to God for sins and move forward in a positive life of joy, peace, and righteousness. Christianity teaches assurance of heaven (if a person repents and follows God in life), but Trump said he doesn't know if he is going to Heaven or not. We should not murder, but Trump has allowed the murder of people in boats in the Caribbean without due process of the law. Even if you don't believe in religion, logic and morality teach us that the MAGA movement has promoted bad policies for years, from cutting legitimate environmental regulations to cutting off black history from federal websites. See, I got my receipts now. You can be a conservative, liberal, or independent, and you can believe in God without accepting the tenets of Trumpism. Nick Minaj is an agent of the establishment and the MAGA movement. Until she wakes up, she is on the wrong side of history. We desire all people to wake up too.
Tupac Shakur (55 Years Later)
One of the most influential music figures has been written about, praised, and maligned. Yet, his presence remains firm after his unjust assassination on September 7, 1996. He was the late, well-known Tupac Shakur. Many people are writing books about his life, but the following prose will describe an authentic, accurate account of his life story. Tupac Shakur is the personification of hip hop, filled with strengths, imperfections, resiliency, hope, and changes found in our world. Tupac moved all across America from New York City to Baltimore. From Baltimore, Tupac went to Marin City, California, and to Southern California. At each place, he gained valuable insights into the conditions of poverty, racism, and oppression in general. His Black Panther roots are prominent as he was the son of Black Panther Revolutionary Afeni Shakur. His father, Billy Garland, was also a Black Panther Party member too, and Garland has spoken on Tupac's life on plenty of occasions. Like Tupac, Afeni Shakur was brilliant intellectually with imperfections like all humans have. Afeni defended herself in the Panther 21 trial, and she won the case. Also, Afeni Shakur overcame drug addiction to become a better human being before her passing. Tupac saw the world, loved many women, had many friends, and loved the joy of life. Also, Tupac Shakur was not perfect, and he publicly said that he made mistakes in his life. Tupac Shakur lived a short life, but he had some of the most interesting adventures by marrying the black Northern woman Keisha Morris, being friends with MC Hammer (plus Jasmine Guy, etc.), loving his mother, and being a very intellectual human being. Therefore, the life of Tupac Shakur was a black American story filled with heartbreak, triumphs, and the culture of hip hop expanding further throughout the globe.
Early Life
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York City. This time was the end of the old school U.S. Civil Rights Movement and at the zenith of the Black Power movement in America. His parents are Afeni Shakur and Billy Garland, both parents being members of the Black Panther Party of Self-Defense. His original name was Lesane Paris Crooks, and he was renamed Tupac Amaru Shakur when he was one year old. He is named after Túpac Amaru II, a descendant of the last Inca ruler, who was executed in Peru in 1781 after his revolt against Spanish rule. Shakur's mother Afeni Shakur explained, "I wanted him to have the name of revolutionary, indigenous people in the world. I wanted him to know he was part of a world culture and not just from a neighborhood." Tupac's surname came from Lumumba Shakur, a Sunni Muslim, whom his mother married in November 1968. Their marriage fell apart when it was discovered that Lumumba was not Tupac's biological father. Tupac's maternal parents came from North Carolina. Afeni Shakur (whose original name was Alice Faye Williams) lived from January 10, 1947, to May 2, 2016. His father William or Billy Garland was born on March 14, 1949. The Black Panthers was a group that fought against capitalism, imperialism, racism, and all injustice to make a revolutionary change in society. A month before Shakur's birth, his mother was tried in New York City as part of the Panther 21 criminal trial. She was acquitted of over 150 charges. Afeni Shakur defended herself in trial, and she caused her own victory. That outlines the strength and intellect of a black woman.
Tupac had relatives and friends involved in the Black Panther Party. One member of the Black Panthers' Black Liberation Army was convicted of serious crimes and imprisoned, including Shakur's stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, who spent four years as one of the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives. Mutulu was apprehended in 1986 and subsequently convicted for a 1981 robbery of a Brinks armored truck, during which police officers and a guard were killed. Shakur's godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high-ranking Black Panther, was wrongly convicted of murdering a schoolteacher during a 1968 robbery. After he spent 27 years in prison, his conviction was overturned due to the prosecution's having concealed evidence that proved his innocence. Shakur's godmother, Assata Shakur, was a former member of the Black Liberation Army who was convicted in 1977 of the first-degree murder of a New Jersey State Trooper. She escaped from prison in 1979 and was on the FBI Most Wanted Terrorists list in 2013, and would remain on the list up until her death in 2025. For the record, there is no conclusive evidence that Assata Shakur shot at a police officer. Throughout Tupac's life, the FBI would monitor Tupac and his family for years and decades. Tupac's early life was harsh and dangerous. He and his family were harassed by the NYPD and the FBI constantly. Afeni Shakur suffered drug addiction by the 1980s.
Baltimore and Marin City
By 1984, Tupac Shakur and his family moved to Baltimore, Maryland from New York City. He was 13 years old. He lived in the Pen Lucy neighborhood with his mother and younger sister at 3955 Greenmount Ave. The home was a two-story rowhouse that had been subdivided into two separate rental units; the Shakur family lived on the first floor. After his death, the block was renamed Tupac Shakur Way. Baltimore was a different environment. He attended the 8th grade at Roland Park Middle School and the ninth grade at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School. He transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts in the tenth grade, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays—the themes of which he identified in patterns of gang warfare—and as the Mouse King in The Nutcracker ballet. At the Baltimore School for the Arts, Shakur befriended actress Jada Pinkett, who became the subject of some of his poems ("Jada" and "The Tears in Cupid's Eyes"). With his friend Dana "Mouse" Smith as a beatbox, he won competitions for the school's best rapper. Known for his humor, he was popular with all crowds of students. He listened to a diverse range of music that included Kate Bush, Culture Club, Sinéad O'Connor, and U2. Back then, Tupac was political to publicly fight gun violence, HIV/AIDS, poverty, and other important issues in our communities. Tupac Shakur was very popular at the Baltimore School of the Arts. Tupac allied with the Baltimore Young Communist League USA, and he dated Mary Baldridge, who was the daughter of the director of the local chapter of the Communist Party USA. In 1988, Tupac Shakur moved to Marin City, California. Poverty and crime were found in Marin City in the San Francisco Bay area. Tupac said that poverty connected poor black communities in America. In nearby Mill Valley, he attended Tamalpais High School, where he performed in several theater productions. Shakur did not graduate from high school but later earned his GED.
Shakur began recording under the stage name MC New York in 1988. That year, he began attending the poetry classes of Leila Steinberg, and she soon became his manager. Leila Steinberg admitted that she was romantically attracted to Tupac Shakur, but she didn't go any further because she said that it is important to promote love among black men and black women. Steinberg (who has a Jewish father, who was a criminal defense lawyer and a Mexican-born mother with Sephardic Jewish heritage) is a progressive person who helped young people develop the arts among every color. “The Bay is one of the most revolutionary areas you can live in, in this entire country, whether it’s education, politics, religion,” she said. Tupac spoke these words about Steinberg, “She was older, she was white, and she’s the one that I used to let look at my poetry,” he says in a clip from a 1995 deposition. “She understood a lot of things that I was doing that other people couldn’t understand. And she’s the one that stayed on me about working hard to do my music.” Steinberg wanted Tupac and Ray Luv to work in music to be honest.
Digital Underground
Steinberg organized a concert for Shakur and his rap group, Strictly Dope. Steinberg managed to get Shakur signed by Atron Gregory, manager of the rap group Digital Underground. In 1990, Gregory placed him with the Underground as a roadie and backup dancer. At the request of Steinberg, Digital Underground co-founder Jimi "Chopmaster J" Dright worked with Shakur, Ray Luv, and Dize, a DJ, on their earliest studio recordings. Dright recalls that Shakur did not work well as part of a group, and added, "this guy was on a mission. From day one. Maybe he knew he wasn't going to be around seven years later." From 1988 to 1991, D-Right and Digital Underground produced Shakur's earliest work with his crew at the time, Strictly Dope. The recordings were rediscovered in 2000 and released as The Lost Tapes: Circa 1989. Afeni Shakur sued to stop the sale of the recordings, but the suit was settled in June 2001 and rereleased as Beginnings: The Lost Tapes 1988–1991.
Shakur debuted under the stage name 2Pac on Digital Underground, under a new record label, Interscope Records, on the group's January 1991 single, "Same Song." The song was featured on the soundtrack of the 1991 film Nothing but Trouble, starring Dan Aykroyd, John Candy, Chevy Chase, and Demi Moore. He also appeared with the group in the film, marking Shakur's first film appearance credited as a cameo by the Digital Underground. "Same Song" opened the group's January 1991 EP titled This Is an EP Release, while Shakur appeared in the music video. Shakur's early days with Digital Underground made him acquainted with Randy "Stretch" Walker, who, along with his brother, dubbed Majesty, and a friend debuted with an EP as a rap group and production team, Live Squad, in Queens, New York. Stretch was featured on a track of the Digital Underground's 1991 album Sons of the P. Becoming fast friends, Shakur and Stretch recorded and performed together often. By the late 1980s, and early 1990, Tupac Shakur was the National Chairman for the New Afrikan Panther Party. He gave an interview about black conscious issues by 1989.
A Soloist
Tupac Shakur's solo career began with the release of his debut solo album called 2Pacalypse Now (alluding to the 1979 film Apocalypse Now). It was released in November 1991. This album was different from his Digital Underground works. This album talked about important social issues in America (that are still relevant now) like racism, police brutality, poverty, gang violence, teenage pregnancy, and drug abuse. The album was controversial to some people, and many people (especially those who were far right and those who hate hip hop music) hated it. There was a situation when Ronald Ray Howard murdered a Texas Highway Patrol trooper, and his defense attorney claimed he was influenced by 2Pacalypse Now and its strong theme of police brutality. This is a silly argument, as no album can influence a person to do murder, as murder is wrong period. Also, the album never condones killing all police officers. U.S. vice president Dan Quayle criticized the album, making the statement, "There's no reason for a record like this to be released. It has no place in our society." Tupac, finding himself misunderstood. Tupac said in response to the controversy that, "I just wanted to rap about things that affected young black males. When I said that, I didn't know that I was gonna tie myself down to just take all the blunts and hits for all the young black males, to be the media's kicking post for young black males." It is also true that artists do have the responsibility to do what is right. In other words, you can't blame music for all evils in the world, but music that glorifies evil should be criticized. Here is Tupac Shakur's views on his philosophy of hip hop:
"...Well when I said that, it made me think. It brought me to myself. Now I have a different philosophy. Hip Hop when it started it was supposed to be this new thing that had no boundaries and was so different to everyday music. Now it seems like I was starting to get caught up in the mode of what made hip hop come about. I would walk around and hear something and start saying 'That's not Hip Hop'. If someone started singing, I would walk around and say 'That's not Hip Hop'. Well, now I've changed my mind. That could be Hip Hop. As long as the music has the true to the heart soul it can be hip hop. As long it has soul to it, hip hop can live on..."
-Tupac Shakur's interview with journalist Davey D in 1991
Despite controversies, 2Pacalypse Now was certified Gold, and peaked at No. 64 on the Billboard 200 and No. 13 on the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums. The three singles were released being: "Trapped", "Brenda's Got a Baby" (No. 23 on Hot R&B/Hip-Hop Songs and No. 3 on Hot Rap Songs), and "If My Homie Calls" (No. 3 on Hot Rap Songs). Some prominent rappers—like Nas, Eminem, Game, and Talib Kweli—cite the album 2Pacalypse as an inspiration. Aside from "If My Homie Calls", the singles "Trapped" and "Brenda's Got a Baby" poetically depict individual struggles under socioeconomic disadvantage. Later, Tupac starred in his first acting role in the movie Juice. Juice was released in 1992 about young teenage black people who try to survive in the streets. A robbery gone round causes one friend in the crew to die by a mentally ill, unstable person. The crew falls apart, and the unstable person dies after a fight. Tupac plays the role of Roland Bishop who shows charisma on the screen. Rolling Stone's Peter Travers calls him "the film's most magnetic figure." Multiple actors had auditioned for the role of Roland Bishop, but none were considered right for the role. Shakur accompanied Money-B to the audition and asked producer Neal H. Moritz to read. He was given 15 minutes to rehearse before the audition and secured the role. Tupac Shakur's 2nd album was Strictly for My N_____Z. It was released in February 1993.
A critical and commercial success, it debuted at No. 24 on the pop albums chart, the Billboard 200. An overall more hardcore album, it emphasizes Tupac's sociopolitical views and has a metallic production quality. The song "Last Wordz" features Ice Cube, co-writer of N.W.A's "F____ tha Police", who in his own solo albums had newly gone militantly political, and hardcore rapper Ice-T, who in June 1992 had sparked controversy with his band Body Count's track "Cop Killer." The album carries the single "I Get Around", a party anthem featuring Digital Underground's Shock G and Money-B, which became Shakur's breakthrough, reaching No. 11 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album also carries the optimistic compassion of another hit, "Keep Ya Head Up", an anthem for women's empowerment, charting No. 12 on the Billboard Hot 100. The album's fourth and final hit, "Papa'z Song", peaked at No. 87 on Billboard 200. The album was certified Platinum by April 1995, with a million copies sold. In 1993, he starred in his 2nd film with Janet Jackson in John Singleton's romance film of Poetic Justice. The film is about Justice (played by Janet Jackson) who say his boyfriend murdered. She fails to adequately cope with her loss until she meets a postal worker named Lucky (played by Tupac Shakur). Justice and Lucky don't get along at first and later love each other romantically after many adventures. Tupac played a gangster named Birdie in the 1994 basketball film of Above the Rim.
At first, Tupac was initially selected for many films. Director Allen Hughes had cast Shakur as Sharif in the 1993 film Menace II Society but replaced him once Shakur assaulted him on set due to a discrepancy with the script. Nonetheless, in 2013, Hughes appraises that Shakur would have outshone the other actors "because he was bigger than the movie." Singleton initially cast Shakur in his 1995 film Higher Learning but was fired because the studio would not finance the film following his arrest. He also had Shakur in the lead role as mind in the 2001 film Baby Boy, a role played by Tyrese Gibson. Ultimately, after his death, the set design includes a Shakur mural in the protagonist's bedroom, and the film's score includes Shakur's song "Hail Mary." Tupac Shakur was a naturally born actor.
In 1993, while visiting Los Angeles, the Notorious B.I.G. asked a local drug dealer to introduce him to Shakur, and they quickly became friends. The pair would socialize when Shakur went to New York or B.I.G. to Los Angeles. During this period, at his own live shows, Shakur would call B.I.G. onto stage to rap with him and Stretch. Reportedly, B.I.G. asked Shakur to manage him, whereupon Shakur advised him that Sean Combs would make him a star. Yet in the meantime, Shakur's lifestyle was comparatively lavish compared to B.I.G., who had not yet established himself. During one performance, Tupac performed with the Notorious B.I.G., Snoop, Warren G, Daz, Kurupt, Nate Dogg, D.O.C., and other human beings.
Allegations and Friendships Ended
In 1993, Tupac's world would turn upside down. That was the year when Tupac Shakur and others were accused of raping a black woman named Ayanna Jackson. Until the time of his death, Tupac denied the allegations. With tons of research, we all can agree that Ayanna was raped by many people who were around Tupac. The debate is whether Tupac raped the woman or not. Rape and any form of sexual assault are evil and unjustified, period, to be clear. What both Ayanna and Tupac agree on is that they both had consensual sexual relationships in New York City. The night of November 19, 1993, Jackson was hanging with Tupac and three other men. These three other men raped her. After the rape, Ayanna said to Tupac, "How could you do this to me? I came here to see you. I can’t believe you did this to me?'” Ayanna accused Haitian Jack and Tupac of raping her. She said that Charles Fuller never raped her. Tupac denied all allegations. He said, "If the case is about me and this girl then we wouldn’t be here. I’m guilty of a lot of things, but I’m not guilty of rape. Just because I don’t want to be with a girl doesn’t mean they can accuse me rape. It’s a crime for that girl to turn this into a rape charge. In the report it says I was in concert, where are those guys? I don’t want to go to jail for something I didn’t do.” Haitian Jack back then was a stone-cold gangster involved in violence and robbery for years. He dated Madonna, and the Notorious B.I.G. warned Tupac that Haitian Jack had a negative reputation. Haitian Jack said that he gave money to Tupac. Tupac considered Haitian Jack a snitch and informant. When Haitian Jack found out that Tupac said that he and his crew were "hanger ons," he was upset. By November 30, 1994, Tupac was shot five times in the Quad Studios. Tupac wanted to record a video with Lil Shawn and people with army fatigues beat and shot Tupac. We know now that one person confessed to the shooting under orders from Jimmy Henchman (before the shooting Tupac and Haitian Jackson argued with each other on the phone). This person is Dexter Isaac. The Notorious B.I.G. had nothing to do with the 1994 shooting. In 1995, Tupac accused Sean Combs, Jimmy Henchman, and the Notorious B.I.G. of having foreknowledge or being involved in the shooting. Biggie's Who Shot Ya? was made before the shooting, but it was insensitive to be released so soon after the shooting. Tupac was in the hospital and was threatened. He met his biological father, Garland, and the Notorious B.I.G. tried to see Tupac. Yet, Christopher Wallace was prevented from seeing Tupac Shakur.
Against medical advice, Shakur checked out of Metropolitan Hospital Center a few hours after surgery and secretly went to the house of the actress Jasmine Guy to recuperate. The next day, Shakur arrived at a Manhattan courthouse bandaged in a wheelchair to receive the jury's verdict for his sexual abuse case. Shakur spent the next few weeks being cared for by his mother and a private doctor at Guy's home. The Fruit of Islam and former members of the Black Panther Party stood guard to protect him.
Interviewed on The Arsenio Hall Show, Shakur said he was hurt that "a woman would accuse me of taking something from her", as he had been raised in aa women household and surrounded by women his whole life. On December 1, 1994, Shakur was acquitted of three counts of sodomy and the associated gun charges, but convicted of two counts of first-degree sexual abuse for "forcibly touching the woman's buttocks" in his hotel room. Jurors have said the lack of evidence stymied a sodomy conviction. Shakur's lawyer characterized the sentence as "out of line" with the groping conviction and the setting of bail at $3 million as "inhumane." Shakur's accuser later filed a civil suit against Shakur seeking $10 million for punitive damages, which was subsequently settled. After Shakur had been convicted of sexual abuse, Jacques Agnant's case was separated and closed via misdemeanor plea without incarceration. That was bizarre. A. J. Benza reported in New York Daily News Shakur's new disdain for Agnant who Shakur theorized had set him up with the case.
Enter Death Row
In a 1995 interview with Vibe Magazine, Tupac Shakur accused Sean Combs, Jimmy Henchman, and the Notorious B.I.G., who were at Quad Studios at the time, among others, of setting up or having foreknowledge of the November 1994 robbery and shooting. The accusations expanded the East-West Coast rivalry in hip hop (which grown since the 1980s). Months after the robbery in 1995, Combs and Wallace released the track "Who Shot Ya?", which Shakur took as a mockery of his shooting and thought they could be responsible, so he released a diss song, "Hit 'Em Up." That song targeted B.I.G., Combs, their record label, Junior M.A.F.I.A., and at the end of "Hit 'Em Up", he mentions rivals Mobb Deep and Chino XL. The song Who Shot Ya? was created before the shooting, but it was in poor taste to release it after the shooting when tensions were very high. In June 2011, convicted murderer Dexter Isaac, incarcerated in Brooklyn, issued a confession that he had been one of the gunmen who had robbed and shot Shakur at Henchman's order.
Shakur was unable to post the $3 million bond to keep himself free until sentencing, so he surrendered himself to authorities at the Bellevue Hospital Jail Ward in New York City on December 23, 1994. At the time, he was still recovering from injuries he received on November 30, when he was shot five times and robbed at Quad Studios. In January 1995, Shakur was moved to the North Infirmary Command (NIC) on Rikers Island in the Bronx. On February 7, 1995, he was sentenced to 18 months to 4+1⁄2 years in prison by a judge who decried "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman".
In March 1995, Shakur was transferred to Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora. While imprisoned, he began reading again, which he had been unable to do as his career progressed due to his marijuana and alcohol habits. Works such as The Prince by Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli and The Art of War by Chinese military strategist Sun Tzu sparked Shakur's interest in philosophy, philosophy of war, and military strategy. On April 29, 1995, Shakur married his girlfriend, Keisha Morris; the marriage was later annulled. While in prison, Shakur exchanged letters with celebrities such as Jim Carrey and Tony Danza, among others. He was also visited by Al Sharpton, who helped Shakur get released from solitary confinement. By March 14, 1995, Tupac's release of his album Me Against the World was his very popular third album selling about 2 million copies. It was one of the most powerful albums in America during that time. The album debuts number one on the Billboard's pop chart. The single Dear Mama probably was his greatly song lyrically showing honesty, empathy, and respect given to his mother, Afeni Shakur. In August 1995, Biggie, Combs, and Harrell tell Vibe in their response Vibe interview that they had no connection to Tupac's shooting. In prison, Tupac Shakur would write scripts, read literature, workout, and celebrities met him in prison like Jasmine Guy. Wendy Williams made up the false rumor that Tupac was raped in prison. Tupac said that he would be dead before a man would rape him.
By October 1995, pending judicial appeal, Shakur was incarcerated in New York On October 12, he bonded out of the maximum-security Dannemora Clinton Correctional Facility in the process of appealing his conviction, once Suge Knight, CEO of Death Row Records, arranged for the posting of his $1.4 million bond. Tupac signed the contract to Death Row Records to have a three-album deal. Tupac was desperate to leave prison as no sane person wants to be in prison. He adopts the persona of Makaveli. Immediately after leaves the prison, he goes to California to work, record music, travel with family and friends, and express a strong work ethic. Snoop Dogg and the Dogg Pound's trailer was shot up by people from Red Hook, Brooklyn after Biggie said in the radio that Snoop Dogg and the Dogg Pound were in New York City. In September 24, 1995, one event would change everything which was when Suge's Piru friend Big Jake (or Jake Nobles) was murdered in Atlanta. This was at Jermaine Dupri's birthday party at the Platinum House. Atlanta was a hotspot of music and culture in America, so Suge Knight and Sean Combs were there. Suge and Combs would argue in the club and outside over money, power, influence, etc. Later, a gunman murdered Big Jake in code blood. To this day, witnesses say that Wolf didn't murder Big Jake. Suge Knight held Sean Combs responsibility for Jake's death which Combs denied. Suge wanted immediate revenge. Mark Anthony Bell was a friend of Sean Combs from high school. Bell was asked by a stranger to write down the names of the address of Combs and Combs' mother. Bell refused to do it. So, three months later, Bell attended the Death Row Christmas party at Château Le Blanc in Hollywood. Suge Knight asked Bell why didn't you give up their addresses, and Bell said that he didn't know their addresses. Knight invited Bell to go upstairs to the V.I.P. room. Then, six other men accompanied them including Dr. Dre and Tupac Shakur. Suge Knight asked Bell about Combs. Then, a Piru punched Bell in the face many things for revenge over the death of Jake. Bell tried to escape, and then Death Row members beat them again badly. They took his wallet and jewelry.
On November 30, 1995, Randy "Stretch" Walker was murdered execution style in Queens, NYC which was one year after Tupac's shooting. In February 1996, Tupac tells Vibe that he has slept with Faith Evans, Christopher Wallace's wife. Faith denies the story, but Faith admitted that she cheated before. We know Christopher Wallace cheated on his wife multiple times. Suge Knight is affiliated with the Mob Piru gang (with being part of the larger Bloods alliance). Suge Knight allied with Mob Piru gang members like Todd "Big Rock" Chism, Alton "Buntry" MacDonald, Roger "Neckbone" Williams, Jake Robles, Aaron "Heron" Palmer, Henry "Hendog" Smith, Wardell "Poochie" Fouse (he has been accused in the murder of the Notorious B.I.G. He was shot dead on July 24, 2003), Mob James (James MacDonald. He is the brother of the late Buntry), and Trevon Lane. Many of these Mob Piru Bloods were involved in terrible criminal activities like murder, robbery, extortion, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, violence, etc. Suge Knight wanted to promote a macho persona, but Suge Knight was not born into gang life. He was a college kid and a bodyguard who became part of the Mob Piru gang by his early adulthood. Conversely, Sean Combs was never a gangster. He was a party promoter and dancer who later allied with actual gangster for the sake of protection, money, and notoriety. As we know, Sean Combs would do degeneracy, abuse people physically and emotionally, exploit musical artists, and did other evils even back from the early 1990s to the 21st century. Tupac Shakur promoted MOB not just as a philosophy, but he later was affiliated with the MOB Piru street gang. Death Row became more nihilistic with massive violence, making women fighting each other, orgies occurring (in the Death Row studio grounds), and other things that influenced its ultimate demise. Many crooked cops working with Death Row were Rafael Perez, Nino Durden, David Mack, and Kevin Gaines.
On February 13, 1996, Tupac released All Eyez on Me, his magnum opus album. It was hip hop's first double CD and sold multiple millions of copies in the world. At the Soul Train Music Awards in Los Angeles on March 29, 1996, Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. would see each other for the very last time. Words were exchanged between Death Row and Bad Boy. A gun is shown, and people broke it up. According to witnesses, Combs ran from the confrontation to hide near a bus. By April 25, 1996, All Eyez on Me goes quintuple platinum. In May 1996, Tupac and Snoop Doggy Dogg released "2 of Amerikaz most Wanted." In the video, caricatures of Biggie and Puffy are punished for setting up Tupac. June 4, 1996: Death Row releases Tupac's "Hit 'Em Up," a brutal diatribe against Biggie, Bad Boy, Mobb Deep, and others. People consider Hit 'Em Up as the most vicious battle rap record in hip hop history. It was controversial. Tupac's life goes on in a rapid pace. On July of 1996, Mob Piru member Tray Lane was wearing his Death Row medallion while shopping with fellow Bloods at the Foot Locker at Lakewood Mall in California. A group of 7 or 8 Crips entered the store and jumped the three Blood. One of the Crips took Lane's Death Row medallion. It would be the prelude to the final moments on Earth for Tupac Shakur.
The Assassination and the Aftermath
By September 4, 1996, Tupac returned to New York City for the MTV music awards. He and his Death Row allies promote Death Row East as a new label. Tupac and his Death Row members confront Nas and his Queensbridge allies. Both Tupac and Nas have a discussion and end their beef. Tupac promises to get rid of his Nas disses off of his new album. Nas was planning to go to Las Vegas in the near future to possibly make music with Tupac Shakur. Tupac has issues with Snoop Dogg, because Snoop Dogg told Angie Martinez that he has no issues with Sean Combs and Christopher Wallace. Tupac and Snoop fly to Los Angeles. Later, Tupac goes to see the Tyson fight. Tupac left the Tyson and Bruce Seldon fight in Las Vegas. In a Las Vegas casino, Tupac sees Orlando Anderson, a Crip gang member. Trevon Lane tells Tupac that Anderson was the person who tried to grab his Death Row chain. Tupac confronts Anderson and sucker punches Orlando Anderson. Anderson is on the ground and Death Row member kick and stomp him out, including Suge Knight. Orlando leaves and seeks revenge. Among regular people, a fight is a fight. In gang culture, a fight and being jumped is completely different. Tupac Shakur and others jumping Orlando Anderson is a serious matter in gang culture. In gang culture, gang members in many cases wanted to murder people over it. Tupac goes back to the hotel, talks to Kadida Jones, and changes clothes to go to Club 662. On September 7, 1996, Tupac leaves the hotel in Suge Knight's car. He was dating Kadida Jones at the time.
*Around this time, a lot of strange things existed. We know that Reggie Wright Jr. was a police officer who worked for Death Row Records. He employed other police officers through Wrightway security who are: James Green, Fred Reynolds, Lindell Johnson, Rodrick Pettis, Gil Cross, Kevin Hackie, Danny Sneed, and other people. Reggie Wright Jr. was with Suge Knight during the peak of Death Row in a lot of places. Reggie Wright Jr., according to many bodyguards, disarmed all of Tupac's bodyguards during the night of the shooting of Tupac and Suge Knight. Michael Moore, a Tupac bodyguard, said that in NYC before Tupac came to Vegas that Tupac and Suge Knight had an argument over money. Moore said that Tupac wanted to cut albums and leave Death Row, and he had to separate Tupac and Suge Knight since he felt that Knight was about to put hands on Tupac. In Las Vegas, Moore said that Reggie Wright Jr. didn't want the bodyguards to have weapons them. Moore said that he heard someone say "Got 'em" coming over Reggie Wright's radio. Moore then heard someone he said as a white guy saying "don't say nothin' over the radio." Reggie Wright Jr. denied any involvement in Tupac's murder and said that the Compton Crips did. The Compton Crips certainly hated Tupac for many reasons, but crooked police officers did in fact infiltrated Death Row records for control and power. Years later, Reggie Wright Jr. has been indicted on drug trafficking and money laundering in 2017 (which he was convicted of). The Compton Crips protected Bad Boy records members when they went to the West Coast.
Tupac, while in the car with Suge Knight, was shot four times in the chest by an assailant in a white Cadillac. Suge Knight, who has connections with the Bloods, escapes with a minor injury. Shakur was rushed to University Medical Center, where he underwent surgery, including the removal of his right lung.
By September 11, 1996, a Compton man who police say is associated with the LA Crips is shot to death while sitting in his car, the first in a series of gang related murders. Police begin investigating possible connections to Tupac's shooting. Many people from Jesse Jackson to Afeni Shakur to go Tupac's bedside hoping that he would survive. Snoop said that he said his prayer to Tupac in the hospital. Later, Tupac Shakur passed away after six days in critical condition on Friday, September 13, 1996. He was only 25 years old. His body was later cremated. The hip hop community, the black community, and the youth plus his fans of every age mourned his passing. I remember that day just like yesterday. I was in the 8th grade of middle school hoping that he would live. It was a very sad day.
The aftermath of his passing was swift. Most people expressed condolences to his death like Nas and Aaliyah. Even Mobb Deep dropped the song Drop a Gem on 'Em from their album. Tupac Shakur was a superstar prior to his passing and became an icon of music in general after his passing. On November 5, 1998, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released. Makeveli was a new nickname of Tupac Shakur. The term Killuminati was used by Tupac, because Tupac wanted to end the paranoia that some people had about the Illuminati. Tupac wanted to confront the powers that be, and he wanted community centers to spread in America to stop gang violence, murder, and conflicts in the community. On January 29, 1997, Gridlock'd was the movie starring Tupac Shakur and Tim Roth is released nationwide. It is the story of two friends who try to kick drugs. The soundtrack is also released it features three new 2pac songs. One major aftermath of the assassination of Tupac Shakur would be the end of Death Row as we know it during the 1990s. Suge Knight was sentenced to prison on February 28, 1997, for his attack on Orlando Anderson on the night of Tupac's shooting (as a violation of his probation). On March 9, 1997, the Notorious B.I.G. was murdered in Los Angeles in a drive by shooting. Many people say that the Blood gang member Poochie murdered Christopher Wallace in retaliation for the death of Tupac Shakur (when Wallace had nothing to do with the murder of Tupac Shakur). October 8, 1997, was when Gang Related, co-starring Tupac and James Belushi, is released. Nine days later, the soundtrack, which includes four Tupac songs, comes out on Death Row. More albums of Tupac were released like R U Still Down (Remember Me) in 1997, Tupac's Greatest Hits in 1998, Until the End of Time in 2001, Better Dayz in 2002, etc. Orlando Anderson, the suspect of Tupac's murder, was killed during a dispute at a Los Angeles car wash on May 29, 1998. To this day, more details about Tupac come out as Keefe D is charged with the assassination of Tupac by the Las Vegas police department (in a few years ago).
Legacy
Many individuals have discussed about the life story of Tupac Shakur for over three decades now. The year 1996 is the 30th year anniversary of his tragic, evil, and unjust assassination of Tupac Amaru Shakur which was done by cowardly people. I was alive during the time when Tupac was alive. From being the most influential hip hop artist of all time, being a poet, being a political activist, and being an outstanding, trained actor, Tupac Shakur lived a very expansive life in the realm of twenty-five years. He lived in the East Coast, the West Coast, and in the South (in Atlanta just before his passing. Many of Tupac's relatives moved to Atlanta, Georgia) to witness different environments. Yet, Tupac saw the similarities among black people in numerous regions of America. These similarities revolve around the issues of poverty, racism, police brutality, and other evil conditions that tons of black people still go through, unfortunately. Yet, we are very resilient as black people. We have made lemonade from lemons, literally like being architects, teachers, athletes, musicians, judges, lawyers, sculptors, inventors, doctors, astronauts, IT experts, nurses, etc. That is the power of Blackness. Tupac has been in the conversation of friends and foes in recent years. New information about his life is known as the unsung story of Tupac working with Lela Rochon on the set of the movie Gang Related in 1996. Another story about his life is how his sister Set said that Tupac had fame, but he was incredibly lonely in real life. Suge Knight was like an older brother to Tupac Shakur. While Suge's imperfections and evil actions have no justification, you can't understand the whole Tupac story without knowing about Death Row and its leader, Simon. Tupac was the embodiment of hip hop culture, filled with glory, contributions, imperfections, resiliency, strength, and courage. Tupac never was a gangster as he said that he wasn't one. He said that he was a street solider. Tupac was a young black man who lived a life filled with ups and downs. Also, one lesson involving this story is not do evil. It is important for people to repent, forgive, and do the right thing, because we have only one life. In our lives, we learn about the past to make a better present and future. People have to change now without delay. His positive actions will spark the brain that will change the world indeed as he has stated.
Rest in Power Brother Tupac Shakur.
By Timothy
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