Werkstuk Muziek: Tupac Amaru Shakur a.k.a. 2pac

Inleiding

Ik heb Tupac als onderwerp gekozen omdat hij goede muziek schreef en rapte. Hij rapte over veel over realistische dingen zoals discriminatie, het leven in de getto, tienerzwangerschappen, schietpartijen en de dood. Ook ‘the 7 Days Theory’ over zijn dood is heel interessant. Via dit werkstuk laat ik zien hoe Tupac zijn leven leidde, en waar hij allemaal mee te maken kreeg.

Biografie

R.I.P. Tupac Amaru Shakur 1971-1996

Geboortedatum: 16 juni 1971 te Brooklyn – New York
Overlijdensdatum: 13 september 1996 te Las Vegas – Nevada
Moeder: Alice Faye Williams aka Afeni Shakur
Vader: William Garland
Stiefvader: Jeral Wayne Williams aka Mutulu Shakur
Halfzus: Sekyiwa Shakur
Halfbroer: Maurice Harding
Peetvader: Elmer ‘Geronimo’ Pratt
Burgerlijke staat: gescheiden (Keisha Morris) en verloofd (Kidada Jones)
Aliassen: MC New York, 2pac, Makaveli (the Don)
Muziek groepen: One Nation Emcees, Two From The Crew, Strictly Dope, Digital Underground, Thug Life, Outlaw Immortalz/Outlawz
Tupac Shakur is geboren als Lesane Parish Crooks in 1971 te New York. Zijn moeder Afeni Shakur was lid van ‘the Black Panthers’, die streden voor de rechten van de zwarten. Ze heeft de eerste 7 maanden van haar zwangerschap in de gevangenis doorgebracht. Afeni Shakur veranderde de naam van haar zoon al snel naar Tupac Amaru Shakur. Tupac staat voor schijnende slang, en Shakur is Arabisch voor dank aan God.
In de buurt noemde iedereen hem ‘de zwarte prins’. Toen Tupac 2 jaar was, werd zijn halfzus Sekyiwa geboren. De vader van dit kind, Mutulu Shakur, was ook een ‘Black Panther’. 5 maanden voor de geboorte van Sekyiwa werd hij veroordeeld voor 6 jaar gevangenisstraf wegens het bestelen van een auto.
Wanneer Mutulu vast zat in de gevangenis, beleefde de familie Shakur harde tijden. Na een tijdje zijn ze verhuis naar ‘the Bronx’ – Harlem. Tupac kan zich nog herinneren dat hij in die tijd veel gehuild heeft. Hij groeide op zonder zijn vrienden, waar hij mee opgegroeid is. Hij miste iedereen.
Toen Tupac 12 jaar was, ontdekte hij zijn passie voor acteren, liefdesliedjes en gedichten schrijven. Als jonge tiener verhuisde hij met zijn familie naar Baltimore, waar hij naar ‘the Baltimore School for Performing’ ging waar hij acteren en ballet studeerde. Op school was iedereen erg onder de indruk van Tupac. Helaas heeft hij zijn studie daar niet kunnen afmaken, want hij verhuisde met zijn familie naar Oakland, California. Daar begon al het slechte, omdat Tupac met de verkeerde mensen omging, zoals hij zelf zei ‘Hang with the wrong crowd’.
Als 15 jarige begon Tupac te rappen, hij begon met het schrijven van raps en praatte mooi over zijn achtergrond in New York. Hij liet de mensen van de kleine delen van de stad denken dat hij een ‘bad boy’ was. Hij noemde zichzelf MC New York, naar zijn geboortestad.
Bij de tijd dat hij 20 jaar was, is Tupac al 8 keer gearresteerd, en heeft hij 8 maanden in de gevangenis gezeten vanwege seksueel misbruik. Hij raakt ook betrokken bij een vechtpartij tussen Shakur’s gang en een rivaliserende groep waarbij een 6 jarig jongetje om het leven komt. Tupac’s halfbroer Maurice wordt gearresteerd, maar wegens gebrek aan bewijs weer vrijgelaten.
Kort daarna ging hij bij de rap groep ‘Digital Underground’ als danser. Niet lang voordat de groep bekendheid kreeg door een gewonnen award, bracht Tupac zijn eigen album ‘2pacalypse Now’ uit, welke een groot succes was. De hit single ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby’ bracht Tupac’s carrière in de stroomversnelling. Dankzij zijn talent kreeg hij ook een rol in de speelfilm ‘Juice’ . Daarna bracht hij zijn tweede album uit ‘Strictly for my N.I.G.G.A.Z.’, wat nog een groter succes bleek te zijn en Tupac hoog in de hitlijsten zette.
Het hoogtepunt van Tupac’s carrière kwam toen hij in ‘Poetic Justice’ samen met Janet Jackson verscheen. De rol maakte van Tupac een naam die niemand zou vergeten, en liet zien dat muziek maken niet het enige was waar Tupac goed in was! In het midden van een rol in de film ‘Above the Rim’ en platina voor zijn album ‘Me Against the World’, werd zijn stijgende carrière gestaakt. Hij werd schuldig bevonden op ‘seksueel misbruik’ bij een vrouw die hij in een nachtclub had ontmoet. Uren voordat Tupac schuldig werd bevonden, werd hij beroofd door mannen wiens bedoeling en doel nog steeds niet duidelijk is. Na een borg van 1 miljoen dollar werd Tupac voorwaardelijk vrijgelaten.
Na deze vrijlating bracht hij zijn album ‘All Eyez On Me’ uit. ‘All Eyez On Me’ is op het moment meer dan 6 miljoen keer verkocht, wat heel bijzonder is voor een dubbel cd in de Hip Hop wereld. Tupac had ook bijrollen in de films ‘Gridlock’d’, ‘Bullet’ en ‘Gang Related’.
In November 1994, werd er 5x op hem geschoten tijdens een diefstal waarbij aan 40.000 dollar aan sieraden van hem gestolen werd. Tupac geneesde bijzonder goed aan zijn verwondingen, en mocht na 3 dagen het ziekenhuis uit. Kort daarna doet de rechter uitspraak over de verkrachtingszaak, waar Tupac 2 tot 4.5 jaar voor kreeg, afhankelijk van zijn gedrag. In 1995 gaat de rapper de cel in en in april 1995 trouwt Tupac in gevangenschap met Keisha Morris. Na 8 maanden wordt hij vrijgelaten.
Op 7 september 1996 is er op Tupac Shakur geschoten door een onbekende scherpschieter. Hij is uiteindelijk aan zijn verwondingen overleden op 13 september 1996. Over alles rond zijn dood, en deze mysterieuze dag is meer te lezen onder het kopje ‘The 7 Days Theory’.
Na zijn dood bracht Tupac’s platenmaatschappij een album, ‘The Don Killuminati’ uit onder de alias ‘Makaveli’. In januari 1997 bracht ‘Gramercy pictures’ de film ‘Gridlock’d’ uit waar Tupac de rol in speelde van een drugsverslaafde die hele goede recensies had. Zijn laatste film ‘Gang Related’ werd ook uitgebracht in 1997.
Albums
Tupac heeft ook verschillende albums uitgebracht, hieronder de titel van de albums, de data’s waarop de albums uitgebracht zijn en de liedjes die op de cd’s staan.
2pacalypse Now, uitgebracht op 12 november 1991.

Trapped
Soulja's Story
I Don't Give A F-ck
Violent
Words Of Wisdom
Something Wicked
Crooked Ass Nigga
If My Homie Calls
Brenda's Got A Baby
Tha' Lunatic
Rebel Of The Underground
Part Time Mutha
Strictly For My N.I.G.G.A.Z., uitgebracht op 1 februari 1993.
Holla If Ya Hear Me
Pac's Theme (Interlude)
Point The Finga
Something 2 Die 4 (Interlude)
Last Wordz
Souljah's Revenge
Peep Game
Strugglin'
Guess Who's Back
Representin' 93
Keep Ya Head Up
Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.
The Streetz R Deathrow
I Get Around
Papa'z Song
5 Deadly Venomz
Me Against The World, uitgebracht op 27 februari 1995.
Intro
If I Die 2Nite
Me Against The World
So Many Tears
Temptations
Young Niggaz
Heavy In The Game
Lord Knows
Dear Mama
It Ain't Easy
Can U Get Away
Old School
F-ck The World
Death Around The Corner
Outlaw
All Eyez On Me, uitgebracht op 13 februari 1996.
Book One
Ambitionz Az A Ridah
All Bout U
Skandalouz
Got My Mind Made Up
How Do U Want It
2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted
No More Pain
Heartz Of Men
Life Goes On
Only God Can Judge Me
Tradin War Stories
California Love (remix)
I Ain't Mad At Cha
What'z Ya Phone #

Book Two
Can't C Me
Shorty Wanna Be A Thug
Holla At Me
Wonda Why They Call U Bytch
When We Ride
Thug Passion
Picture Me Rollin'
Check Out Time
Ratha Be Ya Nigga
All Eyez On Me
Run Tha Streetz
Ain't Hard 2 Find
Heaven Ain't Hard 2 Find
Makaveli, Don Killuminati, The 7 Days Theory, uitgebracht op 5 november 1996.
Intro- Bomb First (My Second Reply)
Hail Mary
Toss It Up
To Live & Die In L.A.
Blasphemy
Life Of An Outlaw
Just Like Daddy
Krazy
White Man'z World
Me and My Girlfriend
Hold Ya Head
Against All Odds
R U Still Down? (Remember Me), uitgebracht op 16 december 1997.
Disc One
Redemption
Open Fire
R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
Hell razor
Thug Style
Where Do We Go From Here (interlude)
I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto
Nothing To Lose
I'm Gettin' Money
Life To Kick It
Fuck All Y'all
Let Them Thangs Go
Definition Of A Thug Nigga

Disc Two
Ready 4 Whatever
When I Get Free
Hold On Be Strong
I'm Losin It
Fake Ass Bitches
Do For Love
Enemies With Me
Nothin But Love
16 On Death Row
I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto (hip-hop version)
When I Get Free II
Black Starry Night (interlude)
Only Fear Of Death
Greatest Hits, uitgebracht op 24 november 1998.
Disc 1
Keep Ya Head Up
2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted
Temptations
God Bless The Dead
Hail Mary
Me Against The World
How Do U Want It
So Many Tears
Unconditional Love
Trapped
Life Goes On
Hit 'em Up

Disc 2
Troublesome 96'
Brenda's Got A Baby
I Ain't Mad At Cha
I Get Around
Changes
California Love (Original Version)
Picture Me Rollin'
How Long Will They Mourn Me
Toss It Up
Dear Mama
All About U
To Live & Die In L.A.
Heartz Of Men
Still I Rise, uitgebracht op 21 december 1999.
Letter to the President
Still I Rise
Secretz of War
Baby Don't Cry (Keep Ya Head Up II)
As the World Turns
Black Jesuz
Homeboyz
Hell 4 a Hustler
High Speed
The Good Die Young
Killuminati
Tear Drops and Closed Caskets
Tattoo Tears
U Can Be Touched
Y'all Don't Know Us
Until The End Of Time, uitgebracht in 2001.
Better Dayz, uitgebracht in 2002.
En Tupac’s album die hij heeft uitgebracht met de rap groep ‘Thug Life’.
Thug Life Volume 1, uitgebracht 26 september 1994.
Bury Me A G
Don't Get It Twisted
Shit Don't Stop
Pour Out A Little Liquor
Stay True
How Long will they Mourn Me
Under Pressure
Street Fame
Cradle To The Grave
Str8 Ballin'

Er zijn nog ongeveer 90 liedjes van Tupac niet uitgebracht. Het enige liedje van Tupac dat in Nederland op nummer 1 in de hitlijsten heeft gestaan is ‘Changes’. Zijn meest recente album is ‘Still I Rise’. Tupac is wel dood, maar hij zal nooit vergeten worden. Hij heeft veel gepresteerd in de Hip Hop wereld. Vooral zijn style, en de gedichten en liedjes die hij schreef waarin hij alle ellende van de Westside beschreef hebben hem bekend gemaakt.

Tupac Shakur Personal quotes:
"Everybody's at war with different things...I'm at war with my own heart sometimes". Tupac Shakur in Vibe interview 2/96
"All good niggers, all the niggers who change the world, die in violence. They don't die in regular ways." Tupac Shakur in Details magazine interview, spring 1996.

Liefdesleven
Tupac heeft ook heel wat vriendinnen versleten, maar zijn eerste serieuze vriendin was Salli Richardson, een actrice. Na een flinke ruzie zijn Tupac en Salli uit elkaar gegaan. Na Tupac’s dood gingen de geruchten dat hij alleen met Salli ging om haar mee te nemen naar premieres en awardshows. Later waren er ook geruchten dat de dochter van Madonna, Lourdes, van Tupac zou zijn omdat ze samen gezien waren. Dat is niet waar, want Lourdes heeft ook geen kleurtje. Lourdes is van een danser.
Na Salli Richardson ging Tupac uit met Kidada Jones, dochter van Quincy Jones. Toen Tupac in de gevangenis zat ging ook het gerucht dat hij iets met Faith Evans, de vrouw van Notorious B.I.G. zou hebben, ook dat was niet waar.
Zijn relatie met Adina Howard, R&B-zangeres is erg onduidelijk. Er werd weinig over gepraat, en daarom is het erg onduidelijk wat voor relatie Tupac en Adina hadden samen. Het was ook al vrij snel weer over.
Niet veel later verscheen er een nieuwe vriendin op het toneel: Arnelle Simpson, dochter van American Footballplayer O.J. Simpson. Tupac en Arnelle hadden een goede relatie, helaas werden ze door de pers uit elkaar gedreven. Dit speelde allemaal in de periode dat O.J. Simpson verdacht werd op de moord van zijn vrouw.

Terwijl Tupac relaties had met Salli, Adina en Arnelle ging hij nog steeds met Kidada Jones om. Kidada was niet zo’n lieverdje, en niemand begreep wat Tupac nou precies in haar zag. Er ging ook het gerucht dat hij met Kidada omging omdat ze de dochter was van de meest gerespecteerde man in de entertainment industrie. Tupac had namelijk veel respect voor Kidada’s vader Quincy. Quincy en Tupac schenen afgesproken te hebben dat Quincy ook een album voor Tupac zou produceren. Quincy had ook Michael Jackson’s album geproduceerd, welke een groot succes was geworden en Tupac had daar wel oren naar.
Na Tupac’s dood heeft Kidada gezegd dat ze verloofd waren. Maar niemand, zelfs zijn eigen moeder niet, heeft ooit van Tupac gehoord dat Tupac en Kidada zich wouden verloven. Kidada zou dit mogelijk gezegd kunnen hebben om aanspraak te krijgen op Tupac’s erfenis. Tupac had namelijk veel geld.
In deze periode had Tupac een vrouw: Keisha Morris. Toen Tupac in de gevangenis zat wegens de verkrachtingszaak, is hij met Keisha in april 1995 in gevangenschap getrouwd. Het huwelijk strandde toen Tupac vrij kwam.

Hier een interview met Keisha Morris, in het magazine F.E.D.S.
KEISHA MORRIS-SHAKUR
Interview from F.E.D.S. Magazine
Before we go into this story let us describe this young woman. Keisha is a 27 year-old woman who has a Bachelors of Science in Criminal Justice graduated from John Jay College and also has a Masters in Education.
She's a strong black woman who knows the meaning of standing on your own. She was born Keisha Morris and has a title and last name that makes her a part of rap history, Shakur. Not boasting of it, she says, "I'm not proud of the things he did, but it was my job to stand by and support him."
A Bronx native and proud of it, she enjoys sports, reading and talking to adults and children about their problems. She says you have to sometimes have been through or seen issues to explain them. We thought we would be interview a bandana wearing female who hates everyone but herself, cursing and smoking weed. Instead she was very well mannered. It took us some time to get her to relax.
Tupac was a dream that turned into a nightmare. One day he was there for her to love then he was gone. "We were just about to try again," says Keisha who doesn't smoke weed, cigarettes, or drink. She was just the opposite of Tupac.
F.E.D.S.: What's up Keisha! You have a lot to talk about, huh?
K: Yeah, I have a lot of things to talk about. I want to thank F.E.D.S. magazine for giving me the opportunity to express my feelings. I did this article for personal issues dealing with me.
F: Tupac chose you to be his wife?
K: Yes, whether people want to accept it or not. I want the credit that is owed to me. I want to thank Suge Knight for remembering and acknowledging my position.
F: You were married to a part of history. How did you meet Tupac?
K: We met in June of 1994. We were both at a party that Puffy was throwing at a place called the Capitol. He came into the club, I saw him and spoke to him for a brief moment and walked away. I saw him a month later at the Tunnel another club in Manhattan. He came over to me and told me how he had been thinking about me ever since. I was very surprised. He remembered everything from when we first met. He even remembered the clothing I was wearing. Then he asked if he could take me out.
Initially, I was scared because I didn't know where he was coming from. I wanted to know "Why me?" out of everybody else. He said that he never had a woman treat him like I treated him, which was not impressed. I did not make a big deal out of him. He was attracted to that.
F: What was your first date like?
K: First of all I was a nervous wreck. He wanted me to meet him at his hotel and I was like "Oh no!" Me in broad daylight with a lot of people around. I was very hesitant, but I went anyway. We went to the Chelsea Movie Theatre to see Forest Gump and then we ate dinner around the corner in an Italian restaurant. He wanted to see Forest Gump because he read for the part of "Bubba." I was in total shock, I couldn't believe who I was on a date with.
F: What album did he have out at the time?
K: He was in the studio at the time recording Me Against the World.
F: Did you go to the studio with him?
K: Yes. He recorded in both Los Angeles and New York. I used to go with him to Unique Studio.
F: Did he tell you about the shooting?
K: Well, he called me on the phone to tell me that he'd been shot and to call his mother.
F: After he called what did you do?
K: He was talking fine, so I continued at first, but I made the necessary calls to his family.
F: Did you have a relationship with his mother?
K: Yeah we had a relationship. In the beginning she was happy Tupac was involved with a woman like me, but after we got serious our relationship became distant.
F: Any reason?
K: That was a choice she made. I didn't have a problem with her. My relationship was with her son.
F: Did she think you married her son for his money?
K: I don't know.
F: How did Tupac feel?
K: He didn't feel that way. We never had a prenuptial agreement, he knew it was pure love.
F: Was it rough being married to Tupac?
K: There were a lot of ups and downs. We had unusual situations. We never had a regular day. Everyday was something with him. His court days, jail and his time on Death Row. Pac was a very complex person. I never knew what to expect from him.
F: How was the sex?
K: I don't believe you guys are asking me this. Just listen to his music. That wasn't the problem. Our problem was communication. He was stubborn and wanted to be in control.
F: Do you think Suge had love for him?
K: Suge had love for him and Pac loved Suge and the West. He only hated the East.
F: Your from the East Cost.
K: I was an exception, to many people were caught up with the whole situation.
F: Describe a Tupac moment.
K: I went to visit Tupac in Atlanta and the hotel room caught on fire, he got mad at me because I tried to escape. He said he couldn't trust me because I should have stayed behind with him to fight the fire.
F: When were you guys were married?
K: We were married on April 4, 1995 and divorced in 1996.
F: So you got married while Pac was in jail?
K: Yes. I moved upstate. I had to make sure he was all right. That was an experience that I would never go through again. The jail was 65 miles south of Canada in Dannemora. It was cold and prejudice.
F: What was it like on a visit?
K: It was horrible. It was such a process and hassle. I took a bus from the city which took about six hours. Then when you got there you'd have to wait in this room for your number to be called and you'd be searched. They put him in protected custody and he did not want to be there. He wanted to be in general population. They did not realize how big a star he was. The correctional officers gave him a hard way to go sometimes.
F: On visits could you touch him?
K: No we didn't have any conjugal visits, nor did we want any.
F: Who went to visit him?
K: A few celebrities came, lawyers, managers, Suge, and his family.
F: Did you and Pac ever have fights?
K: No we didn't have fights. I just had a girl calling my house.
F: Did you smack him?
K: No, there were other ways to handle it.
F: Where did you live?
K: I lived in Harlem and he lived in Atlanta, but stayed at a hotel or at my house.
F: Were you around Suge?
K: Yes.
F: How was he?
K: He didn't bother me.
F: Did you have any children?
K: No.
F: Why didn't you have any kids?
K: It just didn't happen.
F: When he died, did you and his mother go through anything?
K: No. I stayed away. I did not have anything to do with it.
F: But you were his wife.
K: I was not a widow. I had divorced him before it happened, but we still dealt with each other. I was supposed to go out to Vegas but I didn't.
F: Why did you divorce him?
K: I couldn't take the stress anymore.
F: Do you think he's dead?
K: He didn't call me.
F: Where did Tupac get shot the first time?
K: He was grazed in the hand and hand, the most crucial shot was the thigh because it hit an artery. All his sexual organs were in place though.
F: Did Tupac ever tell you he was going to forget and forgive everything that happened on the East Coast?
K: Yes, at one time he was going to just forget about everything and just move forward, but when Biggie and Puffy did that article about him he got upset.
F: What helped you get over his death?
K: Peace with myself and knowing that he is resting peacefully. On our first date he told me he was going to die by the time he was 25, he said it would probably be murder. I looked at him like he was crazy.
F: It was said that he divorced you because he only wanted to be married to his music?
K: He didn't divorce me. I divorced him.
F: If Tupac were still alive do you think he would have married Quincy Jones' daughter?
K: He had plenty of time to marry her, why didn't he? He told me he was using her just to get to Quincy. I'm not denying that they had sex- he had sex with a lot of women.
F: Did you get a lot of crank calls because of your relationship with him?
K: Plenty of times. That didn't bother me. I adjusted very fast. I was only 21 years old when I met Tupac and he wanted to marry me right away. People think he wanted to marry me because he was in jail and needed trailer visits, but that wasn't the case. I met him in June and in September he bought me a ring. Tupac married me so I would have respect when I called Death Row. I was holding him down while he was in prison. I talked to his A&R and the video people. He didn't want people to say, "Oh that's just his girlfriend." He wanted me to have the title. I could have kept the title- people say I should've went after his money, but for what?
F: So you didn't get anything?
K: Nothing! And I'm fine with that. I didn't marry him to be anyone or get anything from him. If we had a child that would be a different story, but I can take care of myself- he wasn't my father.
F: How did Suge and Tupac get together?
K: Pac called me and said, "I want you to set up a meeting with me and Suge." So I called Interscope and they gave me the number at Death Row. The rest is history.

Brief van Mutulu
Deze brief is geschreven in de nacht van Tupac’s ‘dood’ vanuit de cel van zijn vader Mutulu Shakur.

In Florence, Colorado. I love you whenever....forever. Tupac, so much I needed to say, so much you wanted to say. Many conversations between us within the ether, whenever forever. The pain inflicted that scarred your soul but not your spirit gave force to the rebellion. Many couldn't see your dreams or understand your nightmares. How could they, Tupac? I knew your love and understood your passion. But you knew of your beginning and saw your end.... racing towards it. You taught and fought through your songs and deeds.
RATT-TATT-TATT of words penetrating the contradiction of our existence.
Whenever....forever Who cares? We cared, Tupac. The Shakurs have been guided by struggle, prepared or not, whenever....forever. We've exposed our existence, naked from fear, to those who would hear the positive. Who would witness the stress, wear and tear of this lonely path. You couldn't have evaded the effect or the changes. You inherited it, it was in your genes. But still, you danced your dance, you lived your life. You forced loyality on those who would fake and shake at the true vision. You were Tupac Like the four seasons, we come to this planet taking form, becoming elements of nature, Some of us are only one season, and others like you were part of many seasons. This dynamic will scare most anyone who realized the burden at such an early stage of life. You fought well. We love you. We understand.... forever, whenever. Please give my love to our family. Ask them to help you on the other side. Tell Zayd, Lumumba, Aby, Brother Leggs, Mtaryi, Attallah, that they are to continue to help us down here. Shakur's love is strong. Whenever....forever Friday 13th didn't mean a thing. Life is for living and dying well. Whenever.....forever.

Allah knows best. We choose the quality of our life. You understand the pain of disappointment in the ones we love. You pushed so many away. Burnt so many bridges so they wouldn't follow you into battles against the demons you were facing. Knowing well to what lengths you would go. This battlefield of reality is littered with many meaningless casualties You never yelled out "Somebody, save me!" You only asked for your soul to be free, whenever....forever. You told us to keep our head up, knowing the pain was coming. Knowing to look for the strength in the heavens. Set your soul free, Tupac Amaru. We keep waiting in vain for their love Will your levitation be awakening of us all? The division unsettling to our dreams and goals? You passing demanding repentance and resistance? We keep waiting, not in vain. We give you love. Give us love. To my brother and son, these emotions are hell. I wish you well in the next journey. My soul aches for comfort. In our next life we will finish our unfinished journey. Whenever.....forever. For now Tupac, we will hold our heads up. This journey is at an end, your ashes are in the wind. Friends and enemies will have to look to the stars. You are truly a star. A star navigating through the dynamics of this, your path chosen before you arrived. Lessions we've
gained will materialize after you're gone. Whenever....forever Your family will keep the spirit high, for we are Shakurs. We are thankful for what life
gives us. Through the pain and the struggle we are blessed by the victory. Go forward, Tupac. The victories---we will teach your mission, we are thankful for you. We love you, Tupac Shakur. We ain't mad at
you, we'll be better because of you. So now I give you my tears so I might assimilate your loss and I can live on in peace. Knowing I will feed your spirit with my unconditional love, knowing you will need it on your next journey.
May Allah bless you for your deeds and forgive your errors. Tupac come to me and give me strength.
Love always. Your father, friend, comrade,

Mutulu

Tupac’s dood

Op 7 september 1996 in Las Vegas, na een bokswedstrijd tussen Mike Tyson en Bruce Seldon (ook wel ‘the Tyson fight’ genoemd), vind er een schietpartij plaats. Tupac vertrok met de auto, samen met nog 2 mannen. En rondom Tupac’s auto rijden 10 auto’s met bodyguards. Volgens inzittenden kwam er toen een witte Cadillac aangereden, die Tupac’s auto onder vuur nam. Tupac werd 5 keer geraakt, en z.s.m. naar het dichtstbijzijnde ziekenhuis gereden. 7 dagen later, op 13 september overleed Tupac Amaru Shakur aan zijn verwondingen.

Leeft Tupac nog steeds?

Veel fans (meer dan 83% in 2002) geloven dat Tupac Shakur nog steeds in leven is. Er zijn veel verdachte details over zijn dood die erop wijzen dat Tupac nog steeds zou kunnen leven.

‘The 7 Days Theory’ is een van de redenen waarom Tupac nog in leven kan zijn. Bij Tupac’s ‘dood’ kwam heel vaak het nummer 7 voor, daarom het deze theorie ook ‘The 7 Days Theory’. De eerste cd die Tupac uitbracht na zijn dood heette ‘The Don Killuminati: The 7 Days Theory’. Het leek wel of het getal 7 echt Tupac’s cijfer was.

· Tupac werd 25 jaar. 2+5= 7.
· Hij ‘stierf’ in 1996. 1+9+9+6= 25. 2+5= 7.
· Het tijdstip van ‘overlijden’ was 04:03 uur. 0+4+0+3= 7.
· Op 7 september werd hij neergeschoten.
· Tupac werd geboren op 16 juni. 1+6= 7.
· Tupac werd geboren in 1971, en hij ‘overleed’ in 1996. (1+9+9+6)-(1+9+7+1) = 7.
· Er is 12 keer op Tupac’s auto geschoten, en Tupac is 5 keer geraakt. 12-5 = 7.
· 7 maanden nadat het album ‘All Eyez On Me’ werd uitgebracht werd Tupac neergeschoten.
· Nadat Tupac was neergeschoten (7 september), leefde hij nog de 8ste, 9de, 10de, 11de, 12de en de 13de overleed hij. Dat zijn 7 dagen.
· Op het album ‘Greatest Hits’ heeft cd 1 12 tracks, en cd 2 13 tracks. 12+13= 25. 2+5= 7.
· Op het album van Daz Dillinger, ‘Retaliation, Revange and Get Back’ is Tupac samen met Daz te horen op track 7.
· Officieel heeft Tupac 7 albums uitgebracht, dan tellen we de bootlegs niet mee.
· Zijn album ‘R U Still Down (remember me)’ werd uitgebracht op de 25ste . 2+5= 7.
· Op zijn rug had Tupac een groot kruis met ‘Exodus 18:11’. 18-11= 7.
· Op het album van Jon B ‘Cool Relax’ is Tupac te horen op het nummer ‘R U Still Down’. Dit is track 7.
· Aan het einde van ‘Hold On Be Strong’ zegt Tupac; ‘Things get tough especially round the 1st and the 15th. 1+1+5= 7.
· In de clip van ‘I Wonder if Heaven Got A Ghetto’ gaat een vrouw een hotelkamer binnen, nummer 7.
· Tupac was gelovig, en het getal 7 komt weel in de bijbels voor. Bijv. de 7 wereldwonderen, de 7 dodelijke plagen enz.
· In het nummer ‘When We Ride’ volgt in het intro de volgende tekst; ‘Picture, if you will, the 7 deadly human beings. Blessed with the gift to speak, the power to reach each nigga on every street’.
· Op zijn Makaveli album ‘Tha Don Killuminati: The 7 Days Theory’ op het nummer ‘Blasphemy’ wordt in het begin gezegd; ‘And if the lord returns in the coming 7 days then we’ll see you next time’.
· In de film ‘Gang Related’ waar Tupac in speelde, is het nummer van Tupac in het ziekenhuis 115. 1+1+5= 7.
· In de clip van ‘Toss It Up’ breekt hij een spiegel, dat betekent in het bijgeloof 7 jaar ongeluk.
· In de song ‘White Man’z World’ hoor je in het begin; ‘7 years… 7 years… 7 years’.
· In de song ‘Toss It Up’ van het album ‘Greatest Hits’ hoor je op de achtergrond ‘7 years…’
· Op de laatste pagina van het boekje van het album ‘All Eyez on me staat’; PO BOX 2694, 2x6= 12-9= 3+4= 7. Decatur Georgia 300317, 3+0+0+3+1= 7.
· Er waren 7 Outlawz, totdat Kadafi (de persoon die de dader kon identificeren, maar voordat hij dat gedaan heeft vermoord is) vermoord werd.
· ‘Thug Luv’, het liedje van Tupac op Bone’s cd ‘Art of War’ (T+H+U+G+L+U+V= 7).
· In ‘Bomb First’ hoor je 6 schoten, en bij de 7de gaat Tupac rappen.
· Bij het teken van ‘Death Row’ (Tupac’s platenmaatschappij), de man die in de stoel zit heeft op zijn linkerborst het nummer 935. 9+3-5= 7.
· In de clip ‘Do for Love’ gooit Tupac met dobbelstenen, eerst gooit hij 2 en 5 (2+5= 7) en dan gooit hij 3 en 4 (3+4= 7).
· Tupac’s album ‘All Eyez On Me’ is 13 februari 1996 uitgebracht, Tupac ‘overleed’ op 13 september 1996. Tussen deze data’s 7 maanden.
· In de film ‘Gridlock’d’ wanneer Tupac en Roth op de menukaart kijken, zijn de L’s ondersteboven een 7 (7 Days Theory).
· Bij Tupac’s tatoo op zijn rug staat ‘Exodus 16:31’. In de bijbel staat ‘ dus de mensen rusten op de 7e dag…’. Alles van Exodus 16 heeft met de 7e dag te maken.

Al deze informatie zou moeten betekenen dat Tupac op 07-07-2003 of 13—9-2003 terug zou moeten komen. Dit is niet gebeurt. Wél stond er in een Amerikaanse krant onderstaand artikel, Tupac zou zijn gezien.

Maar er zijn nog meer verdachte feiten wat zou kunnen betekenen dat Tupac nog in leven is.

· Vrijdag de 13e is een erg verdachte dag i.v.m. het bijgeloof.
· De bestuurder van de auto waarin Tupac zat toen er op hem geschoten werd, Suge Knight (de producer van Death Row Records), verscheen niet toen de politie hem wou ondervragen over de schietpartij.
· Er is een kleine zwarte buurt in het noorden van de stad. De buurt is maar 8 blokken lang. Als de aanvallers zwart waren, waar zijn ze dan heen gegaan? Waar hebben ze zich verstopt?
· Er waren geen getuigen op straat. Dat is heel onwaarschijnlijk omdat het vlak na een zwaargewicht bokswedstrijd was, en de hele ‘arena’ leeg loopt.
· Suge Knight zei dat hij Tupac naar het dichtstbijzijnde ziekenhuis reed, en ze onderweg nog een gesprek hadden. Hoe erg was Tupac er aan toe?
· De witte Cadillac waaruit geschoten is, is nooit gevonden. L.V. ligt midden in een woestijn, dan kan een witte Cadillac toch niet zomaar verdwijnen?
· De witte Cadillac van waar uit de aanvallers op Tupac geschoten hebben, moest zich eerst nog door een stuk of 10 auto’s met bodyguards heen wringen. Geen van allen deed de moeite om Tupac te beschermen. Tupac is 5 keer geraakt, terwijl de bestuurder van de auto; Suge Knight geen schrammetje had. Ook de bodyguards hadden niks. Je moet wel heel scherp kunnen schieten om door de bewakingsauto’s langs 5 keer dezelfde persoon te raken.
· Er zijn nooit foto’s van Tupac genomen tijdens zijn verblijf in het ziekenhuis.
· Er zou geen pers komen op Tupac’s begrafenis, maar de begrafenis is geannuleerd om onbekende reden.
· Tupac droeg altijd een kogelvrij vest, waarom juist die ene avond niet met het Tyson gevecht?
· In sommige songs rapte Tupac over gecremeerd worden. Dus waarom is Tupac opeens gecremeerd worden terwijl hij eigenlijk begraven zou worden?
· Tupac is 1 dag na zijn ‘dood’ gecremeerd. Sinds wanneer cremeren ze mensen 1 dag na hun dood? En helemaal met een moord…
· De herinneringsdiensten voor het publiek in Atlanta en Los Angeles zijn beide niet doorgegaan om onbekende reden.
· De enige getuige van de schietpartij die de dader zou gaan indentificeren, Kadafi (Yafeu Fula) is enkele maanden na Tupac dood geschoten.
· Waarom zou een machtige platenmaatschappij als ‘Death Row Records’ geen beloning uitloven aan degene die met goede tips kwam? Tupac was immers altijd goed geweest met Suge Knight.
· Tupac’s alias is Makaveli, dat verwijst naar Machiavelli, een 16e eeuws Italiaanse filosoof. Machiavelli zei dat je om je vijand te misleiden je eigen dood in scène moest zetten. Toen Tupac in de gevangenis zat las hij veel van Machiavelli’s boeken, zelfs meerdere keren. Misschien nam Tupac Machiavelli’s advies aan? Machiavelli schreef voor zijn dood 2 boeken. Als je kijkt naar hoe de ‘All Eyez On Me’ cd’s heten; ‘Book 1’ en ‘Book 2’, welke dezelfde naam hebben als Machiavelli’s laatste boeken.
· Als je de naam Makaveli opsplitst krijg je ‘Am Alive’ of ‘I Am Alive’.
· In december 1996 kreeg Tupac’s album platina. In interviews voor de schietpartij vertelde Tupac dat hij misschien wilde stoppen met rappen en niet meer zo’n gangsta te zijn en uit de spotlights vandaan te komen. Wat zou de enige manier zijn om geen media aandacht meer te krijgen en uit de spotlights vandaan te komen? Antwoord; door de mensen te laten denken dat hij dood is.
· Na de schietpartij gaf Snoop Doggy Dogg (Snoop Dogg) zijn album ‘Doggystyle’ uit. De schietpartij maakte Snoop ‘echter’ en hij liet aan zijn fans zien dat hij een echte gangsta was. De schietpartij gaf hem respect omdat iedereen die zijn album kocht geloofde waar hij over praatte. Een week na de uitgave van ‘Doggystyle’ kreeg het album platina. Snoop maakte dit album bij dezelfde platenmaatschappij als Tupac, Death Row Records.
· De titel van het nieuwe album van Makaveli (Tupac) heet ‘The 7 Days Theory’. Op 7 september is hij neergeschoten, hij overleefde de 8ste, de 9de, de 10de, de 11de, de 12de en hij ‘overleed’ de 13de. Dat verwijst ook weer naar The 7 Days Theory.
· Er is niets in het nieuwe album dat zegt; ‘TUPAC RIP 1971-1996’. Zou het niet ‘normaal’ zijn om zoiets in het eerste album van een overleden artiest te zetten? Het enige wat geschreven stond was ‘EXIT TUPAC ENTER MAKAVELI’

Veel fans vonden in zijn songs ook verschillende aanwijzingen dat hij nog zou leven.

· In de song ‘Life Goes On’ rapte Tupac over zijn eigen begrafenis.
· De clip van ‘I ain’t mad at Cha’ is maar 5 dagen na Tupac’s dood uitgekomen. ‘I ain’t mad at Cha’ is track 13 op het album ‘All Eyez On Me’. In de clip laten ze Tupac zien als een engel in de hemel. In de clip wordt er op Tupac geschoten nadat hij met een vriend het theater verlaat, wat ook overeenkomt met zijn echte dood.
· Tupac ging dood in zijn laatste clip als ‘2pac’. Zijn nieuwe clip ‘Toss It Up’ van zijn nieuwe album werd uitgebracht onder de naam ‘Makaveli’. De tweede clip die onder de naam Makaveli uitgebracht werd was ‘To Live and Die In L.A.’. Maar hoe konden ze een nieuwe clip opnemen als Tupac al overleden was? Was de clip echt 4 maanden voor zijn dood opgenomen?
· In de clip ‘Hail Mary’, uitgebracht onder de naam Makaveli, zie je een grafsteen waar ‘Makaveli’ op staat. In de grafsteen zit een barst, net alsof er iemand uit zijn graf is gekropen.
· In Makaveli’s (Tupac) song ‘White Mans World’ van het album ‘The 7 Days Theory’ zegt Tupac; ‘We ain’t never gonna walk off this planet unless ya’ll choose to’. Heeft hij ervoor gekozen om van de aarde af te ‘lopen’ door zijn dood te faken?
· In Richie Rich’s album ‘Seasoned Veteran’, uitgebracht op dezelfde datum als ‘The 7 Days Theory’, in de song ‘N*ggas Done Changed’, wat een duet met Tupac is, rapt Tupac het volgende; ‘I've been shot and murdered, can't tell you how it happened word for word / but best believe that n*ggas' gonna get what they deserve’. Dit betekent dat Tupac weet dat hij dood is als Richie Rich’s album is uitgebracht.
· In Tupac’s song ‘Ambitionz az a Ridah’ van het album ‘All Eyez On Me’ zegt hij het volgende; ‘Blast me but they didn't finish, didn't diminish my powers so now I'm back to be a muthaf*ckin' menace, they cowards thats why they tried to set me up, had b*tch *ss n*ggas on my team so indeed they wet me up, BUT I'M BACK REINCARNATED’. Dat betekent dat Tupac is gereïncarneerd in Makaveli.
· Op de voorkant van ‘The 7 Days Theory’ staat Tupac afgebeeld als Jezus aan het kruis. De producer van ‘The 7 Days Theory’ is Simon (hij is vrij onbekend in de rap wereld). In de bijbel is Simon een van de apostelen van Jezus. Simon was een apostel die Jezus hielp zijn kruis te dragen. Zou Suge Knight Simon kunnen zijn? Hij was immers de oprichter en baas van Tupac’s platenmaatschappij ‘Death Row Records’.
· In Tupac’s song ‘Life Goes On’ van de cd ‘All Eyez On Me’ zei hij dat als hij dood was hij wou dat iedere rapper op zijn begrafenis zou rappen. Waarom vervulde ‘Death Row Records’ Tupac’s laatste wens niet?
· De cover van Makaveli DK 7 Days Theory heeft veel verborgen mysterieuze icoontjes.
· In de eerste seconden van de song INTRO/BOMB FIRST kan je horen wie beweerd wordt te zeggen wat Kadafi zei ‘Suge Shot Me’.
· In de song ‘Life of An Outlaw’. an Outlaw says, ‘All For the street fame on how to be managed, to plan shit six months in ad vane to what we plotted, approved to go on swole, and now I got it...’
· In de song, ‘Made Niggas’, on the ‘Gang Related’, and ‘Supercop’ soundtracks zegt Tupac ‘Fuck 'em all who can't understand my plot to get richer...Outlaw to the grave, a muthafuckin' made nigga...’
· In E-40’s duet met Tupac ‘Million Dollar Spot’ zegt Tupac ‘Fans can't understand my ghetto slang, so I evade and plot and plan a life of better things...’
· In de song, ‘Ain't Hard 2 Find’ zegt Tupac ‘I heard rumours that I died murdered in cold blood, tramatized pictures of me in my final states, you know mama cried, but that was fiction, some coward got the story twisted...’
· I Aint Mad At Cha’(de clip die Tupac’s dood laat zien) is ook nummer 13 op de cd ‘All Eyez On Me’. Tupac ‘overleed’ op vrijdag de 13e.
· In Tupac’s song ‘No More Pain’ zegt Tupac ‘A heart of a soldier with the brains to teach a whole nation’. Bedoelde hij Jezus of Machiavelli? Jezus en Machiavelli waren beide belangrijke voorbeelden voor Tupac.
· ‘Ambitionz as a Ridah’ Verse 1: ‘ Now these money hungry bitches gettin' suspicious, started plott'n and planin' on schemes...’
· ‘Ambitionz as a Ridah’ Verse 3: ‘payoff tha block, evade tha cops, 'cause I know they comin' for me, I been hesitant to reappear been away for years now I'm back...my adversaries been reduced to tears...’
· ‘White Man's World’ 3rd verse: ‘Time so tell me why, you changed choosing new direction, in a blink of an eye, my time away just made perfection... Did you think I'd die, not gonna cry …’
· ‘Life of an Outlaw’ Verse 2: ‘Who should I call when I'm shot and bleedin, indeed the possibility has part a chase in cream, dope got me hatin' fiends. Scheme wit my team, just a chosen few.’
· ‘Blasphemy’ Verse 2: ‘I'm contemplating plots, wondering which door to go, brotha getting shot, coming back resurrected, it's just that raw shit, nigga check it...’
· Speelde Bone Thugs N Harmony een rol in het faken van Tupac’s ‘dood’? In de ‘Thug Luv’ song, net voordat Tupac begint met rappen, hoor je Bone op de achtergrond ‘He's alive, he's alive, he's alive...’ zeggen.
· De song waarin Tupac zegt dat hij nog leeft, ‘Hold Ya Head’ op de Makaveli cd, voordat Tupac begint met rappen, zegt een stem ‘Can you see him?’, een andere stem zegt ‘I see him’. Dan zegt Tupac zachtjes ‘Im alive’

Op internet wordt er nog steeds veel over gepraat; is Tupac dood of leeft hij nog?
Misschien dat we het ooit nog te weten komen, maar misschien blijft Tupac zelf de enige persoon die weet hoe het allemaal in elkaar zit.

Big Frank verteld over de fatale schietpartij

Big Frank, Tupac’s bodyguard verteld over de fatale schietpartij in Las Vegas. Frank heeft ook een boek gepubliceerd ‘Got Your Back’. Het hele boek is gewijd aan Tupac, alles wordt erin beschreven.
Vegas was hot, but I wasn't complaining. I was gonna see 'Pac.
While driving from LA the day before, I realised I'd missed the homie.
It was my first day back at work from vacation, I'd spent most of August
with my ten-year-old daughter, and I looked forward to going back to work.
I was scheduled to bodyguard him through the weekend. Tupac was supposed to turn up at the Luxor hotel sometime in the afternoon, which was just as well because we had a security meeting early in the day, and I didn't want it to conflict with his arrival. The meeting was held at a Vegas attorney's office. Seems that for proper Nevada State to get clearance for security officers to carry guns, a letter should have been sent in advance. It was not done. No guns meant a lack of security. At the meeting the attorney confirmed we were not allowed to carry guns on us at any time especially at the club. Suge had gotten the Vegas police to agree to let him open Club 662 for the night but that didn't mean they were happy about it.
If we were caught with a gun on us behind state lines, that's all it would have taken for them to shut 662 down. It didn't matter that out of the 20 guards on duty that night, most were police officers and all were legally licensed to carry weapons. Death Row couldn't take any chances. The only ay Suge got Metro to allow him to have his club open that night was because it was a benefit for some retired boxer. Once they got benefit status, he was allowed to open it. He wouldn't have been allowed to swing it any other way, because he was having too many legal problems. It was, after all, Suge Knight's club and anything related to Death Row didn't particularly thrill them.
We'd hired extra security for the post-fight show that night. Run-DMC was scheduled to perform and if the last 662 performance was any indication, we could easily lose control of the crowd. Shit, when Tupac performed at 662 in November - his first show, after he got out of prison - the place got crazy. It was complete chaos. The club's capacity is 680 but there were more than 1,000 fans that night. It was slamming but it was also out of control. Tupac, followed by Suge, David Kenner and the entire Death Row entourage, howed up late in his black Mercedes 500SL, wearing a derby hat and a vest, all charged-up to perform. Mike Tyson was there with his bodyguards, along with Dion Saunders and his entourage, and Forest Whitaker, who was drunk off his ass. Everybody who was anybody wanted in that night. Tonight, we really had to iron out security detail. The main objective was to keep the crowd under control. They didn't want any problems because the Las Vegas police Department would shut the joint down if you dropped a match. All the rules had to be strictly enforced, and for this evening, that included leaving all guns behind. Like anyone who carries a weapon, I didn't like being without it. It made me feel empty to be without my piece, a compact Colt 45 - a police officer's special - that I always took with me on the job. I was never without it, I always had it on me, always, but on this one particular day I was told to leave it in my car. We were travelling in an entourage that night, so the chances of something happening were slim. That's what I thought.
Ater the meeting we caught a ride with Reggie, he took us out to lunch at TGIF'S. When we finished eating, Reggie started bitching about Kevin Hackie, the bodyguard who replaced me when I was on vacation. They'd gotten into it over money. Kevin, who had worked with Reggie long before he hooked up with Suge to form Wrightway, when they were both policing the streets of Compton, managed to hook something up with the producers of Gang Related, the movie 'Pac made in August. He got paid $10,000 for offering his technical advice on the shooting scenes. Reggie felt Kevin had undermined his authority by taking the ten grand and still taking money from Wrightway for bodyguarding 'Pac. In my opinion, Kevin took what he deserved, Reggie didn't see it that way. By now, we were at a carwash down the street from Luxor on Flamingo Road. Reggie Was spilling his guts about Kevin, and I was hearing him out, but I couldn't help but think about Norris Anderson's nickname for Reggie. He used to call him 'Rona Barrett', because he talked so much. Norris was married to Suge's sister, and a Death Row executive. I listened to Reggie bitch all the w back to the Luxor. As soon as we got back to the Luxor, I didn't have any trouble locating 'Pac. The boy loved to gamble, and to find him, I just looked for the craps table surrounded by the highest percentage of hoochies. Kidada was up in her hotel room, As usual, his soldiers were right by his side. I made my way over to his table. ‘Pac lit up When he saw me.
"Big Frank, what's up?" 'Pac always greeted me warmly, but this time I could
tell he was particularly glad to see me, too. We all embraced - it had been a long month. 'Pac was looking good. He was still skinny as all hell, he'd been working for a year straight with little let-up and it was taking its toll on him physically. He was sporting one of the new silky button-down shirts he'd gotten from one of the fashion designers when he was in Italy. More notably, he was boasting a new chunk of gold. A $30,000 diamond-studded medallion about three inches in diameter dangled prominently from his neck. In the middle, it had the emblem for Euphanasia, the name of a company 'Pac had started. The image was of a muscular black angel of death, on his knees with his head tilted down by huge wings and a halo. 'Pac and his crew always spelled names their own way and Euphanasia was his take on 'euthanasia', which means an easy and painless death, or a way to end suffering painlessly. I could toll he was really relaxed and up - he was always in good spirits on fight nights 'cause Tyson was hit boy. The Luxor, however, wasn't treating him right - he was playing at a $25 table and he was losing. 'Pac was bettor and this table wasn't paying off so we decided to move things over to the MGM. It was about two or three pm and we had plenty of gamble before meeting up with Suge later for the fight.

While we walked over to the MGM, you could already tell it was fight night. All the rich people were in town - sports heroes, celebrities, high rollers. You could afffiost feel the money changing hands. We strolled over the bridge separating " two casinos, and when we got to the MGM Grand, Tupac's luck started to change. He began winning big. He was covering all the odds and was coming away with $1,400 to $2,000 a roll. He probably rolled the dice for two or three minutes - a long time on a craps table. Winners always attract a crowd, but as soon as people started figuring out who he was, the crowd got more serious. Tupac loved the attention. What better place for
a high-roller gangsta to be seen rolling high, than in Vegas at a craps table. I started tensing up because everyone was looking to get in his face, Michael Moore had walked with us from the Luxor, and he had 'Pac flanked on one side and I had the other. The Outlaws were staggered throughout the crowd, spread out so people wouldn't know who they were.

Despite the size of the throng, everything was cool for a little while. When good mood, everything usually stayed pretty cool. It helped that he was on winning streak, because the Vegas code dictates you don't disturb gamblers in action. But since it was 'Pac, people were still trying to angle their way in. Dozens of hoochies were hitting him up for an autograph, a photograph, any piece of 'Pac. It started getting more and more difficult to keep people out of his space, and it was getting close to fight time. I needed a phone to check in with Reggie at in case Suge was looking for him - he always wanted to know where at all times. The fucked-up thing was, I didn't have my security staff MO-cell phone. While I was on vacation, Kevin used it and since he and Reggie were fighting, I didn't have it on me because Kevin wasn't coming to Vegas. I couldn't believe I'm rolling with Death Row's million-dollar boy, one of the biggest rap stars in the world, and I got to use a pay phone. I must've left him for about a minute, long enough to leave Reggie a message from a public phone a couple of feet away, before making my way back to the table. 'Pac wasn't there.
Goddammit, I thought to myself, he 's not being security conscious. All of them had taken off, leaving me behind, a they'd gone. To top it off, I was stuck without a phone for to get more and more uneasy. I circled the casino decision to walk back to the Luxor. If I had the radio. I could've reached anybody in the security immediately and told them 'Pac had disappeared. I felt myself starting to panic. 'Pac's been kidnapped. I lost him, it's my fault. Dammit, where the fuck is he?
As soon as I got to the Luxor, I began paging him repeatedly. I paged Michael Moore; I tried reaching Reggie. Where was everybody? Here I am, the number one guy, and I lose 'Pac making a phone call five feet from him. It was the first time he'd ever left me, and it gave me an eerie feeling. My client had never been missing before. " Big Frank! " I hear 'Pac's voice behind me. A wave of relief passed over me. "'Pac, where the hell you all been, man. You left me over there." "Oh, I asked them where you were at," he said. "Now I can't find anybody." Tupac Shakur, one of the most wanted men in America, had spent the last hour walking around Vegas alone. Even the Outlaws were nowhere to be found.

"Ah, Frankie, you know I can kick anybody's ass down here," 'Pac boasted. "Dude, you cannot be doing this," I told him. "You can not be shaking security, especially me, especially here in Las Vegas."
"I ain't worried about it." 'Pac, that ain't the point. I know you can fight. The point is, you need security to step in and stop things before they happen. Do me a favor, don't shake me anymore. Do not leave me without knowing where you're at." For all his bravado, he seemed distracted. It really appeared to bother him that the Outlaws were missing. He called them about half a dozen times but couldn't reach them. The whole thing was odd, because they were always with him. He was like a pissed-off dad whose kids had run off to play. We sat down near a house phone and waited for someone to turn up. After another attempt to reach Reggie, we managed to hook-up. He told us Suge would meet us at the MGM before the fight. It was too hot to make that walk again so we decided to catch a cab.
I looked at 'Pac, who hadn't changed his clothes since we met at the casino. As usual, he's not wearing his bullet-proof vest. It didn't surprise me, nine times out of ten he didn't wear it. It was always an issue between the two of us. But 'Pac did what 'Pac wanted to do. Before the cab driver could find a place to let us out, I sized up the crowd. It was out of control. As soon as Tupac got out, people started coming at us from all angles. "Tupac! Tupac! Tupac! Tupac!" I'm all that stands between him and them. As we're walking through the mob, people started following us. I flagged down a MGM security guard, who could clearly see we problems. He escorted us behind the crowd out of the view of the to a private lobby near the entrance of the fight area.
We hung out there for a while, and as the fight began drawing closer, I watched Tupac begin losing patience. "I hate this shit. Suge does this all the time." It was 15 minutes before fight time and Tupac was getting restless. The pre-fights were over and Tyson and Seldon were up next. 'Fuck this shit, every time we go somewhere he always has to be flicking late!' Tupac's eyes were blazing. "I didn't want to come to Vegas, no fuckin' way. We gonna miss the fucking fight. " Despite security efforts to keep crowds away from him, fans kept working their way towards him, taking pictures, asking for more autographs. I watched him get visibly more tense as each minute ticked by. "Go call Reggie and find out where he is." I took off towards a phone knowing that he knew and I knew it wouldn't do a damn bit of good. Suge always made him wait and this night was no different. I made the call anyway, a thinly veiled token attempt to ease 'Pac's tension. Waiting on Suge was a recurring problem. We'd call a meeting and wait three, four, sometimes five hours for Suge to turn up. The fact that this was a Tyson fight apparently didn't make any difference. "I'm gonna get my own goddamn tickets," Tupac said. But we both knew the truth: we weren't going anywhere. We were gonna do what we always did - wait on Suge.

When he finally arrived, it was just him and one of his homeboys. He pulled out four tickets to get us in, and as we were entering, the National Anthem was playing. Security held us up, but Suge and 'Pac continued to walk toward the ringside seats. "You're not going anywhere till we let you go by," said one of the officers. Oh no, here we go already. Suge and 'Pac started to get hot-headed and I was foreseeing the first fight of the night. Luckily the anthem ended before they blew up, and we made it down the aisle to watch the fight. Which seemed to last about a minute. No matter to 'Pac. He was jumping around hysterically because Tyson took him out so fast feat. "50 blows! 50 blows! I counted them," he said jumping up and down with a pugilist's pantomime. "He hit him 50 times. Bang bang bang bang bang ... Boom!" With 'PW leading the pack, we worked our way backstage, and started to mingle with the Tyson camp. We were only them for a couple of minutes before Suge gave the word to leave. This was the first time 'Pac wouldn't be allowed to great Tyson, which he did after every fight. I started to mull over the day, and I realised everything seemed just a beat off. I didn't have my phone, I couldn't carry my gun, 'Pac had left me and then lot his boys. I started getting a strong premonition that a long night lay ahead of us. As we exited the backstage area, we met up with the reel of the entourage, which included all of Suge's homeboys and all of 'Pac's Outlaws. Everyone was crowding around the entrance area, and as we were standing around bullshitting about the fight, Travon - one of Suge's homeboys - came up to 'Pac and whispered in his left ear. What he whispered, I don't know, but my heart sunk. It really was gonna be one of those nights. Like lightning, 'Pac took off running, and I took off running behind him.

Orlando Anderson - I would learn his name later - stood about six fast one, and it locked like he was anticipating the arrival of someone. Not necessarily Tupac, but someone. He was standing with an MGM security guard who appeared to have him detained. Tupac started swinging and Anderson want down immediately. As he fell to the ground, the entire Death Row entourage showed up. At that point, I was pulling Tupac away from Orlando, trying to get him off him. 'Pac's black angel intervened. A link on his medallion broke and he stopped beating on Orlando when the necklace snapped apart. While he went down to grab it, I grabbed him and pulled him away from the scene. I ushered him away from the scuffle, and had him up against the wall. "Goddammit, 'Pac you knew you can't be doing this!" I told him. "I'm not gonna let you back over them. Use your head! You've got a court date coming up. " My back was to the fight, but I could hear security coming up. I started easing Tupac out of the picture. My whole objective was to keep him out of it, but he wanted back in. As he attempted to jump back into the crowd, I reached into the fray and plucked him out a second time. At this point I could see Suge and his homeboys kicking Anderson while he was still down.

"Let's go," - I heard Suge yell, and everybody started to scatter. The only problem was, no-one knew which way was out and people started to panic. I had scooped out the exits earlier when I was looking for 'Pac, and knew where to find the nearest door. The crowd saw us head outside and followed us out of the building. As we made it to the exit, I could hear security calling for Metro. We proceeded to go back to the Luxor by foot, and we were walkin', everyone's talking about the fight. Tupac didn't waste any time chiming in. The bragging started before we even hit the bridge. 'It was just like the fight. Boom, one, boom, two and he was down. I took him out faster than Tyson!' Everyone was laughing and congratulating him and no-one asked why he beat on the guy. For his part, Tupac didn't offer an explanation. It didn't matter to him why he did h. It was just another fight - another chance for him to prove himself. For 'Pac, bragging after a fight was like having a smoke after sex. He'd get all charged-up, and I just looked at his behaviour m another part of Thug Life. At the time all I was thinking was, Thank god we got out of there. By now, we probably had at least a 100 groupies following us back to the Luxor. Men and women, young and old, every kind of hanger-on you could imagine. I was the only bodyguard.
Everyone else had their instructions to head over to 662 and no-one in security knew what just happened. I'm on Tupac like glue now. When he want upstairs to change, I went with him. While Tupac switched out of his jeans into a pair of matching green jersey, I fixed the link on his medallion he out. I realize I was dehydrated from all the commotion. I began thinking about what just happened. Oh well, I tell myself, it was just mother fight, and it's over, every other fight we've had in the past, except we didn't get stopped by the police. There were no witnesses, no guns drawn. At this point, I'm not thinking about the cameras, and what they might have captured on video. I didn't know till later in the weak, that the guy he beat up was a Compton Crip they believe tom up a Foot Locker in the Lakewood Mall after trying to snatch Trevon's Death Row necklace. Apparently there was $10,000 bounty for them. None of this would come to light until much later. In the meantime, all I was thinking about was making it through the rest of the evening with no more bullshit.

While the rest of the world was talking about the Tyson fight - did Seldon take a dive or did he take a punch about the night's real fight. As usual, Kidada missed all the excitement, and he had to fill her in. She loved his roughneck side, and this was as close to the action as she usually got. He didn't invite her to the club tonight, either. We went back downstairs to the valet parking area, and it was a complete and total scene. The Death Row entourage was in effect. People were getting in cars and heading over to 662, and girls were making their way over to us. Okay, you wanna see some some hoochies, here they were. There's nothing like fight-night hoochies. These women put an the skimpiest outfits possible, most of them half dressed, with their breasts hanging out and asses hanging out, all angling to get into 662. None of our entourage was in a hurry to get to the liked making showy entrances and he wasn't about to arrive early. Finally, Suge signalled it was time to go to his house, and 'Pac pulled me aside. "I want you to drive Kidada's Lexus with the Lil' Homies, and I'm gonna ride with Suge." My gun was in my car, a two-seater parked on the other side of the hotel, and I knew I couldn't say, 'Hey, Suge, 'Pac, why don't you wait up a minute while I go over to my car?' It wouldn't happen. Once we're rolling, we're rolling - there's no time to make a run. I wasn't allowed to carry a firearm tonight anyway, I told myself, and there's going to be 20 security guards waiting at the club by the time we get them. Besides, 'Pac wants me to do him a favor and look after his Outlaws. Most of 'em can't drive legally, and 'Pac know they were gonna get drunk. Somebody had to drive. I meant worried. We'd make our way from the hotel to Suge's and onto the club like we had many times before. As soon m I got in the Lexus, however, mother red flag went up. The light was on that indicated the tank was on empty. I had no idea how much reserve Kidada's car had, and I knew damn well we mart gonna be stopping for gas. I had to pray we'd make it to Suge's and to the club, because we wouldn't be able to gas up until the evening was over. To make matters worse, Suge had a lead foot - nearly as bad as Tupac's - and I was chasing him on fumes.
The capper: I had to keep the windows down - we couldn't risk running the AC. Suge's house was a sprawling one-level mansion across from Mike Tyson's and Wayne Newton's homes. Like everything Suge owned, it was dominated by the color red - red carpeting in the master bedroom, red fixtures throughout. It looked the same as it always did, but one detail stood out: had the pool pained a deep blood red in shape of the Death Row emblem. We only stayed there for about ten or 15 minutes before the cars started lining up to see - a parade of some of the most badass gangstas around. The entourage consisted of about a dozen cars, all top-of-the-line Mercedes, BMWS, Cadillac’s, and Lexus’s, and nearly all in black. Suge's homies were all Compton street thugs, afraid of nothing and nobody.
As we were taking off, you could hear the Pioneer systems bumping that bass so loud the ground was trembling. Right as we were nearing the strip, a bicycle cop motioned Suge to pull over. My windows were down, and I could hear them pumping Makaveli, 'Pac's latest project - 'Pac always listened to 'Pac when he was driving, he used the time to review what he was currently working on. It seemed the cop had given it a thumbs-down - they were playing the music louder than the city's limits allowed. Suge was driving a brand new 750IL that he'd just bought the week before and he hadn't even put in his custom stereo yet. The car didn't have plates, it had come straight from the dealer. The officer asked Suge to step out the car. II was right on the tail and I could see Suge get out of the car and walk toward the back. He seemed to be relaxed as he opened the trunk and so did the cop. Suge got back in the car and that was the end of it.
I don't know how they managed to avoid being busted for marijuana. It didn't matter that both of them were on probation, 'Pac had dope on him 24 hours a day. His mindset was, "I'm a multi-millionaire, I have the best attorneys in the country. I've got more cash in my pocket than you'll see in a year, so fuck 'em". They didn't take this shit seriously. Their lifestyle, and the way they view pot is, it's a minor offence. Until I saw Suge drive off, I was sweating it, literally. Between them messing with the police, no AC, and no gas, I had plenty to be worried about. At this point I wanted to suggest to Suge to make a right turn on Tropicana, so we could enter the club the back way, and the only reason I didn't was he'd already blown through the light. He was moving too fast. Suge knew the shortcut too, and if we were just going to the club to check things out during the day, he would have taken it. But he took Flamingo to make his presence known. They had Makaveli blaring, an entourage of cars, and Tyson had won. To top it off, they'd won their own fight and were probably feeling extra good. As we were cruising down Flamingo, women were rolling up beside the cars and joining in the entourage. Everyone wanted into the club tonight, and that's how many of them usually got in - by sliding in with us. Crowds of cars started surrounding us, and I started to get the same feeling I had at the casino when 'Pac was on winning streak. All eyes were on him and
at any moment, things could have sprung out of control. As we stopped at a red light, a white Cadillac rolled up next to us. I can still see the car clearly, it had the distinctive brake-light configuration that all new-model Caddies have. I replay that image over and over in my head. It was just another red light, and it was just another white Cadillac. Suge's homie K-Dove was travelling in front of them, and I am directly behind them. I looked dead at the car, and I saw the arm come out and the gun. Bam bam bam bam!
My first reaction was, Oh my fuckin' God. I jumped out of the car, and as I was running up to Suge's BMW, the white Cadillac sped off and made a turn to the right. As I reached the BMW, teary-eyed and in shock, I'm thinking,
They're dead. They are dead. There's absolutely no way that anyone in the car's moving. Before I made it to the back of the car, the BMW took off and did a U-turn to the left. K-Dove also whipped a U-turn, and I ran back to the Lexus, jumped in and began following them. I can't even tell you how fast we were going. We jumped every median getting back to the Strip and we caught up with Suge's car at Vegas Boulevard and Harmon. It had made it through the intersection but was grounded by two flat tyres hitting the medians. I jumped out of the car and saw that the Vegas PD were everywhere. I ran up and identified myself as Tupac's bodyguard and an ex-cop, and they allowed me to come in. Everyone was trying to get at the car but the cops were containing the crowd. I couldn't believe my eyes. What the fuck was Suge doing spread-eagled on the ground? His hands and legs were stretched out and two cops were holding him down. Blood was squirting out of his head.
"You got the victim on the ground!" I screamed to the cops. Suge is looking up at me, and I could see the bleeding getting worse. "Let him go!" I'm yelling. "He's been shot at!' They let him up and as soon as they did, Suge and I ran to the BMW to try and get 'Pac out of the car. The door was stuck for some reason, and I could hear Suge saying again and again, "I know how to open it. I know how to open it." I reached for 'Pac through the window. The medallion and his jersey were soaked in blood and his body was trembling, like he was cold. Through tears, I started talking to him, “You’re gonna be okay. You're gonna be okay." By the time Suge got the door open, the police and the ambulance had arrived, and we got him off the ground. I knelt down next to him and touched him. "You're gonna be okay, 'Pac." I was trying to keep him conscious. "'Pac, you're okay, you're okay." As I'm kneeling down beside him, I could see him looking up at me. "Frank, I can't breathe," he whispered. "I can't breathe." "No man, you're okay," I cried. But he kept repeating it over and over again. "I can't breathe. I can't breathe." With his own strength, I watched him move both of his hands and cross them over his body. With his eyes open, he took a deep breath and let out a sigh. He closed his eyes. That was the last time I saw him breath on his own.

Bronnen

Voor dit werkstuk heb ik de volgende bronnen gebruikt:
www.tupacfans.com
www.tupac.pagina.nl
www.geocities.com/tupac_mtd
www.tupac-online.com
www.tupachq.com
http://2pacworld.co.uk
www.rapcentral.co.uk

Nawoord

Ik vond dit werkstuk echt super interessant om te maken! Er is ontzettend veel informatie te vinden op internet over Tupac. ‘The 7 Days Theory’ is enorm interessant om te lezen. Als je zo’n werkstuk maakt over iemand krijg je ook de een of andere manier respect voor diegene. Het nadeel is wel dat 95 % van de sites over Tupac in het Engels geschreven zijn, dus er komt wel een hoop vertaalwerk bij kijken. Al met al denk ik dat het wel goed gegaan is.