Tupac Shakur

The son of a black panther activist, Tupac had a short childhood in Harlem and the Bronx, and a violent adolescence as a drug dealer, before he found fame with his first ‘gangsta rap’ album 2Pacalypse Now. He drew on his experiences to describe the violence of gang life in the ghetto, and launched a phenomenally successful music and film career, with multi-platinum record sales and roles in movies such as Juice, Gridlock’d and Gang Related.

Like many gangsta rappers, Tupac felt that leaving ...