Tupac Shakur Born in New York City, Tupac spent his early life mainly in Harlem. In 1984, he along with his family left for Baltimore, Maryland where he could find a good friend like Jada Pinkett Smith. His family left there in 1988 and went to Oakland, California. His first advancement in music occurred in 1991 as a member of the group Digital Underground. In the same year he gained personal recognition for his album “2Pacalypse Now,” but this album was also the inception of his infamy as the main figure of the gangster arrangement of hip-hop, with allusions to cop killing and sexual assault. His solo movie occupation also started in the same year with Juice (1992), and in 1992 he appeared with Janet Jackson in Poetic Justice (1993).
Shakur started his occupation as a roadie, backup dancer and MC for the unconventional hip-hop group Digital Underground but finally separated and became dependent as a solo artist. Most of the themes in Shakur’s songs focused on the violence and poverty in inner cities, racism, and other social problems. Both of his parents and some other people in his family were members of the Black Panther Party, whose paragons were mirrored in his songs. During the latter part of his occupation, Shakur was a vocal partaker during the East Coast-West Coast hip hop competition, and participated in rivalries with other rappers, and producers, most primarily The Notorious B.I.G. and his label, Bad Boy Records. Apart from his occupation in music, Shakur was also active in cinema, appearing in six films and one TV show in the 1990s, such as Poetic Justice (1993), Gang Related (1997) and Gridlock’s (1997).
After finishing his second year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School, Shakur moved to the Baltimore School for the Arts. In this school he learned acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He appeared in Shakespeare’s plays and in the role of the Mouse King in the ballet The Nutcracker. Shakur, along with one of his friends, Dana “Mouse” Smith, as his beatbox, was successful in many rap rivalries and was regarded as to be the best rapper in his school. He was recalled as one of the most famous kids in his school due to his sense of humor, wonderful rapping skills, and ability to blend with all populations.
In November 1991, Shakur boasted his first solo album, 2Pacalypse Now. Although the album did not create any striking singles, 2Pacalypse Now has been admired by many critics and enthusiastic lovers for its subterranean feel, with many rappers like Nas, Eminem, Game, and Talib Kweli having referred to it as inspiration. Though the album was initially published by Interscope Records, the rights to its issuance are now possessed by Amaru Entertainment, the label possessed by Shakur’s mother.
Aside from being one of the most famous rappers in history, Tupac Shakur was also a very gifted actor. Unluckily, his occupation suddenly terminated after his death on the Las Vegas Strip in September of the year 1996, just a few months after his 25th birthday. It means that all of the movies that Tupac Shakur appeared in them were shot when he was still very young. He would have had a very fruitful and successful life if his life hadn’t been terminated too early. It’s just to come to the conclusion that he was a very talented person as an actor who was on his track to becoming a memorable name in Hollywood. Let’s deal with some of his famous movies!
Top movies of Tupac ShakurTupac Shakur played important and influential roles in some famous movies which showed his incredible talent as a cinema actor.
1. Juice (1992)
Juice revolves around the adventure of 4 Harlem teenagers who attempt to go after a rapid life, which they call “The Juice.” Tupac plays the role of a character named Bishop in this movie, a person who permits his criminal mind to get control. Tupac’s reputation after this movie began to become worse as many people were of the opinion that he was the same gangster as Bishop, something that didn’t assist him in his personal life.
2. Poetic Justice (1993)
In Poetic Justice, Tupac appears together with Janet Jackson and very much plays the precise contrary character as in Juice. He plays the role of a person named Lucky who is dutiful and does whatever he can to create a better life for himself in a lawful way. It portrays the great flexibility of Tupac and again mirrors the way he was in his personal life. For this reason, Arsenio Hall once stated that there are actually “Two Tupacs.”
3. Above The Rim (1994)
Above the Rim narrates the story of a talented basketball player as he grapples to attempt and become fortunate. Tupac plays the role of Birdie, the brother of Kyle Lee Watson’s friend and a strong drug dealer. It’s again a role that reflects the other side of Tupac, that of a street gangster, a role he played very well because he faced these types of situations very much in his individual life.
4. Gridlock’d (1997)
Tupac in Gridlock’d plays the role of Spoon, the friend of Stretch, which Tim Roth portrayed this role. He surrenders himself to a government detoxification program after the death of one of his friends due to an overdose. Things don’t go ahead as they wanted as they are pursued by both the police and drug dealers in an endeavor to organize their lives. This movie has usually been acclaimed as one of Tupac’s best roles, a vivid sign of how great of an actor he could have become finally.
5. Criminal Intent (1997)
Criminal Intent is a movie that was at first named “Gang Related” and narrates the story of two corrupt police who inadvertently kill a secret DEA Police Officer, and the following events of them attempting to hide their crime. Tupac and Jim Belushi portray the roles of the polices who endeavor to frame a homeless man to accept the crime as they do whatever they can to prevent the truth from being revealed. When queried about his audition to play the part of a cop, Tupac just stated that he has seen more criminal cops in his life than anybody else, something that made him the best choice for playing the role!
