Product Details
A lavishly illustrated companion to the documentary from MTV films chronicles the life and career of the rapper Tupac Shakur, offering a collection of previously unpublished interviews, writings, and private photographs that provide a stunning portrait of the influential late performing artist.
Editorial Reviews
Review
Afeni Shakur The past seven years have been extremely painful watching and listening while others incorrectly attempted to define who my son really was. Now, through patience, the strength of my family, and faith in God, the true story of Tupac is finally being shared with the world. -- Review
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Chapter One
My mother was a Black Panther and she was really involved in the movement.
Just black people bettering themselves and things like that. She was in a high position in the party which was unheard of because there was sexism, even in the Panthers. All my roots to the struggle are real deep. My stepfather at the time, Mutulu Shakur, he was also a well-known revolutionary. And then my godfather, Geronimo Pratt, he had a top official rank position with the Panthers on the West Coast.
There's racism, so when the Panthers hit, the government panicked and they felt like the Panthers were detrimental to American society. So they raided every Panthers' house, especially the ones who they felt like, could do damage as an orator. My mother was seven months pregnant, they put a match to the door and said "Fire, Fire!" And you know it's like five in the morning so my mother opened the door and they just burst in, put a shotgun to her pregnant belly and put a gun to her head and said, "Don't move, bah, bah, bah, you're under arrest." They treated them like less than humans.
My mother was pregnant with me while she was in prison. She was her own attorney. Never been to law school. She was facing three-hundred-some odd years. One black woman, pregnant, beat the case. That just goes to show you the strength of a black woman and the strength of the oppressed.
A month after she got outta prison she gave birth to me. So I was cultivated in prison, my embryo was in prison.
When I was a baby I remember one moment of calm peace, then three minutes after that it was on. I was named after this Inca Chief from South America whose name was Tupac Amaru. I think the tribal breakdown means "intelligent warrior." He's a deep dude. If I go to South America they gonna love me, I'm telling you. They know Tupac.
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