2Pac
Artist

2Pac

2Pac is arguably the most influential rapper of all-time. In fact, his closest analogue may not be late rival The Notorious B.I.G., but rather dorm-room icons of the mythologized past: Jimi Hendrix, Bob Marley and James Dean. Even if his legend has become a tall tale, his music remains an indelible testament to the multitudes he contained. He was born Lesane Parish Crooks in 1971, but his mother (a Black Panther leader) swiftly changed his name to Tupac Amaru Shakur in honour of the last Incan emperor to perish while resisting Spanish rule. For much of his career, he embodied this revolutionary, fight-the-power ethos on songs like “Trapped” and “Keep Ya Head Up”, befitting the Afrocentric, conscious-minded milieu of the early ’90s. But there was also the funkadelic player (“I Get Around”), the insular loner (“Me Against the World”), the savage warlord (“Hit ’Em Up”) and the sensitive poet (“Brenda’s Got a Baby”). And as Death Row Records’ strain of gangsta rap defined the middle years of the decade, he became the label’s avatar. Originally branding himself MC New York, 2Pac incorporated influences from the East and West Coasts, not to mention the South, to create a universalist message and sound that explains why murals of him can be found all the way to Sub-Saharan Africa. But you don’t have to travel far to witness his impact: Even two decades after his untimely demise, 2Pac’s influence can be heard in everyone from Lil Wayne to Kendrick Lamar to Future.

Albums of This Artist

2006

  • Pac's Life
    Pac's Life

2004

  • Loyal to the Game
    Loyal to the Game

2002

  • Better Dayz
    Better Dayz

2001

  • Until the End of Time
    Until the End of Time

1999

  • Still I Rise
    Still I Rise

1997

  • R U Still Down? (Remember Me)
    R U Still Down? (Remember Me)

1996

  • All Eyez On Me
    All Eyez On Me

1995

  • Me Against the World
    Me Against the World

1993

  • Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (Expanded Edition)
    Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z... (Expanded Edition)

1991

  • 2Pacalypse Now
    2Pacalypse Now