Tupac Shakur was born on June 16th, 1971 in New Your City, New York. (Erlewine) Both his mother, Afeni Shakur, and his father, Billy Garland, were members of the Black Panther movement. At an early age Tupac Shakur was exposed to violence and police brutality due to the ongoing FBI investigation of his mother and father, which was based on their involvement with the Black Panther movement. Not long after his birth Tupac Shakur’s father disappeared from the picture leaving himself, his little sister, and their mother to fend for themselves. Afeni Shakur assumed the role of a single mother raising two children. She successfully influenced her son, Tupac Shakur, to think like a revolutionary, teaching him morals and values of black excellence that went hand in hand with the same beliefs that the Black Panther’s were motivated from. Not long after Tupac Shakur’s father, Billy Garland, exited the picture they moved to Baltimore, where Tupac Shakur was enrolled at the Baltimore School of the Arts and excelled in poetry, just before moving to Marin County, California.(Jackson) During this time Tupac Shakur began to battle with his mothers drug addiction as she became a victim of the crack epidemic of the late 1980’s and early 90’s. As an outlet Tupac reflected on his time in Baltimore and began to turn transform his poetic talents into what would become the start of his music career. Tupac started off his rap career with a group named Digital Underground based out of Oakland, California.(Jackson) He went on to produce his first solo album in 1991 called, 2pacalypse Now.(Jackson) The relevancy of this album as with his later albums comes with his, subtle political tones as he speaks on the, “America youth plagued by racism, poverty, drug abuse, and police brutality.”(Jackson) Tupac went on to have a lengthy and successful career, releasing a handful of albums and starring in multiple movies. Of all his influential works, one of his most powerful productions was the creation of the hit song, “Dear Mama”, which came from his 1995 album, Me Against the World. This was one of the few works that Tupac produced that essentially negated this tough “thug life” revolutionary mantra that he had and allowed for the public to see the reality and vulnerability of his relationship with his mother. “Dear Mama” was a song that was said to have impacted the nation because so many people could relate to the love that one may have for their mother.(Serrano)
