That same year, Shakur was hired to play the role of a villain, Roland Bishop, in the teenage crime drama Juice.
Shakur, who'd accompanied his friend, fellow rapper Anthony "Treach"
Criss, of the group Naughty by Nature, to the auditions, was urged by
his friend to read for the part on the spur of the moment. Following
his unplanned audition, he walked away with the second lead, which
would become his signature role. Fellow Digital Underground member Ron
"Money-B" Brooks also tried out for the role, which was filmed and
set in Shakur's hometown -- Harlem.
In
October of 1991, Shakur was stopped by members of the Oakland Police
Department and accused of jaywalking. He responded with profanity and
was choked and bloodied by the officers before being placed under arrest
for the jaywalking and an additional charge -- resisting arrest. He
subsequently filed a $10 million lawsuit against the Oakland PD and
eventually received a settlement of $42,000.
Shakur's debut solo album, 2pacalypse Now,
was released on November 12, 1991. The album's biggest hit was
"Brenda's Got a Baby", featuring Dave Hollister on background vocals.
Juice, which also features a then-relatively unknown Samuel L. Jackson, debuted January 17, 1992, to critical-acclaim.
During
April of 1992, Shakur filmed his next movie, the John
Singleton-directed romance drama Poetic Justice with pop superstar Janet
Jackson. Filming took place in California's Simi Valley, the location
of the "Rodney King Trial" that ultimately led to the Los Angeles riots,
during the same time that the L.A. riots were taking place. The
rapper and the singer became friends on-set but the relationship soured
when, according to Shakur, he refused Jackson's demand that he undergo
an HIV test prior to their on-screen kiss. Shakur reported that after
filming wrapped, Jackson changed her telephone number and he never heard
from her again. The movie, which premiered on July 23, 1993, featuring
Shakur as Jackson's new love interest following the death of her
boyfriend, also features fellow rapper Jonathan "Q-Tip" Davis (of A
Tribe Called Quest) as said boyfriend.
On
August 22, 1992, during Marin City's 50th anniversary celebration,
six-year-old Qa'id Walker Teal was killed when he was shot in the
forehead following an altercation between Shakur and his stepbrother
Mopreme Shakur and other attendees. Reportedly, Tupac was confronted by a
group of local residents who were offended by his comments about Marin
City during an earlier televised interview. Following a scuffle, Tupac
allegedly pulled a gun, which he dropped after being assaulted.
According to police, Mopreme then picked up the weapon and fired at
least three shots into the crowd. Witnesses reported that an
unidentified individual fired a gun over the heads of the crowd.
Both Tupac and Mopreme were arrested and later released without being
charged, however they both became subjects of a subsequent wrongful
death suit brought by Teal's parents. Police also searched Tupac's
Oakland residence, where they seized ammunition. The fatal bullet that
struck Teal was traced to a .380 Colt semi-automatic handgun registered
to Tupac.
On September 22, then-Vice President Dan Quayle, claiming that 2pacalypse Now
"has no place in our society", called for Interscope Records' parent
company, Time Warner, to pull the album from stores. Quayle cited the
criminal defense of 19-year-old Ronald Ray Howard, who had been charged
in the April 11 murder of Texas state trooper Bill Davidson following a
traffic stop. Howard, who was listening to the album on the tape deck of
the stolen Chevy Blazer he was driving when pulled over, argued that
the music had conditioned him to hate police officers. Subsequently, a
wrongful death suit was brought by Trooper Davidson's widow against
Shakur and Interscope, charging both with gross negligence and inciting
"imminent lawless action".
February
16, 1993, marked the release of Shakur's second solo album, Strictly
for My N.I.G.G.A.Z. On March 11, he was arrested and charged with
carrying a concealed weapon. Two days later, during a visit to the
sketch show In Living Color to film a guest appearance, Shakur became
involved in a physical altercation with his limousine driver, David
Deleon. During a break from filming, Shakur and a friend proceeded to
smoke weed in the limo, which offended Deleon. After he told them to
stop, in an offensive manner according to Shakur, a heated exchange
ensued, which prompted Deleon to proceed to the trunk of the vehicle.
After attacking him, Shakur was arrested, charged with assault and later
released after posting $15,000 bail. Shakur explained to the judge that
he assumed Deleon was attempting to retrieve a gun from the trunk of
the limo and the charges were subsequently dropped.
In April, Shakur was
charged with felonious assault after threatening Flint record company
executive Chauncey Wynn with a baseball bat at a concert held at
Michigan State University in Lansing, MI. After Shakur slammed
Wynn's microphone on the stage, a fight ensued between the two.
Shakur ultimately pleaded guilty to attempting to strike the Wynn and
the charge was downgraded to a misdemeanor.
Shakur
also found time in 1993 to reunite with his old friend, Jada Pinkett,
onscreen. He made a guest appearance on an episode of the sitcom on
which she starred, A Different World, as a character by the name
of "Piccolo" -- "Pic", for short. The episode, titled "Homie, Don't You
Know Me?", featured Shakur as the ex-boyfriend of Pinkett's character,
Lena James.
Shakur
was also cast in the role of Shareef, a strait-laced Muslim character,
in the Hughes Brothers' film Menace II Society, but wanted the more
aggressive role of O-Dog (portrayed by Larenz Tate). After his
relationship with the twins, who'd previously directed music videos for
him, became strained, he was fired from the movie. Shakur responded by
confronting the pair on the set of another music video and assaulting
Allen. He was later arrested and criminally charged for the attack.
After retaining the legal services of famed attorney Johnnie Cochran,
Shakur was sentenced to two weeks in jail and a fine.
On the morning of October 31, Shakur was in Atlanta in order to give a concert at a local college
when a confrontation ensued in traffic.
According to witnesses,
off-duty Georgia police officers Mark and Scott Whitwell and their wives were crossing the street when they were
nearly struck by a passing car. The brothers then confronted the
occupants of the vehicle, when Shakur and his party, in a separate
vehicle, stopped to intervene. Witnesses said that Mark Whitwell then brandished a firearm. Whether he fired or not is in dispute. Shakur subsequently opened fire, hitting one of the Whitwells in the buttocks and the other in the abdomen.
Not long after the shooting, the police arrested the rapper at his
hotel and charged him with two counts of aggravated assault. The
following day, he was released on a $55,059 bond and the officers were
released from Atlanta's Grady Memorial Hospital, where they were treated for their injuries.
Shakur met Jacques "Haitain Jack" Agnant in Manhattan in early November, 1993. The two were introduced by an associate of Agnant's
at a party at The Octagon nightclub. Agnant has stated that at the time
he was only vaguely familiar with Shakur due to his shootout with the Whitwells during the previous month.
Agnant and Shakur quickly bonded and socialized regularly, including attending Manhattan's
famed Scores strip club on November 6, where the two watched the
heavyweight title rematch between then-champion Riddick Bowe and Evander
Holyfield, drinking $2,600-a-bottle Louis XIII de Remy Martin cognac in
the club's VIP room.
The
two enjoyed a symbiotic relationship wherein Agnant supplied marijuana,
women and protection, while Shakur closely observed Agnant in order to
prepare for his role as a New York gangster in his upcoming film, Above the Rim. Despite the fact that he'd starred in two feature films and had hit songs in heavy radio rotation, Shakur didn't yet have entree into as many popular nightclubs as Agnant. Agnant reportedly also bought the actor his first Rolex watch.
On November 14, 1993, Agnant accompanied Shakur to the now-defunct, upscale Manhattan nightclub Nell's -- an exclusive, celebrity-magnet
that frequently turned away stars such as Don Johnson and Cher. An
associate of Agnant introduced Shakur to 19-year-old Ayanna Jackson, who
performed oral sex on the actor on the dance floor within half an hour
following the introduction. Afterwards, Shakur
invited Jackson to his suite at Manhattan's posh Le Parker Meridiean
hotel. Four days later, Jackson returned to Shakur's suite, where
Shakur; Agnant; Shakur's road manager, Charles "Man Man" Fuller; and
another man were already present. Hours later, Jackson accused Shakur,
Agnant and the others
of gang-rape. Shakur, Fuller and Agnant were arrested four days later
and charged with three counts of first-degree sexual abuse, sodomy, and
illegal possession of a firearm. Agnant's attorney, Paul Brenner, had his case severed from Shakur's, and reportedly, Shakur, suspicious of Agnant's motives, began to distance himself.
Interscope Records, which had advanced Shakur $4 million over the course of three years so that he could pay his legal bills, was considering dropping the star. Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records -- home to producer Andre "Dr. Dre" Young and rapper Calvin "Snoop Doggy Dogg" Broadus -- met with Shakur, at Broadus' urging, in the hopes of signing him to Death Row. Shakur, however, declined.
In November of 1994, while clubbing with friend and fellow-actor Mickey Rourke, Shakur voiced his concerns about Agnant. He told Rourke's friend, Daily News reporter A.J. Benza, that heavyweight boxing champion Mike Tyson had called him from prison to warn him about Agnant. Benza subsequently reported that Shakur also believed that Agnant had set him up.
On November 30, at approximately 12:25 am, Shakur was shot five times during a robbery in the lobby of Manhattan's Quad Recording Studios by two armed perpetrators. Shakur had been invited to the studio by James "Jimmy Henchman" Rosemond in order to record a song with rapper Shawn "Little Shawn" Wilkins -- for whom Rosemond was acting as manager -- for $7,000. Shakur, who was being accompanied by Randy "Stretch" Walker (Walker was shot twice in the abdomen) and another man when he was shot, had been introduced to Rosemond by his associate, Agnant.
It
was in his hospital room following the shooting that Shakur met his
father, Billy Garland, for the first time. Concerned for his safety,
Shakur checked out of the hospital following surgery and moved to the
home of actress Jasmine Guy of "A Different World" fame.
Following the shooting, Knight sent him a bulletproof vest emblazoned with the Death Row logo.
On December 1, both Shakur,
who appeared in court in a wheelchair and heavily bandaged, and Fuller
were found guilty of two counts of sexual abuse, that consisted of "forcibly touching Jackson's buttocks" and acquitted of the
weapons charges and three counts of sodomy. After being incarcerated on New York's Riker's Island facility while awaiting sentencing, Shakur was sentenced to 18 months to 4 and one-half years
in prison on February 7, 1995. Agnant received three years of probation
and a $1,000 fine in exchange for pleading guilty to two misdemeanor charges.
Jackson subsequently filed a civil suit against Shakur which ended in a settlement for an undisclosed amount.
Shakur was sent to the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility located in Dannemora, New York to serve his sentence.
Shakur later implicated
his friend, rapper Christopher "Notorious B.I.G." Wallace, who had
previously warned him to distance himself from Agnant, in his shooting.
In
October of 1994, Shakur's Atlanta shooting case was dismissed when
prosecutors dropped the aggravated assault charges filed against him
following his shootout with the Whitwell brothers a year earlier. It was revealed that the pair had stolen their weapons from a police evidence room and that they'd been inebriated on the night of the shooting.
On
October 31, Michigan Circuit Judge Lawrence Glazer sentenced Shakur to
30 days in the Ingham County Jail and 35 hours of community service for
the Michigan baseball bat incident. The judge, who acknowledged that he
doubted that Shakur actually swung the bat, suspended 20 days of the
sentence.
On December 30, Wallace's song "Who Shot Ya?" was released as the B-side to his single "Big Poppa". "Who Shot Ya?" was immediately interpreted by many, including Shakur, to be a taunt about Shakur's shooting one month prior and the latter's reaction to it. While Wallace maintained that the song was written prior to Shakur's shooting, many, including Shakur, cited the timing of the track's release itself as suspicious.
While he was incarcerated, Shakur's third solo album, Me Against the World,
was released. The album quickly topped the Billboard chart upon its
release making Shakur the first recording artist to have an album reach
the #1 spot during his incarceration -- a feat that remains unduplicated
to this day.
On February 21, 1995, Shakur's song, "Dear Mama" was released.
Though Shakur was unable to appear in the song's accompanying music
video due to his incarceration, the clip did contain a re-enactment of
his shooting at Quad Studios.
During his detention, Shakur frequently exchanged correspondence with actor Tony Danza of "Who's the Boss?" fame.
In
April of 1995, Shakur married his girlfriend of six months, Keisha
Morris, at the Clinton Correctional Facility. Morris was 22-years-old at
the time and a recent criminal science graduate from John Jay College.
Shakur described her in a 1995 deposition for a civil suit as, "my first
and only girlfriend I ever had in my entire life and now she's my
wife."
Months later,
Shakur sent a letter to a female acquaintance in which he referenced
Walter "King Tut" Johnson and fellow-Brooklynites Agnant and James "Jimmy Henchman"
Rosemond. The hand-written letter, postmarked August 15, 1995, includes
the names "Tut", "Jack Agnant" and "Jimmy Ace" (one of Rosemond's
nicknames) under the heading, "The Walking Dead". All three names are
crossed out and are followed by the acronym "R.I.P."
On November 30, 1995,
Randy "Stretch" Walker was shot to death while driving in Queens, New York - exactly one
year to the day after Shakur's shooting.
Although
Shakur had a hit album on the charts and popular songs on the airwaves,
he was unable to embark on a promotional tour and only received
$600,000, an advance from Interscope, in earnings. One of Shakur's
frequent visitors to Clinton was Suge Knight. Aware of Shakur's inability to post his $1.4 million bail due to his
financial problems and the government's appeal of said bail, Knight
entreated the rapper to join his label (with Interscope's blessing --
the distributor of Death Row's music) with the promise that he could
arrange for his release. On September 16, Knight and Death Row's lead attorney, David Kenner, traveled back to Clinton Correctional Facility and offered Shakur a deal wherein Death Row would pay his $1.4 million bail in exchange for the rapper recording three albums for the label. Once Shakur finally agreed, he signed a
three-page document, handwritten by Kenner.
Upon
Shakur's October 12 release from prison, he was met by Knight and Kenner in a
white stretch limo, driven to a private jet and flown directly to Los
Angeles.
Knight threw a "Welcome Home" dinner for Shakur, attended by Death Row staff and recording artists, at Monty's Steakhouse in Woodland Hills, CA.
Shakur eschewed the historic October 16 Million Man March on Washington in order to go on a shopping spree in Beverly Hills.
Not long after his released, Shakur had his marriage to Morris annulled.
Shakur worked at a frenetic pace, completing five songs per day in contrast to his label-mates who typically completed only one track during the same time frame. Young had completed the song "California Love" for his sophomore solo album. But when Tupac Shakur signed to Death Row, the producer agreed to give the song to Shakur, who replace Young's second verse with a new one of his own.
Shakur's first album to be released under the Death Row Records imprint was All Eyez On Me, the first double-album released by a rap artist. All Eyez On Me debuted in the top spot on the Billboard 200 chart on February 13, 1996.
In
an interview published in the March 1996 issue of The Source magazine,
Shakur suggested that he'd had sex with Christopher "Biggie Smalls"
Wallace's estranged wife, singer Faith Evans, while she was in Los
Angeles so that the two could collaborate on the song, "Wonder Why They
Call U Bitch", which appears on All Eyez On Me. He repeated the
claim on the song, "Hit 'Em Up" -- a relentless diss track aimed at
Wallace; Sean "Puff Daddy" Combs; Bad Boy Records; Wallace's proteges,
Junior M.A.F.I.A.; rap group Mobb Deep; and rapper Chino XL.
That same month, Knight, Shakur and Death Row security chief Reggie Wright Jr. attended the Soul Train Music Awards, where Shakur and Wallace came face-to-face for the first time since the night of Shakur's shooting in the VIP area. According to Wright, Wallace and Combs were accompanied by members of the South Side Compton Crips street gang, including Duane "Keffe D" Davis, who flashed a handgun during the confrontation.
Shakur also resumed his film career, starring in Gridlock'd and Gang Related.
On June 4, 1996, Shakur released the insult-laden song "Hit 'Em Up", which featured Shakur and the Outlawz verbally attacking Wallace, Combs, Bad Boy Records and rap group Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Although
Shakur had made disparaging remarks about legendary music producer
Quincy Jones in the press, he began dating his daughter, Kidada, in the
summer of 1996.
On
the morning of September 7, Shakur flew from New York back to his home
in Los Angeles. That evening, he attended the heavyweight boxing
championship bout between his friend Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon.
Later
that night, Shakur was shot four times while seated in the passenger
seat of Knight's (who was driving) BMW 750 sedan. He was pronounced dead
on September 13.
Shakur's first posthumous album, The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory was released on November 5 and contained the song, "Against All Odds", on which he accused Agnant of being a federal informant and both Agnant and Rosemond of setting him up.
In 1997, Agnant filed a libel suit against Shakur's estate; Shakur's former label, Death Row Records; and parent-company Interscope Records seeking $200 million. The suit claimed that Agnant feared for his life and that his employment opportunities were hindered since the release of "Against All Odds". The suit was dismissed on December 16, 1998.
In 2011, Dexter Isaac, a
convicted felon sentenced to life for murder began cooperating with
agents of the Drug Enforcement Agency and prosecutors investigating
Rosemond for drug trafficking. Isaac, who is currently serving his life
sentence at the Metropolitan Detention Center, Brooklyn, confessed
to prosecutors that he was in fact the triggerman during Tupac Shakur's
1994 shooting. Isaac informed investigators that he and an accomplice
perpetrated the robbery and shooting of Shakur at the behest of
Rosemond for a $2500 cash payment and all of the jewelry on the rapper's
person - save one of two diamond rings. According to Isaac, Rosemond
wanted to present one of Shakur's diamonds to his longtime girlfriend,
Cynthia Reed - albeit in a new setting. It's worth noting that by the
time Isaac came forward, the statute of limitations for the crime had
expired.
On April 7, 2017, Tupac Shakur was inducted into the Rock 'N Roll Hall of Fame.
Tupac Shakur in Los Angeles , CA - Sept. 10, 1993
Tupac and Big Syke
 |
| Tupac at the Source Awards - April 25, 1994 |
Ed Lover and Tupac Shakur on Yo! MTV Raps
Tupac (center) and his first group, Strictly Dope
Tupac (bottom right) with Digital Underground
Tupac and Shock G
