![Tupac standing in front of a doorway with his friends]()
YouTube
One of the greatest rappers in the world, Tupac Shakur is shaking up the media again, even when he’s resting in peace. His legacy is already bounded to be stretched till the end of time and here is another instance of it.
What’s “Shakur”ing?
Pieces of Tupac’s belongings such as jewelry, handwritten lyrics, and notes are now being displayed at Temple University after they received a donation from a New Jersey-based auction house, Goldin Auctions. Those famous artifacts will be displayed at an exhibit at Temple’s Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.
The Blockson collection is home to 500,000 items that signify the deep history of black culture. It ranges from many materials such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, pamphlets, journals, newspapers, broadsides, posters, photographs, and rare ephemera.
Among the donated belongings, some of the most prominent pieces are the handwritten lyrics to Tupac’s chart-topping songs such as “It Ain’t Easy” and “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” as well as unreleased songs including “Nuthin Gold”, “Street Fame”, and “Troublesome”. Tupac’s golden medallion and earrings in which he wore before he was killed, will also be present.
Dr. Aaron Smith, a professor of Africology and African American Studies who teaches a class focused on Shakur, said “For a hip-hop head, this is truly a dream come true. Just 20 years ago, they were saying hip-hop was a pariah in society. Here, we have legitimization from the academic community at the highest level.”
The Shakur focused class is a 3-credit course that studies the influential rapper’s impact on the culture and music of hip-hop as well as the community.
Smith also believed that Tupac’s jewelry is one of the more important things in this donation. With jewelry being one of the icons of Tupac, there is rarely an instance where Tupac is seen without one.
“There is a lot of mystery around Tupac and his jewelry,” Smith said. “To have some of it here means a whole lot.”
With gangster rap rooted deep into Philadelphia’s culture and the life story of Tupac being passed along at Temple, it is only right that one of the greatest rapper’s belongings be displayed here. Its presence at Temple also sprouted a new interest in unraveling and preserving the culture of hip-hop for generations to come.
“This is just the beginning of a long journey to collect and preserve hip-hop culture,” curator Dr. Diane Turner said.
Who Is Tupac Shakur?
Born June 16, 1971, Lesane Parish Crooks, he adopted the stage name Tupac Shakur when his rapping career soared.
He was born and raised in Harlem, New York, but moved to Los Angeles in 1988. Becoming a central figure at the age of 20, he incorporated the contemporary social climate of racial injustice into his songs, which went viral all over.
Some of his most famous songs include “Dear Mama,” “California Love,” “Hit Em Up,” “Life Goes On,” “Ghetto Gospel,” and many more.
He is also well known for his affiliation to Death Row Records, a recording label that was started by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight. Through it, Tupac and his group Outlawz went on to shake the music industry with its distinct style. Most of Tupac’s philosophy that inspired his lifestyle and music stem from many entitles such as Black Panther Party, black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. He is also an avid lover of Shakespeare and theater.
Tupac also was into acting and was portrayed in many films such as “Nothing But Trouble,” (1991) “Juice” (1992), “Poetic Justice” (1993), “Above The Rim” (1994), “Bullet” (1996), “Gridlock’d” (1997), and “Gang Related” (1997).
His personal life was said to be an enigma. However, what was known is that he was once married to Keisha Moriss Shakur in 1995, but then they split a year later. Following that, he lived with his fiancee Kidada Jones until his death.
On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur attended a boxing match that featured Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon in Las Vegas, Nevada. After leaving the match, an enemy by the name of Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, who is a Crip member, got into an altercation with Tupac and his friends. Later on that night at a stoplight, Tupac was shot multiple times in the chest by someone in a car next to theirs. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died due to intensive bleeding.
After years of investigating, his death remained an enigma till this day. Rumors had it that rap star legend Biggie Smalls was the perpetrator until he, himself met the same fate as Tupac a few months later.
Even though he passed away, his legacy remained to be one of the most influential aspects in the hip-hop and rap culture that inspired many peoples to rise and pay homage to him.
![Tupac standing in front of a doorway with his friends]()
Youtube
One of the greatest rappers in the world, Tupac Shakur is shaking up the media again, even when he’s resting in peace. His legacy is already bounded to be stretched till the end of time and here is another instance of it.
What’s “Shakur”ing?
Pieces of Tupac’s belongings such as jewelry, handwritten lyrics, and notes are now being displayed at Temple University after they received a donation from a New Jersey-based auction house, Goldin Auctions. Those famous artifacts will be displayed at an exhibit at Temple’s Charles L. Blockson Afro-American Collection.
The Blockson collection is home to 500,000 items that signify the deep history of black culture. It ranges from many materials such as books, manuscripts, sheet music, pamphlets, journals, newspapers, broadsides, posters, photographs, and rare ephemera.
Among the donated belongings, some of the most prominent pieces are the handwritten lyrics to Tupac’s chart-topping songs such as “It Ain’t Easy” and “I Ain’t Mad At Cha” as well as unreleased songs including “Nuthin Gold”, “Street Fame”, and “Troublesome”. Tupac’s golden medallion and earrings in which he wore before he was killed, will also be present.
Dr. Aaron Smith, a professor of Africology and African American Studies who teaches a class focused on Shakur, said “For a hip-hop head, this is truly a dream come true. Just 20 years ago, they were saying hip-hop was a pariah in society. Here, we have legitimization from the academic community at the highest level.”
The Shakur focused class is a 3-credit course that studies the influential rapper’s impact on the culture and music of hip-hop as well as the community.
Smith also believed that Tupac’s jewelry is one of the more important things in this donation. With jewelry being one of the icons of Tupac, there is rarely an instance where Tupac is seen without one.
“There is a lot of mystery around Tupac and his jewelry,” Smith said. “To have some of it here means a whole lot.”
With gangster rap rooted deep into Philadelphia’s culture and the life story of Tupac being passed along at Temple, it is only right that one of the greatest rapper’s belongings be displayed here. Its presence at Temple also sprouted a new interest in unraveling and preserving the culture of hip-hop for generations to come.
“This is just the beginning of a long journey to collect and preserve hip-hop culture,” curator Dr. Diane Turner said.
Who Is Tupac Shakur?
Born June 16, 1971, Lesane Parish Crooks, he adopted the stage name Tupac Shakur when his rapping career soared.
He was born and raised in Harlem, New York, but moved to Los Angeles in 1988. Becoming a central figure at the age of 20, he incorporated the contemporary social climate of racial injustice into his songs, which went viral all over.
Some of his most famous songs include “Dear Mama”, “California Love”, “Hit Em Up”, “Life Goes On”, “Ghetto Gospel”, and many more.
He is also well known for his affiliation to Death Row Records, a recording label that was started by Dr. Dre and Suge Knight. Through it, Tupac and his group Outlawz went on to shake the music industry with its distinct style. Most of Tupac’s philosophy that inspired his lifestyle and music stem from many entitles such as Black Panther Party, black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. He is also an avid lover of Shakespeare and theater.
Tupac also was into acting and was portrayed in many films such as “Nothing But Trouble,” (1991) “Juice” (1992), “Poetic Justice” (1993), “Above The Rim” (1994), “Bullet” (1996), “Gridlock’d” (1997), and “Gang Related” (1997).
His personal life was said to be an enigma. However, what was known is that he was once married to Keisha Moriss Shakur in 1995, but later on split a year later. Following that, he lived with his fiancee Kidada Jones until his death.
On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur attended a boxing match that featured Mike Tyson and Bruce Seldon in Las Vegas, Nevada. After leaving the match, an enemy by the name of Orlando “Baby Lane” Anderson, who is a Crip member, got into an altercation with Tupac and his friends. Later on that night at a stoplight, Tupac was shot multiple times in the chest by someone in a car next to theirs. He was rushed to the hospital where he later died due to intensive bleeding.
After years of investigating, his death remained an enigma till this day. Rumors had it that rap star legend Biggie Smalls was the perpetrator until he, himself met the same fate as Tupac a few months later.
Even though he passed away, his legacy remained to be one of the most influential aspects in the hip-hop and rap culture that inspired many peoples to rise and pay homage to him.
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