Tupac Amaru Shakur, born Lesane Parish Crooks, (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), better known by his stage name 2Pac and by his alias Makaveli, was an American rapper, songwriter, and actor. A champion of not only music and rap industry, Tupac was one of the forerunners of the 90s West Coast rap scene, despite being born in one of the boroughs in New York City. Tupac actually moved from New York to the West Coast to pursue his rap and music dreams. Pursue he did, and he would soon become one of the West Coast’s rising stars. His first album, 2Pacalypse Now, was an overnight success. His album had songs that spoke of the injustices and struggles that found a vibrant harmony with the so-called gangsta music of the time. It was then in the early and mid 90s where Tupac acquired a huge amount of success and fortune as he launched one hit album after another.
With his growing renown, Tupac would become a film star himself, first appearing in the black comedy and horror film Nothing but Trouble. With similar themes that were usually about the life of African Americans, Tupac would be in many other Hollywood films including Above The Rim, Poetic Justice, Bullet, and Gang Related. With all the successes that came Tupac’s way, he also gained many enemies since there were people who felt offended by his courage to speak of the ills of society. One night, as Tupac was en route to a big-time event, his car was stopped, and his group was ambushed by a group of unknown assailants who opened fire at Shakur and his entourage. Tupac’s death was mourned by many. Despite his death being more than 20 years ago, Tupac’s music and activism legacies have continued to shape rap and music as we know it.
1. “During your life, never stop dreaming. No one can take away your dreams.”
2. “Fear is stronger than love, remember that. Fear is stronger than love. All that love I gave didn’t mean nothing when it came to fear.”
3. “I exist in the depths of solitude pondering my true goal trying to find peace of mind and still preserve my soul”
4. “It’s the game of life. Do I win or do I lose? One day they’re gonna shut the game down. I gotta have as much fun and go around the board as many times as I can before it’s my turn to leave.”
5. “Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real.”
6. “Out of anger comes controversy, out of controversy comes conversation, out of conversation comes action.”
7. “Watch people, because you can fake for a long time, but one day you’re gonna show yourself to be a phony.”
8. “I feel like role models today are not meant to be put on a pedestal. But more like angels with broken wings.”
9. “I don’t have no fear of death. My only fear is coming back reincarnated.”
10. “A coward dies a thousand times, a soldier dies but once.”
11. “I believe that everything that you do bad comes back to you. So, everything that I do that’s bad, I’m going to suffer from it. But in my mind, I believe what I’m doing is right. So, I feel like I’m going to heaven.”
12. “I set goals, take control, drink out my own bottle. I make mistakes but learn from everyone. And when it’s said and done, I bet this brother be a better one. If I upset you don’t stress; never forget, that God isn’t finished with me yet.”
13. “When you do rap albums, you got to train yourself. You got to constantly be in character.”
14. “I’m not saying I’m gonna change the world, but I guarantee that I will spark the brain that will change the world.”
15. “I’m not perfect. But I’ll always be real.”
16. “That which does not kill me can only make me stronger. I don’t see why everybody feel as though that they gotta tell me how to live my life.”
17. “There’s gon’ be some stuff you gon’ see, that’s gon’ make it hard to smile in the future. But through whatever you see, through all the rain and the pain, you gotta keep your sense of humor. You gotta be able to smile through all this bullshit. Remember that.”
18. “When I was a little baby, I remember that one moment of calm-peace, and 3 minutes after that, it was on.”
19. “Death is not the greatest loss in life. The greatest loss is what dies inside while still alive. Never surrender.”
20. “I’d rather die like a man, than live like a coward.”
21. “Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature’s laws wrong, it learned to walk without having feet. Funny, it seems to by keeping it’s dreams; it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else even cared.”
22. “In life there are going to be some things that make it hard to smile. Through all the rain and pain, you got to keep your sense of humor and smile for me now. Remember that.”
23. “My mama always used to tell me. If you can’t find somethin’ to live for, you best find somethin’ to die for.”
24. “If you can make it through the night, there’s a brighter day.”
25. “In my mind, I’ll be thinking is this true, will I fail? Am I supposed to fail? Should I just stop trying and give up? But then, that’s exactly what they’re waiting for me to do.”
26. “The seed must grow regardless of the fact that it’s planted in stone.”
27. “I know it seems hard sometimes but remember one thing. Through every dark night, there’s a bright day after that. So no matter how hard it get, stick your chest out, keep ya head up. and handle it.”
28. “One thing we all adore, something worth dying for, nothing but pain, stuck in this game, searchin’ for fortune and fame.”
29. “It’s a constant man-ego-check going on in the streets, in this world.”
30. “Our future is our confidence and self-esteem.”
31. “Do everything you can to make it around the system, over the system, or out the system.”
32. “I don’t want to be a role model. I just want to be someone who says, this is who I am, this is what I do, I say what’s on my mind.”
33. “Everybody’s at war with different thing. I’m at war with my own heart sometimes.”
34. “Even though you’re fed up, you gotta keep your head up.”
35. “They have money for war but can’t feed the poor.”
36. “Niggers was the ones with the rope, hanging off trees. Niggas are the ones with gold ropes, hanging out at clubs.”
37. “I am not a perfectionist, but still I seek perfection. I am not a great romantic, but yet I yearn for affection”
38. “All I’m trying to do is survive and make good out of the dirty, nasty, unbelievable lifestyle that they gave me.”
39. “Happy are those who dream dreams and are ready to pay the price to make them come true.”
40. “We was young and we was dumb, but we had heart.”
41. “Don’t believe everything you hear. Real eyes, Realize, Real lies.”
42. “I think that I’m really, I was a reactionary, and now I don’t do that anymore. Same person, but I don’t react. Before, I reacted. I didn’t like the cameras, I split.”
43. “I worked hard all my life as far as this music business. I dreamed of the day when I could go to New York and feel comfortable and they could come out here and be comfortable.”
44. “The only thing that comes to a sleeping man is dreams.”
45. “You get time to appreciate things. Perspective, you start looking at things differently.”
46. “The guns are turning away from Europe and Russia and Iran and Iraq and they’re turning to us.”
47. “I’m not thuggin’ for me, I’m thuggin’ for my family, I pay all the bills, I feed my whole family, wrong or right, I do and I can’t stop.”
48. “Hate to sound sleazy, but tease me, I don’t want it if it’s that easy”
49. “When you do rap albums, you got to train yourself. You got to constantly be in character.”
50. “Behind every sweet smile, there is a bitter sadness that no one can see and feel.”
51. “We can never go nowhere unless we share with each other.”
52. “The only time I have problems is when I sleep.”
53. “I want to grow. I want to be better. You Grow. We all grow. We’re made to grow.You either evolve or you disappear.”
54. “Don’t change on me. Don’t extort me unless you intend to do it forever.”
55. “I would rather be stricken blind, than to live without expression of mind.”
