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Tupac: Resurrection, 1971-1996
This stunningly illustrated and intimate book—composed of Tupac's own words—is in many ways the autobiography Tupac Shakur never got to write.
This richly illustrated companion to the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, Resurrection brings unprecedented clarity and soulful intimacy to the life and work of the late Tupac Shakur. It shines a light on the complex life of a complicated man.
Authorized by his mother, Afeni Shakur, Tupac is in many ways the autobiography he never got to write, featuring the artist in his own words, letters, and poems. They are showcased here, along with dozens of never-before-seen photographs, lyrics, screenplay ideas, and other personal effects. Capturing as never before the unrivaled passion and intense candor that made him one of America's bestselling solo recording artists of all time, Resurrection stands as an indelible testament to Tupac's astonishing cultural legacy and crystallizes the enduring significance and impact of one of the most complex, haunting, and influential artists of our time.
This richly illustrated companion to the Academy Award-nominated documentary film, Resurrection brings unprecedented clarity and soulful intimacy to the life and work of the late Tupac Shakur. It shines a light on the complex life of a complicated man.
Authorized by his mother, Afeni Shakur, Tupac is in many ways the autobiography he never got to write, featuring the artist in his own words, letters, and poems. They are showcased here, along with dozens of never-before-seen photographs, lyrics, screenplay ideas, and other personal effects. Capturing as never before the unrivaled passion and intense candor that made him one of America's bestselling solo recording artists of all time, Resurrection stands as an indelible testament to Tupac's astonishing cultural legacy and crystallizes the enduring significance and impact of one of the most complex, haunting, and influential artists of our time.
256 pages, Paperback
First published October 21, 2003
About the author
Tupac Shakur
15 books825 followersTupac Amaru Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper. In addition to his status as a top-selling recording artist, Shakur was a successful film actor and a prominent social activist. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-selling rap artist, with over 75,000,000 albums sold worldwide, including over 50,000,000 in the United States. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social and racial equality, as well as his raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse and conflicts with the law.
Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground. Shakur's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, gained critical recognition and backlash for its controversial lyrics. Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal problems. Later, he was shot five times and robbed in the lobby of a recording studio in New York City. Following the event, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. After serving eleven months of his sentence for sexual abuse, Shakur was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Knight's assistance, Shakur agreed to release three albums under the Death Row label. Shakur's fifth album, the first double-disc release in hip hop history All Eyez on Me, was counted as two albums.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, and died six days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at the University Medical Center.
Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground. Shakur's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, gained critical recognition and backlash for its controversial lyrics. Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal problems. Later, he was shot five times and robbed in the lobby of a recording studio in New York City. Following the event, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. After serving eleven months of his sentence for sexual abuse, Shakur was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Knight's assistance, Shakur agreed to release three albums under the Death Row label. Shakur's fifth album, the first double-disc release in hip hop history All Eyez on Me, was counted as two albums.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, and died six days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at the University Medical Center.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 45 reviews
December 29, 2021
What a book! The photographs. The handwritten letters, poems and lyrics. The quotes. Per-fucking-fection!
I've been dying to get my hands on this book for a long time and now, by chance, I got it for free. It is a companion book to the brilliant documentary on Tupac Shakur of the same name (Tupac: Resurrection). Reading this book makes a lot more sense when you know the documentary, as the photographs, letters and quotes included in the book are presented without context, i.e. there are no captions or text to guide the reader. Therefore, and because the documentary is amazing, I'd recommend watching it first before jumping into this book, but then, everything will make perfect sense.
This is a bit of a weird book to review because it is 70% pictures and copies of letters, documents and other memorabilia, and 30% quotes from Tupac (from various interviews) that are put in a somewhat chronological sequence, so as to mimic the style of a self-narrated autobiography of sorts. I've found the concept (which was based on ideas of his mother, Afeni Shakur) brilliant because it was very immersive and for a couple of hours, whilst reading this book, I was thrown into Pac's life and could revisit the US in the 70s, 80s and 90s through the lens of a young Black boy and man respectively. It was fascinating.
I love photography. I love street style. This book through its authenticity satisfied me to no end. I loved seeing the pictures of Pac as a baby, toddler and young kid. Seeing what he wore, how he played with his cousins and friends. I also loved seeing the pictures of Afeni (and some of the other Panthers) in the 70s.
It comes as no surprise that my favorite pictures of this book were all from this time: the picture of Pac as a baby (probably the earliest photograph of him that's available to the public), the picture of him as a young boy on the playground (this photograph radiates so much joy, innocence and carefreeness, I could cry ... we all have a picture like that of us in our family photo albums) and all the pictures of him and Jada.
Another beautiful thing that Pac later said in an interview about Jada is the following: "Jada's my heart. She will be my friend my whole life. We'll be old together. Jada can ask me to do anything and she can have it. She can have my heart, my liver, my lungs, my kidney, my blood marrow, all of that." Again, it's just beautiful to see how much the two meant to each other. And it's heartbreaking to think that their future together was cut short. Pac will never grow old. His "whole life" was a mere 25 years long. It's hard to wrap one's mind around that!
He also said: "I'm the type of person that could be a good father, a good homie, a good son, and a good man at the same time." The faith he had in his own capabilities, his own life, all his possibilities – it's quotes like these that make me tear up because these were all dreams that never came to fruition.
The book also explores his loving, yet somewhat complicated relationship to his mother, which I loved, because the insights he gives into his upbringing help us understand his drive and his motivation a lot better. He said: "I think that my mother, like Fred Hampton, Mark Clark, Harriet Tubman, they felt like they were laying tracks for a generation to come. Somebody has to break out and risk losing everything and being poor and getting beat down; somebody sacrifices."
This sacrifice meant for Pac that he was to grow up without a father (figure), grow up poor, grow up with a mother who spent a lot of time away from home due to her activist work. Being raised by a Black Panther and under these circumstances made him acutely aware of social injustices from an early age. During an interview he gave during his high school years, he demands: "I think there should be a drug class, a sex education class. A real sex education class. A class on police brutality. There should be a class on apartheid. There should be a class on why people are hungry, but there are not. There are classes on ... gym. Physical Education. Let's learn Volleyball."
Later, when he was already successful as a rapper he said: "All my songs deal with pain. That's what makes me me, that' what makes me do what I do. Everything is based on the pain I felt in my childhood. Small pieces of it and harsh pieces of it. [...] So I thought, that's what I'm going to do as an artist, as a rapper. I'm gonna show the most graphic details of what I see in my community and hopefully they'll stop it quick."
These quotes illustrate how socially conscious and intentional Pac was with his art, and to me, it's clear that all of that can be traced back to his upbringing and his mother. Apart from the poem he wrote about Jada, my other favorite poem that was featured in this book is the poem he wrote for Afeni:
Another thing I immensely appreciated is the fact that many of the letters included in the book were printed as A4 pages and therefore, one could really read what he wrote. His handwriting wasn't the cleanest but I love it nonetheless. I also found it charming to see all the little doodles, his signature and the way he used acronyms in his writing.
In prison, Pac worked on several screenplays and movies, one of which (called "Kindred Spirits") was based on Octavia E. Butler's novel Kindred. I found that fascinating. And it also made me wanna read Butler even more now. In a letter to a friend he wrote: "Instead of complaining about bad movie roles or negative stereotypes I'm writing my own visions." YES, that's the spirit!
He also talked about his sex life in that letter and the relationship "dilemma" he found himself in being torn between two women and boy ... that was some wild shit. I blushed, let me tell you that. My favorite part was probably when he jubilantly wrote: "I still have complete use of every nerve, limb, and muscle and more surprisingly I can still make love and have babies after taking a shot to my scrotum! Talk about faith in God! :)!" LMAO.
In prison, he also wrote a 5-pages long (!) letter to his family in which he proposed that they all collectively invest in a family restaurant, and he even wrote down some ideas for the menu. And that letter was wild af as well because he was pretty patronising on the one hand and told all of them off (even his elders) and then, on the other hand, the plan he came up with was so outlandish and naive, I was like ... ain't nobody gonna say yes to that??? Excuse me, sir?? It was a wild letter and I love that it was included in here.
Lastly, I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the entire book because it so beautifully illustrates Pac's way with words and his clever use of analogies when it comes to making himself (and the plight of his people) heard: "If I know that in this hotel room they have food every day, and I'm knocking on the door every day to eat and they open the door, let me see the party, let me see them throwing salami all over; I mean, just throwing food around [and] they're telling me there’s no food. Every day, I'm standing outside trying to sing my way in: "We are hungry, please let us in. We are hungry, please let us in." After about a week that song is gonna change to, "We hungry, we need some food." After two, three weeks, it's like, "Give me the food or I'm breaking down the door." After a year you're just like, "I'm picking the lock, coming through the door blasting!" It's like, you hungry, you reached your level. We asked ten years ago. We was asking with the Panthers. We was asking with the Civil Rights Movement. We was asking. Those people that asked are dead and in jail. So now what do you think we're gonna do? Ask?" BOOM.
I've been dying to get my hands on this book for a long time and now, by chance, I got it for free. It is a companion book to the brilliant documentary on Tupac Shakur of the same name (Tupac: Resurrection). Reading this book makes a lot more sense when you know the documentary, as the photographs, letters and quotes included in the book are presented without context, i.e. there are no captions or text to guide the reader. Therefore, and because the documentary is amazing, I'd recommend watching it first before jumping into this book, but then, everything will make perfect sense.
This is a bit of a weird book to review because it is 70% pictures and copies of letters, documents and other memorabilia, and 30% quotes from Tupac (from various interviews) that are put in a somewhat chronological sequence, so as to mimic the style of a self-narrated autobiography of sorts. I've found the concept (which was based on ideas of his mother, Afeni Shakur) brilliant because it was very immersive and for a couple of hours, whilst reading this book, I was thrown into Pac's life and could revisit the US in the 70s, 80s and 90s through the lens of a young Black boy and man respectively. It was fascinating.
I love photography. I love street style. This book through its authenticity satisfied me to no end. I loved seeing the pictures of Pac as a baby, toddler and young kid. Seeing what he wore, how he played with his cousins and friends. I also loved seeing the pictures of Afeni (and some of the other Panthers) in the 70s.
It comes as no surprise that my favorite pictures of this book were all from this time: the picture of Pac as a baby (probably the earliest photograph of him that's available to the public), the picture of him as a young boy on the playground (this photograph radiates so much joy, innocence and carefreeness, I could cry ... we all have a picture like that of us in our family photo albums) and all the pictures of him and Jada.
JADATheir relationship is so beautiful to me, and his early death makes me mourn so much for everything they had and would have had for the rest of their lives. The poem he wrote for her as a teenager (a fucking teenager!) is one of the most beautiful friendship/love letters I have ever read in my life. It is so vulnerable, so heartfelt. I really understand why Jada cries whenever she has to talk about Pac during an interview.
4 Jada
U R the omega of my heart
The foundation 4 my conception of love
When I think of what a Black woman should be
it's u that I first think of
U will never fully understand
How deeply my heart feels 4 U
I worry that we'll grow apart
and I'll end up losing u
U bring me 2 climax without sex
and u do it all with regal grace
U R my heart in human form
a friend I could never replace
Another beautiful thing that Pac later said in an interview about Jada is the following: "Jada's my heart. She will be my friend my whole life. We'll be old together. Jada can ask me to do anything and she can have it. She can have my heart, my liver, my lungs, my kidney, my blood marrow, all of that." Again, it's just beautiful to see how much the two meant to each other. And it's heartbreaking to think that their future together was cut short. Pac will never grow old. His "whole life" was a mere 25 years long. It's hard to wrap one's mind around that!
He also said: "I'm the type of person that could be a good father, a good homie, a good son, and a good man at the same time." The faith he had in his own capabilities, his own life, all his possibilities – it's quotes like these that make me tear up because these were all dreams that never came to fruition.
The book also explores his loving, yet somewhat complicated relationship to his mother, which I loved, because the insights he gives into his upbringing help us understand his drive and his motivation a lot better. He said: "I think that my mother, like Fred Hampton, Mark Clark, Harriet Tubman, they felt like they were laying tracks for a generation to come. Somebody has to break out and risk losing everything and being poor and getting beat down; somebody sacrifices."
This sacrifice meant for Pac that he was to grow up without a father (figure), grow up poor, grow up with a mother who spent a lot of time away from home due to her activist work. Being raised by a Black Panther and under these circumstances made him acutely aware of social injustices from an early age. During an interview he gave during his high school years, he demands: "I think there should be a drug class, a sex education class. A real sex education class. A class on police brutality. There should be a class on apartheid. There should be a class on why people are hungry, but there are not. There are classes on ... gym. Physical Education. Let's learn Volleyball."
Later, when he was already successful as a rapper he said: "All my songs deal with pain. That's what makes me me, that' what makes me do what I do. Everything is based on the pain I felt in my childhood. Small pieces of it and harsh pieces of it. [...] So I thought, that's what I'm going to do as an artist, as a rapper. I'm gonna show the most graphic details of what I see in my community and hopefully they'll stop it quick."
These quotes illustrate how socially conscious and intentional Pac was with his art, and to me, it's clear that all of that can be traced back to his upbringing and his mother. Apart from the poem he wrote about Jada, my other favorite poem that was featured in this book is the poem he wrote for Afeni:
A River That Flows ForeverSimilarly to the poem he wrote for Jada, the ingenuity lies in the simplicity. Pac knew what he felt and he knew how to communicate it, how to get straight to the bottom of things. It's no surprise that the songs he wrote for his mother and the women he loved in his life – Dear Mama and Keep Ya Head Up – are amongst my favorite of his entire chronography.
4 Mother
As long as some suffer
The river flows forever
As long as there is pain
The river flows forever
As strong as a smile can be
The river will flow forever
And as long as U R with me
We'll ride the river together
Another thing I immensely appreciated is the fact that many of the letters included in the book were printed as A4 pages and therefore, one could really read what he wrote. His handwriting wasn't the cleanest but I love it nonetheless. I also found it charming to see all the little doodles, his signature and the way he used acronyms in his writing.
In prison, Pac worked on several screenplays and movies, one of which (called "Kindred Spirits") was based on Octavia E. Butler's novel Kindred. I found that fascinating. And it also made me wanna read Butler even more now. In a letter to a friend he wrote: "Instead of complaining about bad movie roles or negative stereotypes I'm writing my own visions." YES, that's the spirit!
He also talked about his sex life in that letter and the relationship "dilemma" he found himself in being torn between two women and boy ... that was some wild shit. I blushed, let me tell you that. My favorite part was probably when he jubilantly wrote: "I still have complete use of every nerve, limb, and muscle and more surprisingly I can still make love and have babies after taking a shot to my scrotum! Talk about faith in God! :)!" LMAO.
In prison, he also wrote a 5-pages long (!) letter to his family in which he proposed that they all collectively invest in a family restaurant, and he even wrote down some ideas for the menu. And that letter was wild af as well because he was pretty patronising on the one hand and told all of them off (even his elders) and then, on the other hand, the plan he came up with was so outlandish and naive, I was like ... ain't nobody gonna say yes to that??? Excuse me, sir?? It was a wild letter and I love that it was included in here.
Lastly, I want to leave you with one of my favorite quotes from the entire book because it so beautifully illustrates Pac's way with words and his clever use of analogies when it comes to making himself (and the plight of his people) heard: "If I know that in this hotel room they have food every day, and I'm knocking on the door every day to eat and they open the door, let me see the party, let me see them throwing salami all over; I mean, just throwing food around [and] they're telling me there’s no food. Every day, I'm standing outside trying to sing my way in: "We are hungry, please let us in. We are hungry, please let us in." After about a week that song is gonna change to, "We hungry, we need some food." After two, three weeks, it's like, "Give me the food or I'm breaking down the door." After a year you're just like, "I'm picking the lock, coming through the door blasting!" It's like, you hungry, you reached your level. We asked ten years ago. We was asking with the Panthers. We was asking with the Civil Rights Movement. We was asking. Those people that asked are dead and in jail. So now what do you think we're gonna do? Ask?" BOOM.
February 28, 2014
After borrowing this book from a friend, I have purchased and gifted this book to inner city Black Males at least 3x - and will continue to do so. I think it is insightful, raw and honest. I was never a big fan of Tupac UNTIL I read this book. It's hard to describe his tone, but he is able to connect to the reader, by being a strong man, but also showing weakness. I was captivated by his openness and authenticity, through the good and the bad. All the ugly parts of ourselves and our lives that we may want to cover up and hide, Tupac reveals. There is something included from every part of his life, living in the inner city, his education, the movie industry, family and prison life, no part goes untouched. With handwritten letters and family photos it is a fascinating journey through his eyes, one that I will never forget and only wish to continue to share with others. It’s a must buy.
May 12, 2008
He was a bright and intelligent man.... Way before his time....
April 2, 2018
This is his story told in his own words–indeed the autobiography he never got to write which makes it the only Tupac book that matters. The excellent plethora of photographs are put together so nicely, and appropriate to the text. Collection of poems, letters and scripts all written by him are in here. I couldn't put it down I devoured it all in one-sitting. A treasure to any Tupac's fan.
December 20, 2016
Geez, Louise, this is a beautiful book. The photography is excellent and perfectly paired with text. The story of Shakur's life is told in his own words, revealing a truly beautiful, while simultaneously tragic, life. I wish I'd read this book years ago, and plan to see the documentary film. (I love that one has lead me into the other. ) If you've not read it yet or not read it in years, now's the time to take a look; it seems more relevant than ever. I was especially touched by details of his lawsuit against the city of Oakland after being beaten by officers during a false arrest. More. Relevant. Than. Ever. Or maybe, was always relevant and still is. Honestly? This should be supplementary textbook reading in high schools and colleges everywhere. Would suit courses in history, literature, social sciences, criminal justice, creative writing/publishing, and art/photography. And music. Note that music comes as an afterthought, not because it isn't important but because Shakur's story, told here, is about so much more than that. It extends for miles.
Favorite quotes? Many too too long to post here or provide proper context for, but these are two: "I don't understand why America doesn't understand thug life America is thug life. What makes me saying 'I don't give a fuck' different than Patrick Henry saying 'Give me liberty or give me death?' What makes my freedom less worth fighting for than Bosnians or whoever they want to fight for this year?" and "I case girls and want the car and loud music. But I like to think of myself as socially aware. I think there should be a drug class, a sex education class. A real sex education class. A class on police brutality. There should be a class on apartheid. There should be a class on why people are hungry, but there are not. There are classes on...gym. Physical education. Let's learn volleyball." Indeed, Tupac. Oh, indeed.
Favorite quotes? Many too too long to post here or provide proper context for, but these are two: "I don't understand why America doesn't understand thug life America is thug life. What makes me saying 'I don't give a fuck' different than Patrick Henry saying 'Give me liberty or give me death?' What makes my freedom less worth fighting for than Bosnians or whoever they want to fight for this year?" and "I case girls and want the car and loud music. But I like to think of myself as socially aware. I think there should be a drug class, a sex education class. A real sex education class. A class on police brutality. There should be a class on apartheid. There should be a class on why people are hungry, but there are not. There are classes on...gym. Physical education. Let's learn volleyball." Indeed, Tupac. Oh, indeed.
February 9, 2015
This book came to me at a tough time of mine. I sense hope in the future but struggling to be stronger. This book connected to the younger me when I was 6 when I heard of Pac's death. And from then on listening to music growing up then developing my mind and understanding what Tupac was trying to inspire. This book is touching and inspiring because we all have a past we have struggled with but it's how we change to overcome that. It shared Tupac's life on the other side of fame that a few rarely get to see and truthfully who was just like me growing up in high school and struggling as a young adult.
April 11, 2012
i read this book when i was pretty young, i was still in primary school. strangely i understood most of it, he fascinated me. this book was the first big book i had ever read and because of this book i've read alot of other books. unfortunately someone stole this book from my house and i didn't want to get another one because that one had special meaning ):
September 17, 2018
Great image collection. I love the way it presented; the gold cover, the images and the context in general except for the pages layout, in my humble opinion, I think it could've been better. Anyhow, the collection really does show Tupac. He was a very passionate man who deserved all kind of love & respect.
October 3, 2010
5 stars for Tupac's passion, intelligence, and artistic soul, which shine through in the quotes and photos. 3 stars for layout and aesthetic.
So, 4 stars overall. The book is good, but it could be mind-blowingly amazing with savvier design and some context for quotes and photos.
So, 4 stars overall. The book is good, but it could be mind-blowingly amazing with savvier design and some context for quotes and photos.
April 22, 2008
This book was really good it told some tales of tales...lol..
September 9, 2010
it shows all his background and the thing i didnt know is he grew up poor.he had no elecricity and fridgerator
Read
February 2, 2011tupac is amazing :) love al his books and songs they all explain things
June 13, 2012
Awesome book and a great read for fans of Tupac's music giving insight to the man that was and the man that could have been.
October 6, 2012
great rare pictures
Read
December 1, 2012I want to read this book desperately
June 5, 2014
What a great way to learn about TuPac - through his own words. He was articulate, intelligent and a revolutionary.
The good die young.
The good die young.
May 31, 2017
This book hooked me up from beginning to end, this book is about of the story of the life of tupac shakur and your legacy.
June 20, 2007
love Tupac and loved the film
April 22, 2008
a good read
July 30, 2017
I think Tupac: Resurrection is an essential read for his fans. It's 'Pac's written account of his life with a plethora of photographs, letters, song lyrics, etc. I haven't watched the documentary, mainly because I like to read first, watch later. I think what makes Resurrection great is the explanation given for what thug means, the difference between nigger and nigga (a debate unto itself), and the background info on Tupac's childhood. He articulated why poverty is so unforgiving and unacceptable. It's a look into the inequalities between the "haves" and have-nots" specifically as it relates to education. I only wish there was more info, probably because I'm naturally nosy. I realize that as a person, very few people want all of their innermost thoughts available for the world to critique. I sincerely hope that lessons can be learned from Tupac's life, that the wide gulf that exists between wealth and poverty can be closed and eradicated.
December 27, 2023
I LOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVVEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE THIS BOOK & YOU SHOULD TOO WHETHER YOU'RE A TUPAC SHAKUR FAN OR NOT!
LOTS OF COLORFUL IMAGES OF PAC AT ALL AGES & STAGES OF HIS LIFE THAT ARE OTHERWORLDLY ALONG WITH AMAZING STORIES OF HIS LIFE!
THIS BOOK SITS ON MY SPECIAL TRIBUTE OF FALLEN MEGASTARS BOOKSHELF IN MY PERSONAL LIBRARY ALONSIDE PRINCE/MICHAEL JACKSON/ARETHA FRANKLIN/WHITNEY HOUSTON/ELIZABETH TAYLOR/TINA TURNER/NATALIE COLE AS WELL AS OTHERS!
GET THIS BOOK FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE BUT FOR COLLECTORS' ITEM OR SIMPLY FOR THE NOSTALGIA OF IT ALL!
THROUGH THIS BOOK TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR LIVES 4 EVER!
LOTS OF COLORFUL IMAGES OF PAC AT ALL AGES & STAGES OF HIS LIFE THAT ARE OTHERWORLDLY ALONG WITH AMAZING STORIES OF HIS LIFE!
THIS BOOK SITS ON MY SPECIAL TRIBUTE OF FALLEN MEGASTARS BOOKSHELF IN MY PERSONAL LIBRARY ALONSIDE PRINCE/MICHAEL JACKSON/ARETHA FRANKLIN/WHITNEY HOUSTON/ELIZABETH TAYLOR/TINA TURNER/NATALIE COLE AS WELL AS OTHERS!
GET THIS BOOK FOR NO OTHER PURPOSE BUT FOR COLLECTORS' ITEM OR SIMPLY FOR THE NOSTALGIA OF IT ALL!
THROUGH THIS BOOK TUPAC AMARU SHAKUR LIVES 4 EVER!
March 30, 2018
This book does not only showcase Tupac's lyrical and intellectual brilliance, but his vulnerabilities, his fears, and his quest for true love in a broken, shattered world filled with suspicion and distrust.
July 13, 2022
I don’t bail fresh outa jail California dreaming as soon as I step on the scene I’m hearing hoochies screaming, fiend in for money and alcohol the life of a west side player where cowards die and the strong ball
September 21, 2020
I loved the juxtaposition of photos, printed text, and handwritten notes in this book. It felt real and honest.
May 6, 2023
would have loved more writing/having the writing in pictures transcribed but I really liked what there was
February 10, 2017
I'm convinced Tupac was an insane genius.
June 29, 2022
Baltimore 1984-1988: THIS IS WHERE WE CHOSE TO LIVE
Nothing Can Come Between Us 4 John
let's not talk of money
let us forget the world
4 a moment let's just revel
in our eternal comradery
in my heart i know
there will never be a day
that I don't remember
the times we shared
u were a friend
when I was at my lowest
and being a friend 2 me
was not easy nor fashionable
regardless of how popular
I become u remain
my unconditional friend
unconditional in it's truest sense
did u think I would forget
did u 4 one moment dream
that I would ignore u
if so remember this from here 2 forever
nothing can come between us
"I thought, we're not being taught to deal with the world as it is. We're being taught to deal with this fairy tale land we're not even living anymore. It's sad. I mean, more kids are being handed crack than they're being handed diplomas. I think adults should go to school again."
"The same crime element that white people are scared of, black people are scared of. The same crime element white people fear, we fear. So we defend ourselves from same crime elements that they scared of, you know what I'm saying? So while they waiting for legislation to pass, and everything, we next door to the killer. We next door to him cuz we up in the projects with eighty niggaz in a building. All them killers that they letting out, they right there in that building. But it's better? Just cuz we're black we get along with the killers or something? We get along with rapists cuz we black and we from the same hood? What is that? We need protection too."
HOLLYWOOD 1992-1994: I AM CRAZY. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE? I DON'T GIVE A FUCK.
"TO ME, I'M THE HARDEST MAN AROUND, THE HARDEST NIGGA OUT THERE. BECAUSE I AM REAL. AND I WILL CRY. IF SOMETHING'S BOTHERING ME, I'LL SWING. AND IF I CAN'T BEAT THEM I'LL RUN. I'M NOT STUPID. I'M JUST REAL."
THUG LIFE: I WAS SCARED BUT SO WAS AMERICA
"When I say thug I mean not a criminal, someone who beats you over the head, I mean the underdog. You could have two people- one person has everything he needs to succeed and one person has nothing. If the person who has nothing succseeds, he's a thug. Cuz he overcame all the obstacles. Don't ask me why, but it doesn't have to anything to do with the dictionary's version of thug. Sorry.
WHEN MY HEART BEATS IT SCREAMS THUG LIFE.
To me thug is my pride, you know what I'm sayin'? Not being someone who goes against the law. Not being someone that takes, but being someone that has nothing and even thought there is no home for me to go to, my head is up high, my chest is out, I walk tall, I talk loud, I don't stutter. I'm being strong.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY AMERICA DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THUG LIFE. AMERICA IS THUG LIFE. WHAT MAKES ME SAYING "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK?" DIFFERENT THAN PATRICK HENRY SAYING "GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH"? WHAT MAKES MY FREEDOM LESS WORTH FIGHTING FOR THAN BOSNIANS ORE WHOEVER THEY WANT TO FIGHT FOR THIS YEAR?"
"...you've reached your level. You don't want anymore. We asked ten years ago. We was askin' with the Panters. We was askin' with the Civil Rights Movement. We was askin', you know? Now these people who was askin' are all dead or in jail. Now what do you think we're going to do? Ask?"
TRIALS: THAT WAS MY FAULT, THAT I HAD THAT KIND OF ENVIRONMENT AROUND ME
"Am I crazy or what? Hell no, I ain't crazy. I was pissed off. What's really going on is, this is a crazy world and if you're not a tad bit crazy then you cannot survive, you will not be able to look at the news, you will not be able to meet people, you will be in the house with your doors locked. You've got to be a little crazy and I think I am. I'm crazy enough to deal with this bullshit."
PRISON 1995: I LEARNED THINGS THERE.
"I WILL CONSTANTLY COME BACK. THE ONLY THING THAT CAN KILL ME IS DEATH. WHEN I WAS IN JAIL, THEY TOOK MY PIECE OFF THE BOARD SO I CAN'T PLAY NO MORE. I'M BACK ON THE BOARD, I'M BACK TO BEING A CHESS PLAYER. EVERY MOVE THAT I MAKE, SOMETHING IS GONNA GO ALONG WITH THAT, THERE'S GONNA BE A RESPONSE. IT WAS LIKE, "OK, YOU READY, PAC?" THIS GONNA BE A CHESS GAME, NOW IT'S A CHESS GAME"
Nothing Can Come Between Us 4 John
let's not talk of money
let us forget the world
4 a moment let's just revel
in our eternal comradery
in my heart i know
there will never be a day
that I don't remember
the times we shared
u were a friend
when I was at my lowest
and being a friend 2 me
was not easy nor fashionable
regardless of how popular
I become u remain
my unconditional friend
unconditional in it's truest sense
did u think I would forget
did u 4 one moment dream
that I would ignore u
if so remember this from here 2 forever
nothing can come between us
"I thought, we're not being taught to deal with the world as it is. We're being taught to deal with this fairy tale land we're not even living anymore. It's sad. I mean, more kids are being handed crack than they're being handed diplomas. I think adults should go to school again."
"The same crime element that white people are scared of, black people are scared of. The same crime element white people fear, we fear. So we defend ourselves from same crime elements that they scared of, you know what I'm saying? So while they waiting for legislation to pass, and everything, we next door to the killer. We next door to him cuz we up in the projects with eighty niggaz in a building. All them killers that they letting out, they right there in that building. But it's better? Just cuz we're black we get along with the killers or something? We get along with rapists cuz we black and we from the same hood? What is that? We need protection too."
HOLLYWOOD 1992-1994: I AM CRAZY. BUT YOU KNOW WHAT ELSE? I DON'T GIVE A FUCK.
"TO ME, I'M THE HARDEST MAN AROUND, THE HARDEST NIGGA OUT THERE. BECAUSE I AM REAL. AND I WILL CRY. IF SOMETHING'S BOTHERING ME, I'LL SWING. AND IF I CAN'T BEAT THEM I'LL RUN. I'M NOT STUPID. I'M JUST REAL."
THUG LIFE: I WAS SCARED BUT SO WAS AMERICA
"When I say thug I mean not a criminal, someone who beats you over the head, I mean the underdog. You could have two people- one person has everything he needs to succeed and one person has nothing. If the person who has nothing succseeds, he's a thug. Cuz he overcame all the obstacles. Don't ask me why, but it doesn't have to anything to do with the dictionary's version of thug. Sorry.
WHEN MY HEART BEATS IT SCREAMS THUG LIFE.
To me thug is my pride, you know what I'm sayin'? Not being someone who goes against the law. Not being someone that takes, but being someone that has nothing and even thought there is no home for me to go to, my head is up high, my chest is out, I walk tall, I talk loud, I don't stutter. I'm being strong.
I DON'T UNDERSTAND WHY AMERICA DOESN'T UNDERSTAND THUG LIFE. AMERICA IS THUG LIFE. WHAT MAKES ME SAYING "I DON'T GIVE A FUCK?" DIFFERENT THAN PATRICK HENRY SAYING "GIVE ME LIBERTY OR GIVE ME DEATH"? WHAT MAKES MY FREEDOM LESS WORTH FIGHTING FOR THAN BOSNIANS ORE WHOEVER THEY WANT TO FIGHT FOR THIS YEAR?"
"...you've reached your level. You don't want anymore. We asked ten years ago. We was askin' with the Panters. We was askin' with the Civil Rights Movement. We was askin', you know? Now these people who was askin' are all dead or in jail. Now what do you think we're going to do? Ask?"
TRIALS: THAT WAS MY FAULT, THAT I HAD THAT KIND OF ENVIRONMENT AROUND ME
"Am I crazy or what? Hell no, I ain't crazy. I was pissed off. What's really going on is, this is a crazy world and if you're not a tad bit crazy then you cannot survive, you will not be able to look at the news, you will not be able to meet people, you will be in the house with your doors locked. You've got to be a little crazy and I think I am. I'm crazy enough to deal with this bullshit."
PRISON 1995: I LEARNED THINGS THERE.
"I WILL CONSTANTLY COME BACK. THE ONLY THING THAT CAN KILL ME IS DEATH. WHEN I WAS IN JAIL, THEY TOOK MY PIECE OFF THE BOARD SO I CAN'T PLAY NO MORE. I'M BACK ON THE BOARD, I'M BACK TO BEING A CHESS PLAYER. EVERY MOVE THAT I MAKE, SOMETHING IS GONNA GO ALONG WITH THAT, THERE'S GONNA BE A RESPONSE. IT WAS LIKE, "OK, YOU READY, PAC?" THIS GONNA BE A CHESS GAME, NOW IT'S A CHESS GAME"
August 15, 2014
Being a massive Tupac Amaru Shakur fan, I had to be a proud owner of this title.
I've looked and continue to do so, into the conspiracy of his death. I've made my own conclusions on whether I think he's alive or not, but all I will say is that there is more evidence of him being alive than being dead.
Tupac is a great individual, who definitely went too soon . This book made me feel closer to my hero. I'm amazed at the sacrifices he and his mother, Afeni went through back in the 70s/80s/ early 90s. There aren't too many people who think about society and poverty at the same level as Tupac, he suspected things that most would brush aside. He knew exactly what was going on in the music industry and he made the biggest sacrifice of all, he exposed them. To lose him (if he's actually gone) at the very young age of 25 (that's only 3 years older than me) breaks my heart. He's achieved a lot during his late teens. Maybe he grew up too soon?
As for the book, if you're a fan, you will read it. Understanding and realising what Tupac went through opens doors for everyone. Believe you can and you're halfway there.
Makaveli - America's nightmare.
I've looked and continue to do so, into the conspiracy of his death. I've made my own conclusions on whether I think he's alive or not, but all I will say is that there is more evidence of him being alive than being dead.
Tupac is a great individual, who definitely went too soon . This book made me feel closer to my hero. I'm amazed at the sacrifices he and his mother, Afeni went through back in the 70s/80s/ early 90s. There aren't too many people who think about society and poverty at the same level as Tupac, he suspected things that most would brush aside. He knew exactly what was going on in the music industry and he made the biggest sacrifice of all, he exposed them. To lose him (if he's actually gone) at the very young age of 25 (that's only 3 years older than me) breaks my heart. He's achieved a lot during his late teens. Maybe he grew up too soon?
As for the book, if you're a fan, you will read it. Understanding and realising what Tupac went through opens doors for everyone. Believe you can and you're halfway there.
Makaveli - America's nightmare.
December 4, 2019
Reality is wrong. Dreams are for real. ~TupacShakur is one of the first successful rappers in America of the last century. He was iconic because he came from a poor family and grew to be extremely successful, and that's a great feat. Because you must remember the 1990s (in the last century) wasn’t exactly a racial uplift concerning black men. That was before America had their own first elected black president, a time where black men were the subjects of many ghetto-coming-of-age movies, and a time when violence was a top killer for black men who shared demographics similar to Tupac Shakur. Who will forget that the 1990s epitomised the hip hop culture which glamorised violence. His death is really unfortunate but we hope it will have positive (rehabilitating) effect on people who are (still) shooting each other...sense of ...(deja vu) as I write this.
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