Key Biographical Facts
Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, New York City, and was later known by his stage name 2Pac. His mother, Afeni Shakur, was a member of the Black Panther Party, and his birth name honors Túpac Amaru II, the 18th-century Peruvian revolutionary leader Britannica biography of Tupac Shakur.
Tupac attended the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting and poetry, and later enrolled at the Baltimore campus of the University of Maryland, Baltimore County before pursuing music full-time. His debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, was released in 1991 under Interscope Records and Digital Underground, and it addressed social issues in urban America.
Career Milestones and Rankings
Tupac is one of the best-selling music artists of all time, with over 75 million records sold worldwide, and multiple albums have reached the top of the Billboard 200 chart. His posthumous releases, including All Eyez on Me and Me Against the World, continue to rank among the highest-certified hip-hop albums in the United States