2Pac

Tupac Shakur was born in New York City although he spent much of his youth in Harlem, then Baltimore, Maryland. In 1988 his family moved to Oakland, California.

In the late eighties, Shakur teamed up with Humpty-Hump (a.k.a. Eddie Humphrey, a.k.a. Gregory "Shock-G" Jacobs) and other Oakland-based rappers to create Digital Underground, a band intent on massive bass beats and frenetic, Parliament- Funkadelic-style rhythms. In 1990, the group released its debut and best album, "Sex Packets", a pulsating testament to the boogie power of hip-hop, featuring two classic tracks, "Humpty Dance" and "Doowutchyalike." After an EP of re-mixes in 1991, D.U. released "Sons of the P," and the following year, "The Body-Hat Syndrome," all on Tommy Boy Records.

In 1992, Shakur entered a most fruitful five-year period. He broke free of D.U. and made his solo debut,"2Pacalypse Now," a rap album that put him in the notorious, highspeed lane to stardom. That same year he starred in "Juice," an acclaimed low-budget film about gangs that introduced him to the big screen. In 1993, he recorded and released "Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z.," an album that found Shakur crossing over to the pop charts. The same year, Shakur played a single father and Janet Jackson's love interest in the John Singleton film "Poetic Justice."

In November of 1994, he was shot five times during a robbery. Shakur miraculously recovered from his injuries to produce his most impressive artistic accomplishments, including 1995's "Me Against the World," which sold two million copies, and the double- CD "All Eyez on Me," which sold nearly three million.

Tupac Shakur was undoubtedly one of the most successful MCs of all time. Even after his death, he sold a total of 67 million records worldwide making him the highest selling rap/hip-hop artist of all time. Tupac is widely regarded as one of the best rappers of his generation. Moreover, a recent poll in MTV placed him as the #1 MC of all time. 2Pac was much more than that, however. His strong lyrical content grew a huge array of followers, making him a hero among millions. He was a great poet and his theory on life influenced his fans to a huge extent.