Happy 50th Birthday to Tupac Shakur

25 years since his 25 years of life

On what would have been his 50th birthday, we take time today to memorialize the biggest icon in all of Hip-Hop culture, Tupac Amaru Shakur.

It’s simply not possible to cover all of his accomplishments in one article, but it’s certainly worth trying. Tupac, known artistically as 2Pac, was an activist first and foremost. With his parents being members of the Black Panther Party, Pac’s mission was always to improve all Black lives. With all of his accomplishments, Pac always wanted that to be what he was most known for.

That sort of mentality is why he still holds the claim to be the greatest MC that ever lived. His place in the conversation transcends other rapper’s claims because of how much he stood for and continues to stand for. Nevertheless, Pac is also always in that conversation because he is simply one of the great songwriters in the history of the culture.  Songs like ‘Dear Mama‘ and ‘Brenda’s Got a Baby‘ are some of the earliest examples of transcendent and emotional songwriting in the game of rap, both of which will never be topped.

Pac Against the World…

Pac’s discography has tracks for everybody. His sensitive songs can touch anybody of any age or gender while his hardest songs elevated hardcore Hip-Hop. Pac screamed “Thug Life” until he died, with his later tracks showing honest brutality in the life that he endured. His album catalog is among the all time greatest in the whole culture. “Me Against the World,” “All Eyez On Me,’ and “The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory” are too important to the culture to even begin to write about with such limited space.

The face of Death Row Records, legendary songwriter and rapper, the mouthpiece of the culture, and true to heart activist, the world will always appreciate the blessing that Tupac Shakur was. While we only covered a fraction of his accomplishments, we’re happy to acknowledge the great Makaveli on his 50th. Rest in peace, Pac.

Click here to read our post for Pac’s 49th birthday.

Written by Jason Heilbronner