Today June 16th, hip hop icon Tupac Shakur (2Pac) would have been 36 years old. The legacy of this hip hop icon grows every year with the understanding that he was more than just a rap musician or a hip hop performer. As ‘deep’ and as real as Tupac was is now being realized by many far beyond the reach of the hip hop community. As the hip hop community remembers Tupac Amaru Shakur (2Pac) on his birthday we ask that everyone recognize that Tupac was more than hip hop, more than rap music. He was so much more to so many people. A poet, activist, teacher, actor, rapper, hip hop icon and a real person with real experiences and the intellect to communicate his feelings to the masses. Below is a bio of Tupac that was written by site staff member John McDonald. Take a minute to read it and remember Tupac Shakur on his birthday – gone but far from forgotten. “A moment of silence, and then it was on!” – 2Pac (Resurrection DVD) An embryo in Prison. Cultivated behind bars. Then on the 16th June 1971, ‘Lesane Parish Crooks’ was entered into this world. The world will later know this man as ‘Tupac Amaru Shakur’; but little did they know the impact that this man would have on this world. Tupac was the son of one of the famous ‘Black Panther’ members, Afeni Shakur. This was a movement fighting for the prejudice against African Americans. He was from a single parent family as many at the time were and he would from a very early age ask about his father but the reply from Afeni was vague, "She just told me, 'I don't know who your daddy is.' It wasn't like she was a slut or nothin'. It was just some rough times.” His step father, Mutulu Shakur was sentenced to sixty years for a fatal armored car robbery. This had a big impact on Tupac’s life, he had no father figure that he could look up to; “How can I be a man if there's no role model? Strivin to save my soul I stay cold drinkin a forty bottle”, the only role models that he had were pimps and hustlers, and this is where he adopted the thug image. Tupac moved to Baltimore at an early age. He describes these “as the best days of my life”. He was truly in to the arts, whether it was music, film or poetry. He enrolled in the Baltimore school for the arts. Even at a young age, Tupac was outspoken on the subject of racial equality. His teachers remembered him as being a very gifted student. He was an avid reader, delving into books on eastern religions, and even entire encyclopedia sets. Hiding his love of literature from his peers, he gained the respect of his peers by acting like a tough guy. Tupac composed his first rap in Baltimore under the name "MC New York". The song was about gun control and was inspired by the fatal shooting of one of his close friends. From Baltimore, drug-addicted Afeni moved the whole family to Marin City, California; the WESTside. Tupac quickly moved from the family home and moved in with a friend and began hustling drugs. This didn’t go to plan by the end of the week Tupac had nearly the same amount of when he started; the pimps and dealers took the drugs back and told Tupac that this wasn’t the game for him and he should pursue his music interests and that if he needed any money they would supply it; “they were like my sponsors”. He quickly gained interest from the ears on the streets, one of these was Ray Luv, and with a mutual friend named DJ Dize (Dizz-ee), they started a rap group called Strictly Dope. Their recordings were later released in 2001 under the name “Tupac Shakur: The Lost Tapes”. Their neighborhood performances brought Tupac enough acclaim to land an audition with Shock G of Digital Underground. In 1990, Shakur joined as a roadie and dancer for Digital Underground. His early lyrics were remarkable, and he was viewed ambivalently for his tendency to act like a diva and for his occasionally violent personality. On a song for the “Nothing But Trouble” movie soundtrack, “Same Song”, Tupac was given his first opportunity to rap on a big-time record. “Get