10 Strange Facts About Tupac Shakur

1.  The Vatican Has Tupac Shakur's "Changes" Listed on Its 12 Favorite Songs Playlist

The Vatican Lists Tupac Shakur's "Changes" on Its 12 Favorite Songs Playlist

The Vatican in 2009 recognized  Tupac Shakur's song 'Changes' and included it on its favourite MySpace playlist. This to some is obviously  a huge step towards the hope for racial equality.

Released in 1998, Changes is a posthumous hit single from the late Tupac Shakur,  the song is a raw message about the struggles of young, black men in urban areas. In Changes Tupac tells of the yearning for racial equality and an end to poverty. This song hit the airwaves two years after Tupac was murdered and became an instant hit reaching number one on the U.S. Billboard rap charts.

2. Big Daddy Kane Made The Notorious B.I.G. & 2pac Do A "Live Freestyle" In 1993
                                                 

During a 1993 Big Daddy Kane concert at Madison Square Garden, the smooth operator invited Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur who were best friends at the time onstage to freestyle for the packed arena. Thinking he was recording a run of the mill cipher, Kane's DJ Mr. Cee, who was in the habit of recording every show, had no idea he was about to capture a piece of history. After this performance, nobody would have to wonder "Where Brooklyn at?" ever again.

3. Tupac Was Engaged To Kidada Jones Daughter of Quincy Jones At The Time of His Death

Tupac & Kidada Jones                         

At the time of his shooting, he was engaged to Kidada Jones and the pair had seemed destined for Hollywood greatness, but that was not to be, at least not for Kidada who has not been able to break into main stream acting since then.

4. 'Dear Mama'  Was Selected By Library of Congress For  National Recording Registry

The Library of Congress noted with their announcement that the song is a "moving and eloquent homage to both his own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference."        

                                           

"Dear Mama" is Tupac's heartfelt tribute to his mother Afeni Shakur, who raised him as a single parent through her own poverty and drug addictions. The rapper notes her dignity through these hardships, rapping: "Even as a crack fiend, mama / You always was a black queen, mama."A hit single upon its release, the song is widely considered to be among Tupac's best songs, and one of the greatest rap tracks of all-time. The Library of Congress noted with their announcement that the song is a "moving and eloquent homage to both his own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference." 

5. Three Universities Offer Tupac Shakur As a Course In America

The dream by many of studying the influences behind Tupac Shakur’s lyrics has come true in three universities. Harvard, University of California Berkeley, and University of Washington all have offered classes on the late rap legend. In 2003, UW offered a class using books like “The Art of War” and “Hamlet” to decipher meaning in the late rap legend’s songs. After listening to his songs in the classroom, students analyzed their meaning and used the themes to discuss race, gender and class issues. While we try to wonder if Pac had seen this coming, a lyric in his song seem to suggest he did. "My mission is to be more than just a rap musician" - Unconditional love.

6. "All Eyez On Me" Is The First Double Rap Album In History

                                                            

All Eyez On Me Album Artwork

All Eyez on Me  made history as the first double-full-length hip-hop solo studio album released for mass consumption. It was issued on two compact discs and four LPs. Char twise, All Eyez on Me was the second album from 2Pac to hit number-one on both the Billboard 200 and the Top R&B/Hip-Hop Albums charts. It sold 566,000 copies in the first week of its release  and was charted on the top 100 with the top one-week Sound Scan sales since 1991. The album won the 1997 Soul Train R&B/Soul or Rap Album of the Year Award. Shakur also won the Award for Favorite Rap/Hip-Hop Artist at the 24th Annual American Music Awards and is also commonly referred to as one of the greatest hip hop/rap albums of the 1990s. It was certified 5× Platinum after just 2 months in April 1996, it was later certified 9× platinum in 1998. 

8.  " The Rose That Grew From Concrete" Poems By Tupac Was Released In the year 2000

The Rose That Grew from Concrete is an album based on the poetry of Tupac Shakur, released in 2000. This album features a large cast of celebrities reading Shakur's poetry and writing, much in the spirit of a traditional spoken word album. It is a collection of poetry written between 1989 and 1991 by Tupac Shakur, published by MTV Books. A preface was written by Shakur's mother Afeni Shakur, a foreword by Nikki Giovanni and an introduction by his manager, Leila Steinburg.            

9. Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts is Up & Running

The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts, based in Stone Mountain, Georgia, is a performing arts center supported through the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation. The Shakur Center's mission is to provide opportunities for young people through the arts, and offers programs such as drama, dance, and creative writing classes. The organization also runs a Performing Arts Day Camp for youth ages twelve to eighteen.

The center was founded in 1997 by Tupac Shakur's mother Afeni Shakur in response to preserving her son's legacy. It is designed to bring quality arts training to young people including some students that face many social-economic issues such as poverty. Many students have enriched their artistic abilities through this center and some have even received part-time jobs.

In July 1999 the foundation began its first annual summer session of PA camps with twenty campers. The camp continued to grow throughout the years. On June 11, 2005 The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts Peace Garden and visitor centre was opened. The peace garden was designed as a tribute to Tupac Shakur as well as others who have died. In 2006 the music video for the single Pc's Life for the self-titled album was shot at the The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts. Tupac's mother also went to Africa in 2006 and fostered a relationship between The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts and The Nelson Mendela foundation.

10.  Marta Museum in Herford, Germany, Erected A Tupac Statue                   

Tupac statue at Herford Museum Germany

It was created by Italian artist Paolo Chiasera to celebrate and remember his legacy.