Tupac Shakur

The first and only estate-authorised biography of the legendary rapper and an essential reevaluation of his legacy, fully illustrated with mementos, clothing, handwritten poetry, lyrics, musings, and more.

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'A superstar in every aspect of the word.' - Eminem

'An incredible poet.' - Stevie Wonder

The first and only estate-authorised biography of the legendary artist, Tupac Shakur, a moving exploration of his life and powerful legacy, fully illustrated with photos, mementos, handwritten poetry, musings, and more.

AS SEEN IN THE ACCLAIMED DISNEY + DOCUMENTARY 'DEAR MAMA'

'A touching, empathetic portrait of a friend. Even familiar stories achieve new intimacy at closer range. And small moments help clarify longstanding narratives, colouring in the outlines of this well-known tale of the actor-rapper-activist who died at 25... Access to the late rapper's journals gives Staci Robinson's authorised biography a rare intimacy.' - New York Times

Artist, Poet, Actor, Revolutionary, Legend - Tupac Shakur

Tupac Shakur is one of the greatest and most controversial artists of all time. More than a quarter of a century after his tragic death in 1996 at the age of just twenty-five, he continues to be one of the most misunderstood, complicated and prolific figures in modern history. Tupac's unapologetic lyrics, for which he was vilified by many at the time, read in these pages as prophecy. His cry of outrage in a country that repeatedly told Black men and women that their lives did not matter, continues to inspire his fans around the world.

In Tupac Shakur, author and screenwriter Staci Robinson—who knew Tupac as a young man and who was entrusted by his mother, Afeni Shakur, to write his biography—peels back the myths and unpacks the complexities that have shadowed Tupac's existence. With exclusive access to his private notebooks, letters, unpublished lyrics, and uncensored conversations with those who knew and loved him best, Robinson tells a powerful story of a life defined by politics and art, and a man driven by equal parts brilliance and impulsiveness.

It is a story of a mother and son bound together by a love for each other and for their people, and the relationship that endured through their darkest times. It is a political story that begins in the whirlwind of the 60s Civil Rights Movement, and takes you through a young artist's awakening to rage and purpose in the nineties era of Rodney King. It is a story of dizzying success and its devastating consequences. And, of course, it is the story of his music, his timeless message that will never die as it continues to touch and inspire past, present, and future generations.

'A reverential and exhaustive telling of Shakur's story, leaning heavily on the perspective of his immediate family, featuring pages reproduced from the notebooks he kept in his teens and twenties. The biography's publication follows "Dear Mama - The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur," a documentary series that premiered on FX in April. Robinson was an executive producer on "Dear Mama," which drew on the same archive of estate-approved, previously unreleased materials as her book, and the works share a common purpose—to complicate Shakur without demystifying him.' - New Yorker