Tupac Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was a top-selling recording artist, successful film actor, and prominent social activist. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the highest-selling rap artist, with over 75,000,000 albums sold worldwide, including over 50,000,000 in the United States. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society, and conflicts with other rappers. Shakur's work is known for advocating political, economic, social, and racial equality, as well as raw descriptions of violence, drug and alcohol abuse, and conflicts with the law.
Shakur was initially a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip-hop group Digital Underground. Shakur's debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, gained critical recognition and backlash for its controversial lyrics. Shakur became the target of lawsuits and experienced other legal problems. Later, he was shot five times and robbed in a recording studio lobby in Manhattan. Following the occurrence, Shakur grew suspicious that other figures in the rap industry had prior knowledge of the incident and did not warn him; the controversy helped spark the East Coast-West Coast hip-hop rivalry. After serving eleven months of his sentence for sexual abuse, Shakur was released from prison on an appeal financed by Marion "Suge" Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records. In exchange for Knight's assistance, Shakur agreed to release three records under the Death Row label. Shakur's fifth record, All Eyez on Me, the first double-disc release in hip-hop history, counted as two albums.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas, Nevada, and died six days later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest at the University Medical Center. Some believed that Suge Knight may have orchestrated Shakur's murder, as it was reported that Knight may have owed Shakur up to $17,000,000 in back royalties, but no evidence has been provided to support this theory. Other ideas have been put forth, including a conspiracy theory that Shakur is alive and well, but in hiding. Supporters of these theories point to the symbolism in Shakur's The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory album and in the music video for "I Ain't Mad at Cha."
Gregg LeFevre is a photographer and sculptor. He has created over 200 site-specific public artworks for cities all over the United States, providing insight about the nature and character of particular places. For over 15 years he has also been photographing outdoor advertising, with an interest in the dialogue between the fantasy of advertising and the gritty reality of street life, where signs are often defaced in various ways.
LeFevre has had works commissioned by the City of New York, Miami, Chicago, Boston, Las Vegas, Seattle, Los Angeles, and many other American cities. In New York City, he has 17 different public commissions—more than any other artist. He has received grants from the Browne Fund and the National Endowment for the Arts, a Coleman Award, and an award for excellence from the Arts Commission of the City of New York. LeFevre’s work can be found in the collections of Aetna, the Boston Public Library, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, Dean Witter, the DeCordova Museum, the U.S. Department of State, the Everson Museum, the Fitchburg Museum, Hewlett-Packard, the Museum of the City of New York, NASA, the National Air and Space Museum, Price Waterhouse, and the Smithsonian.
