Random Fascinating Facts You Didn't Know About Tupac Shaku (12 items)

• (#3) He Was A Member Of Digital Underground - And A Roadie

   

  A post shared by Tupac Shakur (@2pac) on Jan 3, 2015 at 5:15pm PST

  
  Pac's first major appearance as a rapper came via Digital Underground's "Same Song." The track featured on the Nothing but Trouble soundtrack, as well as Digital Underground's This Is an EP Release. Nothing but Trouble also marked Pac's first appearance in a major motion picture.

  Pac hooked up with the group, known for their hit "The Humpty Dance," and served as an MC and roadie. Digital Underground leader Shock G told Rolling Stone:

  Setting the stage up was his thing. Of all the roadies we've had over the years, like in the 20-year period, they'd always wander off, get pulled into something by a chick, a party, or getting high. Sometimes we'd get to the hotel and find, "Hey, the turntables are still onstage at the Oakland Coliseum." Nothing got lost on Pac's watch. Nothing. He always handled his business. Pac was solid.
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  (#11) Pac's Decision To Record 'Got My Mind Made Up' Increased The Rift Between Him and Dr. Dre

  Inspectah Deck and The Lady of Rage's verses were cut from Pac's song "Got My Mind Made Up." Both MCs were on the song when it was originally recorded for the Dogg Pound, but when Pac got out of jail, the song was given to him. Listeners can hear Deck's tag "INS the Rebel" at the end of the track.

  According to producer Daz Dillinger, Pac's decision to take the song increased the rift between the rapper and Dr. Dre. Dillinger explained:

  Pac didn't know that I did the beat, 'cause Dre said he did the beat. Then, when they came playin' it, I said, "N****, that's my shit." That's when Tupac and Dr. Dre got into a little [verbal altercation].
• (#5) He Started A Rap Duo With Ray Luv Before Going Solo

   

  A post shared by Tupac Shakur (@2pac) on Apr 8, 2015 at 9:41am PDT

  
  After leaving Digital Underground, Pac moved to Marin City, CA, where he and Ray Luv formed a group together. The two went on to make several songs as a duo and continued to work together as solo artists. Santa Rosa, CA, native Ray Luv was credited as a writer on Pac's first single, "Trapped."

  According to Luv, he initially wrote the song but threw it in a trash can, where Pac later found it and asked if he could use it. Luv recalled:

  He read it and was like, "Man, this sh*t is dope." So I gave it to him. It was purely on love. I wasn't looking for no bread. Later he called me up and told me he had just recorded it as a single. He said "We want it to be the first f*ckn' single." And then he told me he was gonna shoot me a couple G's, which he did, and we was even.
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  (#7) Tupac And Notorious B.I.G. Started Out As Friends

  Before they became mortal enemies, Tupac and the Notorious B.I.G. were good friends. Although already a megastar, Pac was highly instrumental in Big's development as an artist prior to their falling-out, hanging out with Big in Brooklyn and inviting him on stage, including the now notorious "Where Brooklyn At" freestyle. The two later appeared together on tracks "Let's Get It On" and "Runnin'."

  The two stars allegedly had a falling-out after Pac was robbed and shot outside a New York City recording studio in 1994. Pac claimed Big knew the suspects.

  Naughty by Nature's Treach told MTV News:

  [Pac] really thought when he got shot the first time, that... not Big set it up or anything, just Big didn't tell him who did it. In his heart, he was like, "The homie know who did it."
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  (#6) A Documentary On His Life Earned An Oscar Nomination

  There have been roughly 15 documentaries featuring Pac, as well as numerous television shows and even a feature film based on his life, but only one has been nominated for an Academy Award. Tupac: Resurrection was nominated for Best Documentary Feature at the 2005 awards show. The documentary lost out to Born Into Brothels, a film about the children of prostitutes in India's largest red-light district.
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  (#4) Tupac Shakur Wasn't His Birth Name, But It Was A Tribute To An Incan Revolutionary

  Most fans believe the iconic rapper's birth name was Tupac Amaru Shakur, but that's not the case. Pac was born in Brooklyn under the birth name Lesane Parish Crooks. His mother, Black Panther activist Afeni Shakur, renamed him a year after he was born. The name was a tribute to Tupac Amaru, an Incan revolutionary.

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