I got shot.





I always felt like I'd be shot.






Somebody was trying

to do me some harm






because a lot of people don't like me.





But I didn't think it was gonna happen

at that particular moment.






I'm surprised, but I'm happy.






I believe that, you know,

this is all in God's hands.







And I'm very appreciative to God

for everything I've gotten to do.






But also, about death, we look at

death from the selfish side, like:






"That guy died. Oh, it's so sad."

Why is it sad?





He's away from all of this

bad stuff that's here on Earth.






I mean, at the worst, he's just

somewhere quiet, no nothing.






At best, he's an angel... or he's

a spirit somewhere.






What is so bad about that?






Throughout my life, I just wanted

to be like an angel for God,








do something

where I could be of some help.






And I can do that.

I mean, I'm an artist.






It's not like I have to tell the truth.

I have to tell a story






and reach you and get

some kind of feeling from you.






And then try to get the moral across.






So this is my story.






A story about ambition,

violence, redemption and love.






In my life, I was different things

for different people.






What's up, n***a?








Don't fuck around with real Gs

Quick to snatch your ugly ass






- Off the streets

- So fuck peace






I let them n***as know

It's on for life






So let the West Side ride tonight






Bad Boy murdered on wax and killed






- Fuck with me you'll get your

- Caps peeled






Yeah, my n***as say...






Some people say

I was a thug and a gangsta.








Other people remember me

as a poet and a born leader.






But I'm saying to you

measure a man by his actions fully,






through his whole life,

from the beginning to the end.






Everybody's past

is what made their future.






It's, like, about destiny.






Speak, drums

Tell the real story






My mother was a Black Panther,






and she was really involved

in the movement.






Power! Power!








Power to the people!

Power to the people!






You know, just black people bettering

themselves and things like that.






She had a high position in the Panther

Party, which was unheard of,






because there was sexism,

even in the Panthers.






All of my roots

to the struggle are real deep.






I was named after this Inca chief

from South America






whose name was Tupac Amaru.

And I think the tribal breakdown






means, like, intelligent warrior,

something like that. He's a deep dude.








If I go to South America,

they're gonna love me.






My stepfather at the time,

Mutulu Shakur,






he was also, like,

a well-known revolutionary.






And then my godfather,

Geronimo Pratt,






had a top official rank position

with the Panthers on the West Coast.






You can jail a revolutionary,

but you can't jail a revolution.






I think that my mother,

like Fred Hampton, Mark Clark,






Harriet Tubman, they felt

like they were laying tracks






for a generation to come.








Come in, little brothers, sisters. Y'all

sit down and get something to eat.






There was always

white people around helping out.






But still, you know, there's racism.






So when the Panthers hit,

the government panicked.






And they felt like the Panthers were

detrimental to American society.






Remember, this country had

a man named J. Edgar Hoover,






whose job it was to destroy the

credibility of any black man coming up.






- That's what they did to the Panthers.

- Power to the people.








The government raided every

Panther's house, especially the ones






who they felt like could do the

most damage as an orator.






So they just burst in and put a gun

to my mother's head and said:






"Don't move. You're under arrest."






They treated her

like less than human.






My mother was pregnant

with me while she was in prison.






She was her own attorney,

never been to law school.






She was facing 300

and something odd years.






One black woman,

pregnant, beat the case.








That just goes to show you

the strength of a black woman






and the strength of the oppressed.






And a month after she got out

of prison, she gave birth to me.






So I was cultivated in prison.

My embryo was in prison.






When I was a little baby, I remember

that one moment of calm peace,






and three minutes after that,

it was on.






I rebelled against my mother

because she was in the movement






and we never spent time together. She

was speaking and going to colleges.








I used to feel like she cared more

about the people than her people.






And then after that was over,

it was more time spent with me,






and we were like, "You're my mother."

She was like, "You're my son."






Then she was really close

with me and really strict, almost.






My mother is totally brilliant,

totally understanding and caring.






And she's human. I mean, she'll be

wrong a lot, but we can talk about it.






She taught me how

to be community-oriented,






and to analyze society.






Me and my sister grew up good, and

we have good minds and everything.








But we just didn't have money.






Poverty is...






It's no joke. If there was no money

and everything depended






on your moral standards

and the way you treated people,






we'd be millionaires. We'd be rich.






But, since it's not like that,

then we're stone-broke.






I can't always have what I want

or things that I think I need.






Poverty, if I hated anything,

it would be that.








You and me were born

and raised in Harlem.






And every time you put it down,

you're not only putting us down,






but Mama and Papa.






My real father was a Black Panther,






but when I was growing up, I never

knew who my father was for sure.






My stepfather was a gangster,

a straight-up street hustler.






My mom had a kid,

he didn't even care.






He's like, "That's my son,"

took care of me, gave me money.






He was a criminal too,

out doing his thing.








So he only came,

brought me money and then left.






It's OK to go to Harlem and celebrate

your birthday with your friends,






but I don't think we would really fit in.






I hate saying this because whites

love hearing blacks talk about this.






I know for a fact that,

had I had a father,






I'd have had some discipline,

I'd have had more confidence.






Your mother cannot calm you down

the way a man can.






Your mother can't reassure you

the way a man can.








My mother couldn't show me

where my manhood was.






You need a man to teach you

how to be a man.






When I was young,

I was quiet, withdrawn.






I read a lot. I wrote poetry.

I kept a diary.






I watched TV all the time.

I stayed in front of the television.






And I could see all these people

out there in this pretend world.






And I knew I could be

part of it if I pretended too.






The way Arnold looked

on Diff'rent Strokes,






I used to like the lifestyle,

the way he used to live.








So early on,

I just watched and emulated.






I thought if I can be an actor

and act like those characters,






I could have some of their joy.






Oh, thank you, Mr. D!






If I could act like I had a big family,

I wouldn't feel as lonely.






My first acting job

was at the Apollo Theater






when Jesse Jackson

was running for president in 1984.






It was a fundraiser,

and I was a little kid.








Travis, from Raisin in the Sun.

When the curtain went up,






I just caught that bug

that everybody talks about.






I was like, "Whoa, this is it."






It was better than sex and anything,

money, everything. It was like, "Whoa,






"I want this."






We moved out of New York

because my mother lost her job.






We were, like, stranded.






So we moved to Baltimore...






...which was total ignorance town

to me.








I mean, Baltimore has the highest rate

of blacks killing blacks in the country.






Then I auditioned for the

Baltimore School of Performing Arts.






Then I started

to have good-luck times.






Parents are the same

No matter time nor place






They don't understand that us kids

Are gonna make some mistakes






So to you, all the kids all across

The land, there's no need to argue






Parents just don't understand






I spent three years in Baltimore,

high-school years. I made friends,








like Jon Cole and Jada Pinkett.






You should've seen

This girl's bodily dimensions






I honked my horn to get her attention

She said, "Was that for me?"






I said, "Yeah. " She said, "Why?"






I said, "Come on and take a ride

With a hell of a guy"






I loved my classes.

We were exposed to everything.






You know, theater, ballet...






...listening to different types of music,






songs that became

a soundtrack to my life.








But in my homeboys' high school,

it's not like that.






They don't have trips

to go see this Broadway play,






they don't read things we read.

They didn't know when I was like:






"Yo, Shakespeare's dope." They don't

have the same experiences we had.






Then I started thinking

the art school I went to






was mostly for white kids

and rich minorities.






I started going, "I would have

been totally different






"had I not been exposed to this."








I was living in the ghetto.

We didn't have lights and electricity.






- We was about to get evicted.

- We want home!






We want heat! We want lights!






We want something

to do for our children!






I thought, "We're not being taught

to deal with the world as it is."






The rich should live

like the poor,






the poor should live like the rich.

They should change every week.






The president stirred up

a hornets' nest earlier this week






when he suggested

the problems of the hungry








came about because they were

uninformed about where to go for help.






How could Reagan live in a White

House, which has a lot of rooms,






and there be homelessness?

And he's talking about helping.






I don't believe that there is anyone






that is going hungry in America

simply by reason






of denial or lack of ability

to feed them.






It is by people not knowing

where or how to get this help.






Why can't he take people off the street

and put them in his White House?








Then he'll have people from the streets

to help him with his ideas.






Not helpless! Homeless!

Not helpless!






They haven't been homeless forever.

They've done things in society.






The White House would be tainted

because he doesn't want to get dirty.






Growing up in America, I loved my

childhood, but I hated growing up poor.






We live in hell. We live in the gutter.

We live in a war zone.






We've got us stacked

up 80-deep in one building.






When you get out your house,

you're strapped to protect yourself.






The same crime element

that white people are scared of








black people are scared of.






While they waiting for legislation

to pass, we next door to the killer.






All them killers they let out,

they're in that building.






Just because we black,

we get along with the killers?






What is that?

We need protection too.






Then I came to California

to escape that violence.






Come to Marin City,

and there's even more poverty.






I was starting to see the one

thing we have in common








as black people,

is we share that poverty.






I made it to where I had knowledge

this wasn't just me.






It was a bigger picture.

It was my people getting dogged.






It wasn't just my family.

It was all of us.






Moving to Baltimore and Oakland

and Marin and New York,






and the poverty helped me

to relate to everybody's struggle.






Don't get the wrong idea.

I feel like I'm being gloomy.






I don't mean just to be like,

"Damn it, it's bad out there."






I still try to be positive.








I know that good things

are gonna come for me.






- Where you go to school?

- Are you rolling?






- Yeah, rolling.

- Go ahead, that's OK.






You dressed right for it.






He said he's been a little chilly,

so this is good for him.






- Somebody will enjoy the heat in here.

- Anytime.






OK. My name is Tupac Shakur,

and I attend Tamalpais High School.






And I'm 17 years old.








Oh, my God,

I got the phattest d j vu.






I chased girls and bought the car

and loud music,






but I like to think of myself

as really being socially aware.






Kept my history a mystery

But now I see






The American dream

Wasn't meant for me






'Cause Lady Liberty's a hypocrite

She lied to me






Promised me freedom, education

Equality






I think there should be

a class on drugs.






There should be a class on sex

education, a real sex-education class.








There should be a class

on police brutality.






There should be a class on apartheid.






There should be a class

on why people are hungry.






But there are not.

There are classes on gym.






Physical education.

Let's learn volleyball.






Fathers of this country

Never cared for me






They kept my ancestors

Shackled up in slavery






And Uncle Sam never did

A damn thing for me








Except lie about the facts

In my history






Now I'm sitting here mad

Because I'm unemployed






But the government's glad

Because they enjoy






When my people are down

So they can screw us around






Time to change the government now

No more






How do you think you're

most like your mom?






I'm most like my mom

because I'm arrogant. Totally arrogant.






You should see us when we get

in our attitude moods.






We get in our tiffs and everything,

but it's good.








My mom's my homey,

but we went through our stages,






where first we was mother and son,






then it was like drill sergeant

and cadet.






Then it was like dictator, little country.






Then I moved out,

and I was on my own.






I was broke, nowhere to stay.






I smoked weed.

I hung out with the drug dealers,






pimps and the criminals.








They were the only people

that cared about me.






And I needed a father.

I needed a male influence,






and these were the males.






You could see where I spent time

in the streets when you talk to me.






The words I say don't come

from a mother's or father's mouth.






They come from a pimp's mouth or a

prostitute or a hustler or drug dealer.






To me, these were my role models.






My mom was lost at that particular

moment. She was addicted to crack.






It was hard. It was hard

because she was my hero.








Not long ago in Oakland, California,






I was asked by a group of children

what to do if they were offered drugs.






And I answered, "Just say no."






I was broke. I didn't have enough

credits to graduate, so I dropped out.






I said, "I gotta get paid.

I gotta make a living."






I started selling drugs

for maybe two weeks.






The dude was like, "Give me my drugs

back," because I didn't know how.






The dope dealers used to look out

for me. They would give me money








and be like, "Don't get involved with

this. Get out there, do your dream."






So they was like my sponsors.






My dream was

to make a living rapping.






Just to make music

that was coming from my heart.






When I first started rapping, I needed

the money, and I had to work.






Yeah, sexy baby






Do the Humpty Hump

Do the Humpty Hump






Sexy baby






Do the Humpty Hump

Do the Humpty Hump








Do the Humpty Hump

Do the Humpty Hump






That was me.






For me to get paid, I had to go out in

bikini briefs and hop on top of this doll.






I was homeless.

That's what I had to do.






You have to work from one point

to go to another point.






I admire the work ethic.






Do the Humpty Hump

Do the Humpty Hump






Do the Humpty Hump

Just watch me do the Humpty Hump








Shock was responsible

for my success.






I'm the original two-tone,

big-nosed, skinny rapper.






Shock G.






Leila introduced me to Atron who

was managing Digital Underground.






He was like, "I'll send you to Digital

Underground. They're in the studio.






"Rap for Shock G on the spot.

If he like you, I'll pick you up."






I walked in and rapped.






He was like, "Good. You're in."

Boom, boom. "See you later."






And I left, walked out

of there like, "Dang."








Shock was like, "Come on the road.

Be my roadie. It ain't glamorous.






"You'll be working, meeting people."

I said, "Cool."






Off the road, he said, "I'm gonna pay

you and let you do 'Same Song'."






I did "Same Song".

Ever since, it's been on.






- Tupac, rock this

- I clown around when I hang






Around with the Underground






Girls who used to frown

Say I'm down when I come around






Gas me and when they pass me

They used to diss me








Harass me but now they ask me

If they can kiss me






Get some fame, people change

Wanna live their life high






Same song, can't go wrong

If I play the nice guy






Claiming fame must have changed

Now that we became strong






I remain, still the same

Because it's the same song






I look back with the greatest fondness.

Those were some of the best times.






Watch this one.






I'm gonna fuck you up.

I'm gonna fuck you up.






DJ Mark, "The 45 King"

This is your thing








Check out how we swing

Look at my ding-a-ling






And know that I am the king

A lyrical lunatic






I can rap slow or quick

About fishing or politics






It don't matter because girls

Be on your dick






Atron had been shopping

my demo tape as a solo album.






All of a sudden, Interscope got in touch

with us, and I was told that Ted Field,






this millionaire, multimillionaire,

his daughter had heard my demo,






and she liked it. So he was like,

"That's how I picked you."








And I was like,

"Well, tell your daughter thanks."






You know you gotta love the sound

It's from the rebel






The rebel of the Underground






So I went from being unknown

to now having a platinum record.






2Pacalypse Now is a story of a young

black male, from track one to track 13,






whether it be about teenage

pregnancy, police brutality or poverty.






Also, I tell my own personal problems.






All my songs deal with the pain

that I've felt from my childhood.






That's what makes me do what I do.








My inspiration for writing music is, like,

Don McLean when he did "Vincent",






Lorraine Hansberry

with Raisin in the Sun,






Shakespeare when he does his things.






Like deep stories, you know,

like raw human needs.






I just try to speak about things

that affect me and our community.






Sometimes I'm the watcher

and sometimes the participant.






Sometimes it's just allegories

or fables that have a moral






or theme,

like the ghetto lifestyle.








Brenda's belly's getting bigger

But no one seems to notice






Any change in her figure

She's 12 years old






And she's having a baby

In love with the molester






Who's sexing her crazy






She thinks that he'll be

With her forever






And dreams of a world

Where the two of them are together






Whatever






I seen that, the crack babies,

what we had to go through,






Iosing everything and being poor

and getting beat down.








Being the person I am, I said,

"No, I'm changing this."






I'm trying to think of a good analogy.






It's like you've

got the Vietnam War, right?






And just because the reporters

show us pictures at home






of the Vietnam War, that's what made

the Vietnam War end when it did,






or the shit probably

would have lasted longer.






If no one knew

exactly what was going on,






we just thought they were just dying

valiantly, in some beautiful way.








But because we saw the horror, that's

what made us stop the Vietnam War.






I thought, "That's what I'll

do as an artist, as a rapper.






"I'm gonna show the

graphic details of what I see






"and my community,

and hopefully they'll stop it, quit."






Hello, I'm Tanya Hart,

and welcome to our show.






My guest today has experienced a truly

horrendous life to just be 20 years old.






His family portrait could well be

a poster for America's Most Wanted.






His lyrics are controversial but also

a reality of life as he has seen it.






My ear is to the streets.








I represent 20 years

on this planet Earth






and what I've seen.

This is my report.






It's like my battle cry to America.






They got me trapped






They can't keep the black man down






They got me trapped






No, they can't keep

The black man down






In my album, the number one enemy

is the crooked police officer.








They got me trapped

Can barely walk the city streets






Without a cop har-asking me

Searching me then asking my identity






And the ironic thing

is that it never happened to me.






I was speaking

from the stories of my peers.






Cuffed up, throw me on the concrete

Coppers try to kill me






I mean, I said all of these things,

and then it happened to me.






I had no record, all my life,

no police record, until I made a record.






As my video was debuting on MTV,

I was behind bars,






getting beat up

by the police department.








Good morning.

My name is John Burris,






and I am here today with my client,

Tupac Amaru Shakur,






as well as other members of the

Digital Underground rap group






and some members of the

Digital Underground rap group,






a combination of the various groups.






Basically, I walked across

the street at 17th and Broadway.






The police officers stopped me on

the sidewalk and asked to see my ID.






They sweated me about my name.

The officers said:








"You have to learn your place."






They were charging me

with jaywalking.






I was riffing, arguing about why would

they charge me with a petty crime.






I kept yelling, asking them

to give me my citation and let me go.






Next thing I know, my face

was being buried into the concrete,






and I was laying facedown

in the gutter,






waking up

from being unconscious in cuffs






with blood on my face.

And I'm going to jail for resisting arrest.






That's harassment to me,








that I have to be stopped

in the street and checked,






like we're in South Africa

and asked for my ID.






Officer Boyavich repeatedly

slammed my face into the floor,






while Rogers put the cuffs on.

That's not called for, for jaywalking.






I got a ten-million-dollar lawsuit.

They said they would settle,






but nobody cared.

That wasn't blew up all over the news.






They didn't see me on TV with my eye

and head busted. There are pictures.






- In Oakland?

- Yes. You don't see them.








You see pictures of Tupac

coming out of jail in cuffs.






You don't see pictures of police,

beating my brains in.






You don't see that.

But I see that. That's what I see.






We have seen what they did

to Rodney King.






The whole world has seen

what happened to Rodney King.






Baby, let me show you what

they did to Tupac Shakur.






All that movie, that didn't

mean nothing to OPD.






I was still an N-l-G-G-A,

and they proved it.






And if you can see this,

Mr. Cameraman,








- This is scars I'll go to my grave with.

- I can see it.






These are

"learn to be a nigger" scars.






- You're suing them?

- For ten mil.






What else can I do? See what

happens. You know how that go.






Rodney King's still fighting for his, and

they got it on tape. They got it on tape.






One day I'm gonna bust

Blow up on this society






Why did you lie to me?

I couldn't find a trace of equality






- They settled with me.

- They did?








They gave me 42,000.

I had to pay my lawyer a whole bunch






and bought a car.






I settled

because I was tired of court.






I could have won more,

but I was tired of going to court.






I felt like any dollar from any police

department was good money.






- So you got $42,000 for jaywalking?

- That's a hell of a ticket.






After that case,

people perceived me as a menace.






I've had chief of police, vice president,






the leader of the

Black National Women's Council...








Everybody against me.

Why? Why me?






I have not brought violence to you. I

have not brought Thug Life to America.






I didn't create Thug Life.

I diagnosed it.






What's up?






When I did Juice,

my image got even more scary.






Everything starts from now.






We all go down

unless we stay together.






No one's above the crew.

You know that shit.








You're crazy, man.






When I auditioned for Juice,

that was another good-luck time.






It was my first big part, and I just

took everything and internalized it.






You're right.






I am crazy.






But you know what else?






I don't give a fuck.






Bishop is a psychopath,

but more true to his character,






Bishop is a lonely,

misguided, young kid.








His heroes are James Cagney

and Scarface, those kind of guys.






- Made it, Ma. Top of the world.

- "Made it, Ma. Top of the world."






Know what I'm saying, "shoot them

up, go out in a blaze" type gangsters.






If you've gotta go out,

that's how you go out.






That motherfucker took his destiny

in his own hands.






When I get a part, at first I just try to

find out, how does this character feel?






Like, I make

the person up in my mind.






What he looks like,

try to put a face to him.








Even though it's my face, I'll give

him a walk and give him an attitude.






All you have to do

is relate to your character.






Even away from the set I just let

myself go. I just stopped caring.






I stopped worrying

about what people thought






and started staring people down more.

I really just got into the part.






- Yo, Bishop, man, give me the piece.

- No.






No? What the hell you mean, no?

Give me the gun.






I mean I'm holding onto this

till I say so.






I'm not playing.








Oh, really?






When I'm playing a character,

I'm really that character.






There's nothing fake.






Oh, shit!






I just took everything

and internalized it.






Tell us about your character.

I know you're the villain.






Yo, I play me, straight ruthless villain,

straight killer, straight take no sszzz-s.






You know what I'm saying?

Straight popping partners.








Yo, Tupac will go ahead

and rock this.






Juice helped me

because it gave me that trust.






It let me trust my instincts.






I was confident about what I could do

and what it would look like afterwards.






My next guest has not only become

one of today's most talented new stars,






but he's becoming one of today's

most talked about new stars.






Please welcome Tupac Shakur.






I know what I feel like when

I'm in the zone, when I'm there.






So I was just trying

to get that feeling.








Why are you always so mad?






The exciting performance in the film

is the one of Tupac Shakur.






What do you want from me?






I think you're kind of fly. Shit.






We could start

with your phone number.






This is a 22-year-old young actor,

Tupac Shakur.






He's been in the film Juice,

and I hope to see him again soon.






When I was doing Poetic Justice, I had

to tone myself down a lot to be Lucky.








Lucky is doing the opposite of Bishop.

He's working, responsible,






deliberate about things,

caring for his daughter.






I'm a Gemini, so I got both sides.






See, I get a feeling

there are two Tupacs.






See, I mean, you're this kind,

sensitive, friendly guy,






yet you're involved

in so much controversy.






I'm talking about Tupac Shakur,

who had an incident






with a limo driver

during a taping of In Living Color.






Tupac Shakur is free on bond tonight

after his arrest this weekend in Atlanta.








The 22-year-old singer and actor

was charged with shooting






two off-duty police officers.






The wounds were not serious.






The fight that led to the shooting

in Marin City






reportedly broke out in this field

on Saturday night.






Marin Festival USA was in full swing.






Neighbors say Tupac should not

have let anyone bring a gun here.






Since he got big,

they claim he's changed.








That change has broken some hearts.






Tupac was homeless.

He's from here. We helped him out.






Over my career,

I got arrested, like, 12 times,






some by mistake, some fate

and some unwarranted.






But for whatever reason, I got

to see police more than I wanted to.






In some of my cases,

they dropped the charges.






But because of trouble

in these court cases,






it was hard at that point

for me to be trying to do a movie.






I wasn't professional.

I think I was talented,








but I didn't have the concentration.

And I was immature,






and my ego was out of control.






Harry Connick ain't got nothing on me.

Check it.






I had to get humble again

before I could do this.






More hot water may await Tupac,






based on what he tells

the new issue of The Source






about costarring with Janet Jackson

in her film debut, Poetic Justice.






Among other complaints,








Tupac says Janet's people

asked him to take an AIDS test






- Before shooting a love scene.

- I don't know if it came from Janet,






but suddenly they wanted me to take

an AIDS test for this love scene.






I did not disagree if we were

really gonna make love.






I said, "If we can make love,

I'll take four AIDS tests."






But if I'm doing a love scene with her

just like somebody else did,






and they didn't take a test,

I'm not.






Not only am I not taking a test,

but get out of my trailer.






And they sent, like, four

different people to ask me.








First they sent the producer, then

the black dude, then John, then a girl.






It don't matter who you send,

I'm not taking one.






To me, it was just like an insult.

We had a good experience on the set.






- You look like the type of guy to care.

- What's the type?






I thought I made a friend. I thought,

"I know Janet Jackson for life."






When the movie was over, it was like,

"This number has been changed."






And it was like a movie. I mean, it was

like the day after the movie wrapped.






"I'm gonna call you."

"All right."








"This number's been changed."

I said, "Oh, OK."






Still, when I see her again, I'd run up

and hug her. We was real cool.






I love women. I'm not gonna lie.

I love women with a passion. I do. I do.






Sometimes I just wanna call Prince

and be like, "Can we hang?"






Because I love women

like he love women.






Hold on. I've been talking

to little girls all day.






Seeing somebody my age.

How you doing?






- Fine, how you doing?

- Yourself?






I have ultra respect for women.

I like being around females,








I'm comfortable with them

on every level.






I don't get a predator thing going

when I'm around demure females.






- Don't be shy.

- Y'all making me blush.






You got me blushing.






I'm not uncomfortable

around strong women.






- Sorry. I'm not enough.

- No, I'm looking you up and down.






On TV, they'll go,

"Look how he looking at Tabitha."






Don't do that.








Madonna is real nice. She's a good

person. She helped me a lot.






She was real cool,

like any one of my homeboys.






Jasmine Guy, she helped me.

She's a good supporter.






Jada Pinkett. Jada's my heart,

you know what I mean?






She will be my friend

for my whole life.






Well, I'll scoop you up later in life

if you ain't all shriveled up.






We'll be old together.

Be like Ossie Davis and Ruby Dee.






Pic, you always

got a place in my heart.






She can have my one heart,

my liver, my lungs, my kidneys,








my blood, marrow, all of that.






Keep your head up






Child, things are gonna get easier






- Keep your head up

- Child, things will get brighter






My mother taught me to understand

women a lot more than my peers can.






When I was young,

I was surrounded by strong women.






My sister's the bomb.

She's my biggest critic.






She's real smart, funny as all hell.

She's real funny.








My mother was a matriarch.

If you raised by a woman,






you're gonna think like a woman.






Since we all came from a woman,

Got our name from a woman






And our game from a woman






I wonder why we take

From our women






Why we rape our women

Do we hate our women?






I think it's time to kill for our women

Time to heal our women






Be real to our women






But I'm not a woman.

I'm just a normal man.








To me, I'm the hardest man around,

the hardest n***a, because I'm real.






But I'm also very soft.






I'm very sensitive, but that's why I'm

so harsh, because I'm so sensitive.






And that's what I think

has made me successful and famous.






So sensitive.

Don't be so sensitive, Tupac.






- Well, basically...

- Bugaloo.






Bugaloo? Boogaloo?






Marlon Wayans,

I am playing the role of Bugaloo.








- What is Bugaloo?

- Where did that name come from?






Some white guy's sitting there, "What's

a homeboy hip-hop name? Bugaloo!"






"What are they calling each other

these days?"






- Check it out

- I get around






- What you mean you don't know?

- Round and round, round we go






I get around






The Underground just don't stop

For ho's. I get around






When I got famous,

I got famous friends.






Mickey Rourke was a good friend,

good person. He's really funny.








My memory of him is the night

he's arguing with Carr , his wife.






He didn't know what to do.

I was like, "Man, buy her some Cristal.






"Cristal will make someone

forgive you, trust me."






They be like,

"What was we fighting about?"






He's like, "That's a good idea, 'Pac."

I was like, "He gotta be twice my age,






"and I'm giving him ideas."






Ain't no party like a Thug Life party

Because a Thug Life party don't stop






Ain't no party like a Thug Life party

Because a Thug Life party don't stop








Ain't no party like a Thug Life party

Because a Thug Life party don't stop






I always gave Biggie a lot of props.

The Notorious B.I.G.






I thought at the time

he was my friend.






Mike Tyson, we used to kick it.

He's a real cool brother, a big brother.






The only difference in us

is that he's big and I'm small.






But I got the same heart he got.

I want to knock everybody out.






My brother, I'm telling you,

you were good.






- I enjoyed your performance.

- Appreciate it. Thank you very much.






I like that people come to me

and go, "You did a good job."








I was loving that somebody said,

"Tupac, you a great actor."






- I'm telling you, Tupac a real n***a.

- Being famous gave me confidence.






- Is Tupac a sexy motherfucker?

- The crowd gave me confidence.






- Go Tupac, go Tupac, go.

- Let me hear you say:






- "Go Thug Life, go Thug Life, go."

- Go Thug Life, go Thug Life, go.






That's what I wanna hear.

Now, I'm my own man.






I got you now! I got you now!






I put it down. I wanna get

into the head seat. Excel at it.








Do it one more time,

clear as possible.






Can we double it,

see what it sound like?






I'm a natural-born leader.






If not, everybody lose their jobs.

Everybody lose their jobs!






Back to servant.

Playing the drums in the corner.






But nobody could call me a sellout.

I'm not going for that.






I didn't want to change.






I loved that even though I was

with Janet Jackson in big movies,






I'll be up at the dirtiest

house party in the 'hood.








Damn, sweetheart

You got some thighs on you






Now I can't wait to get you home

Get you all alone in my bedroom






People could not believe it.

I used to thrive off that.






Being up in the party, and somebody

go, "Oh, my God, that's Tupac."






Going crazy because I'm

in a dirty party, no security,






lights out, drinking, hella drunk.

Drunk with everybody else.






But that's what kept my sanity,

kept me right, kept me going.






My fans know that I'm real.

My fans go to jail just like me.








They understand me.

Half my fans are white.






The white fans listen

as much as the black fans.






The ones that have approached me

have been genuine fans.






These people will have jobs in

the future and will hire my family.






Get down, man!






But many of my fans don't have ID.

Some have jobs, some don't.






Some are on welfare, you know?

Some are not.






Some are rich and some are poor,






but they all share that hopeless feeling.

I got the underdogs on my side.








Body bags of adversaries

That I had to bury






I'm almost more in awe of the people

in awe of me than they are of me.






Outlaw, outlaw, outlaw






Everybody just be screaming,

and I get uncomfortable.






It's similar to a deer

caught in the headlights.






It's like a battle to find the right words

to say at the right time.






I live Thug Life

And let the money come to me






Because they could never take

The game from a young G








I'm getting money






It was cool. I got to speak to young

black males all over the country






about this new idea

called "Thug Life"...






...which is a new kind

of Black Power.






When I say, "Thug Life",

I mean that shit






because these white folks

see us as thugs.






I don't care if you think you a lawyer,

a man, an African-American.






If you whatever the fuck

you think you are,






we thugs and n***as

to these motherfuckers!








Until we own some shit,

I'll call it like it is.






How you gonna be a man

and we starving?






Walk about five different houses,






there ain't a man in either one

of them motherfuckers.






How we gonna be African-Americans

if we all need a gun?






We thugs and n***as

until we set this shit right.






Trust me when I tell you that shit.






Young black males identify with

Thug Life, but I couldn't handle it.








I could handle it, but not right away.






- Mr. Shakur, can we get a comment?

- Hell, no. Thug Life.






- Pardon me?

- Thug Life. That's my comment.






What's that mean? I don't understand.






- What did happen?

- Thug Life.






Imagine you have 14,000 people

ready to do whatever you want.






You have, all over the country, people

waiting to hear what you wanna do.






I got people in the penitentiary,

bigtime OG criminals, calling me,






telling me they want me

to lead their movement.








I mean, I'm gonna have a problem.






So they told me to watch my language.






Fuck that.






I'm gonna have a small identity crisis.

I felt like, "I got every man in America






"who wants to take orders from me,

who wants to know what I wanna do."






Holler if you hear me

Pump, pump if you're pissed






Wants to know my plan for young

black males. That makes me scared.






My homeys in the back streets

The black streets








They fear me when they rolling

In they phat jeeps






This ain't just a rap song

A black song






Telling my brothers, get they strap on

And look for me in the struggle






Hustling to the other brother's bubble

Holler if you hear me






And I'm 22.






I was having concerts sold out,

white boys, Mexicans, blacks,






and they would do what I say.

I could tell them to turn in a circle,






and they would do it.

I was having love,






like, undeniable love,

and I was scared.








Holler if you hear me






I was scared, but so was America,

so was somebody else.






- I'm a liberal Democrat.

- I'm a conservative Republican,






but we both worry about

the society our children live in.






But that makes me want

to rise to the occasion.






It makes me want

to give my whole life to it.






And I will give my whole life to

this plan that I have for Thug Life.






That's my new posse,

my new way of thinking.








That's how we rolling in the nine-three,

Thug Life.






By "thug", I mean, not criminal,

someone that beats you.






I mean, the underdog.






The person that had nothing

and succeeds is a thug






because he overcame all obstacles.






It has nothing to do

with the dictionary's version.






To me, thug is my pride, not being

someone that goes against the law,






not being someone that takes,

but being someone that has nothing,






and even though I have nothing and

no home to go to, my head is up high.








My chest is out. I walk tall.

I talk loud. I'm being strong.






I'm against racial, ethnic entitlements.

I think they are un-American.






I don't understand why America

doesn't get Thug Life.






America is Thug Life.






How is me saying,

"I don't give a fuck,"






different than Patrick Henry saying,

"Give me liberty or give me death"?






What makes my freedom

less worth fighting for than Bosnians






or whoever they wanna

fight for this year?








They should give money to the ghetto.






Even gangs can be positive.

It just has to be organized.






It has to steer away from being self-

destructive to being self-productive.






I organized the OGs on the East

and West Coasts in penitentiaries






to come up with

codes of ethics for criminals.






It's called the Code of Thug Life.






It's a code, putting order

to the violence on the streets.






In Watts, Compton,

Chicago, wherever.






People all over the country say,

"We go by this code.








"We're against attacks on people

not involved with the street gang,






"the drug trade

or the illegal business at all.






"All that kidnapping and shooting

drive-bys, we against that."






Thug Life ain't just a bunch

of n***as going crazy.






We wanna patrol our streets.

So all we saying is,






if every motherfucker out here

right now gave up one dollar






to this Thug Life fund,

the money don't go to me,






it go to somebody

from y'all neighborhood,








and we do this shit every month.

I'll bring new rappers,






I'll bring Snoop,

whoever y'all want.






I'll go snatch them n***as.






For that shit to happen,

we can't have violence,






and everybody gotta be down

for that shit.






We gonna start slowly but surely

taking our communities back.






Regulate our community. Organize.

Start taking care of our own.






We gotta start somewhere, and I don't

know about anything but this.






- What is the message, though?

- All the people you threw away,








the dope dealers, criminals, they

will be legit next to you in first class,






thanks to your boy.






You know those

little things for mice,






where they go through

and there's little blocks?






Well, society is like that.






They'll let you go as far as you want,

but when you ask too many questions






and you're ready to change,

boom, that block'll come.






There is no reason

for a record like this








to be published

by a responsible corporation.






Never before has there been

such a will to use music






to advertise self-destructive violence.






It glorifies violence. It's creating

a culture of guns and rape.






Adding insult to injury, she says,

is rapper Tupac Shakur






being nominated

for an NAACP lmage Award.






I got the whole world fearing me,

and I ain't even started.






I don't have my plan,

and they're trying to stop me.






I challenge the view that those

who revel in violence and depravity,








on the screen or in the song,

bear no responsibility






when that spirit spreads

into our culture.






No disrespect to Bob Dole.

He don't know what he talking about.






He's just talking. Some card somebody

gave him, he's just reading off a card.






But he's cute, you know?

He's my grandfather.






- Right.

- He's an old dude, talking mess.






You don't have to use

vile and ugly language.






WPGC in Washington, D.C.

dropped violent or demeaning lyrics.








KACE in Los Angeles followed suit.






You're yelling, "Shoot!" in a community

that is crowded with guns.






I'm not looking for approval from the

black community. We are a part of it.






I'm a thug, and I rap about

the oppressed fighting back.






Yes, my raps are filled with rage.






You have to be logical. You know?

If I know that in this hotel room






You have to be logical. You know?

If I know that in this hotel room






they have food every day, and I'm

knocking on the door every day to eat,






and they open the door,

let me see the party,








let me see them

throwing salami all over,






I mean, just throwing food around,

but they're telling me there's no food.






Every day, I'm standing outside

trying to sing my way in.






We are hungry, please let us in

We are hungry, please let us in






After about a week that song

is gonna change to:






We hungry, we need some food






After two, three weeks, it's like:






Give me the food

Or I'm breaking down the door








After a year you're just like:






I'm picking the lock

Coming through the door blasting






It's like, you hungry,

you reached your level.






We asked ten years ago.

We was asking with the Panthers.






We was asking with them, the Civil

Rights Movement. We was asking.






Those people that asked

are dead and in jail.






So now what do you think

we're gonna do? Ask?






I put my gun away and grab my AK

It's getting hectic, I can't call it






House full of alcoholics

Now we're n***as under pressure








There's a bad part because

kids see that and mimic you.






I haven't figured that out yet.

But the positive side






is the kids who live in a house

where the mother is a crackhead,






he hears the rap. He's like,

"That's every day.






"So I don't have to feel ashamed."

It cuts both ways.






To me, it's like, when I sing:






I live the Thug Life

Baby, I'm hopeless






One person might hear that

and just like the way it sounds.








But I'm doing it for the kid that lives

a Thug Life and feels like it's hopeless.






So when I say, "Hopeless", and when

I say it like that, it's like I reach him.






And even if, when I reach him,






it makes it look glorious

to the guy that doesn't live that life,






I can't help it. It's a fad.

He'll drop the Thug Life soon.






But for the person I tried to reach, he'll

pick it up, and I'll be able to talk to him.






I try to be responsible,

but it's hard.






If you worry about what you're saying,

I get writer's block.






Kind of like, "I can't say that.

That's too harsh. Can't say this."








I have to block it out and trust

my heart that I'm doing the right thing.






Pretty spit...

I was spitting.






- Chill out. Chill out.

- That's my style. That's my new style.






- That's my new style.

- 'Pac, chill out.






That's my new style.






Hey, have a good summer.






Have a good summer, bitch!






But I'm not saying

I didn't make mistakes.








Like some of the things I said when

I was fighting the Hughes brothers.






I beat up the directors

to Menace II Society.






- All right, tell them why you did that.

- These chump, punk, slump...






- You'll be able to rebuttal to that.

- No, they better come now.






Check this out, they fired me

in a roundabout, punk, snitch way.






So I caught them on the streets

and beat they behinds.






I was a menace to the

Hughes brothers. It ain't over!






I still got more for you chumps!

I read what you said about me!






I'm gonna kick their ass!








My big mouth.






Mind y'all business, I'll mind mine.

I do what I gotta do,






you do what you gotta do.

Long as I give you 12 tracks,






you give me my $12, and we even.

I don't gotta be a role model.






I don't gotta hold your hand.

I don't gotta do shit.






My big mouth.

I got a big mouth, can't help it.






- I talk from my heart, I'm real.

- We talked about






people in this business that you feel

don't have a love for their own people.








We was talking about

Spike Lee, Arsenio Hall,






Eddie Murphy and the rest of them.






I thought I was charming, but I was

immature. I did things without thinking.






Michael Jackson, Randy Jackson,






Janet Jackson, Paula Abdul,

all of them.






She wants to not be black,

but sell to blacks.






I don't appreciate her going

out of her way to say she's not black.






My actions came before thought.

Things that I did, things I said.






So many things I wanna take back.








Eddie Murphy, with all that dough he's

making, hasn't done nothing for us.






- He does a lot of charity.

- Charity doesn't get to the ghetto.






Everybody knows that.






I was young and dumb.






Being mad at Spike Lee

and all those people, all of that.






The thing I said of Quincy Jones,






he shouldn't mess

with white women.






I said I was sorry personally for that.








I didn't think of how

it would hurt people.






I'm gonna catch y'all in traffic and

be the roughest n***a you ever seen.






That turned into

more legal problems.






The People truly believe that

Mr. Shakur has shown no remorse






whatsoever for his action in this case.






We view Mr. Shakur's appearance

on Yo! MTV Raps as bragging.






He was proud of what he did

and does not feel sorry.






I just want to say, judge,

that I have a great deal of remorse.






As far as I want you to treat

me different, I don't want that.








I just want the chance to make right

from all the bad things that I got.






I got things against me

and people that look up to me.






I don't want the last place

they see me to be jail.






I guess it's now time

for me to render the sentence.






I obviously find that the defendant

is a talented individual.






However, this court believes that jail

time is warranted with a battery






with some injury involved.






The defendant will serve 15 days

in the county jail.








I think the judge was fair.






I still don't feel like I got

the decision that I wanted,






but he was as fair as he could be.






Really, to my homeboys, I mean,

a fight is a fight, battery is battery.






A two and a half minute problem

just cost me 15 days in jail,






and that was lenient.






But my most serious legal problems

came from women.






How I was acting with women.






The Underground just don't stop

For ho's, I get around








I will no longer sit passively,

allowing this degradation






to be continued by our children.






I think we live in a very sexist society,






and everybody's pointing

the finger at me.






When somebody asks me,

"Do you exploit women?"






With her permission, I might

smack a girl on the butt in the video.






I might be drinking champagne,

but everything in moderation,






and everything with class.








Fingertips on the hips as I dip

Gotta get a tight grip, don't slip






Loose lips sink ships, it's a trip

I love the way she licks her lips






See me jocking, put a little twist

In her hips because I'm watching






I don't have to always do a song

with the good woman.






I don't see women as all one thing.

I think all women are different.






You wonder why they call you bitch

You wonder why they call you bitch






We African-American

women, particularly,






are tired of being called ho's,

bitches and sluts by our children.






Dear Ms. DeLores Tucker

You keep stressing me








Fucking with a motherfucking mind

I figured you wanted to know






Why we call them ho's bitches






If I do something that has a bad

woman, people go, "He hates women."






If I do something that has a bad

woman, people go, "He hates women."






I don't think like that. But there

are definitely a type of female,






label them a bitch, whose main thing

is to get what they can,






and they revel in breaking a n***a's

heart and taking what he owns.






Shut the fuck up!








There's male bitches too.






Women know there are bitches.

I don't know why they're surprised.






They know. They say it louder.






They think we say they're all bitches.

That's not what we're saying.






I give a holler to my sisters on welfare






Tupac cares

And don't nobody else care






That's "Keep Ya Head Up"

and "Get Around".






I said, "I'm gonna write a song

about women like my mom,






"who represent a strong

black woman." I did that.








I'll rap about women I see daily.

That's "Get Around".






If I just did "Keep Ya Head Up",

it makes me seem more than I am,






but I'm just a normal man.






America, America






- God shed his grace on thee

- Stop.






I'm gonna close the door.






Come on, Mr. Cameraman.






This is some real private shit that's

about to happen, Mr. Cameraman.








Bye.






Anyway, I'll let you hear the sounds.






Is there a double standard

for men being promiscuous?






Yeah, but we didn't start

that double standard.






- I'm not saying you did.

- And I'm not saying it's fair.






I'm saying this is how it is. How can we

rap about a world that is not like that?






- This is how it is.

- Do you look down on males






if they're as promiscuous as women?






I don't look down on anybody

that's promiscuous.








I only look down on people

who don't control the situation.






If a girl sleeps with a lot of guys,

she's still my homegirl.






You're only a bitch, not if you

sleep with a lot of guys,






but if you're sleeping

with them for money.






- So you put a price on yourself.

- Because they have a nice car.






Guys, when they sleep around,

they do it for free.






At that time, a lot of girls, they'd seen

my face on TV so many times,






they wanna be associated

with that person.








It's the fame that gets these people.

It's not me. It's the fame.






I've seen females look at

me when they didn't know me,






and I can see it, nothing.






Then someone whisper who I was,

it's this glare in the eye.






- You make yourself want them.

- How do you feel about that?






I don't understand how people can

stand next to you one year,






and next year, they cannot.

They're going crazy, screaming.






They can't take it that you're there.

But last year I was in the same club,






walking around,

lonely like a motherfucker.








Couldn't get a date or a dance.

I was too skinny, too something,






and now, "He's just adorable.

He's just, oh!"






But I still enjoyed sex without

the emotional connection.






And it was always a fantasy

for me to have sex






with a lot of people in the room.






But I didn't play

one situation correctly.






Rap singer Tupac Shakur was

released on $50,000 bail today,






accused of a sexual attack

in a New York hotel.








The singer was arrested Thursday

night after a woman claimed






he and three other men

overpowered her in a hotel suite.






- Are you disappointing your fans?

- Very, but they're gonna support me.






With bodyguards and attorneys, he

went into Manhattan Criminal Court.






There, the rapper and two friends were

charged with first-degree sodomy.






The allegations stem

from an incident last Thursday






in which a woman claims

she was held down






as he and two others

allegedly sodomized her.






The allegations by this

young lady are without merit.








Defense attorneys say the woman

went there consensually,






and answering machine tapes

that indicate






her interest in Shakur

were erased by police.






OK, so you tell me when your

lawyers have asked you to stop.






The girl who claims that...






What does she claim?






- I can't even say it, man.

- OK.






But technically, it's a rape case.








I wasn't convicted of no rape charge.






My charge was sexual abuse,

forcibly touching the buttocks.






I have a female saying that...

I can't say it, but...






It just bothers me so much,

you know?






To go through my life

and everything I did, coming out






of a family and household

with just women,






to get to this point to have a woman

say that I took something from her.






It was hard.






It was an emotional day

for a 20-year-old female fan,








who admitted that she had consensual

sex with Shakur on Sunday night,






four days before her alleged rape

in the hotel room.






During her cross-examination,

defense attorney Michael Warren






painted a picture of a starstruck, naive

girl anxious to have sex with Shakur.






Word is, you had a relationship with

this woman prior to all this friction.






If you can say that's a relationship.

I bumped in a club. I seen her.






Let's use a clinical term.

There was oral copulation?






Yeah, she performed oral sex

on the dance floor.








A lot of guys could say

what they wouldn't do






and what they would do,

but when it happens, you know...?






- Yeah.

- It just goes down. And it's... Really.






She did some things there at the club,

and we got together later that night.






I saw her again another time with

these guys that introduced me to her.






Everybody was having a good time,

nothing sexual, just a good time.






Me and her went in, she gave me

a massage, went to sleep, woke up,






she's screaming,

"Rape, rape." I raped her.






And she's yelling at me, "This is not

the last you're gonna see of me."








I'm cursing her out because I'm not

thinking she's really gonna do that.






And the next thing I know,

I'm going to jail.






In your opinion there was no truth

to the sexual abuse charges?






Not on my part at all.






The defense pounded away at her,






asking her why she didn't scream for

help at the time of the alleged attack.






The woman testified

that Shakur's friends said:






"Tupac needs his fans.

Don't go to the White Man with this.








"Millions of girls would love

to be in your shoes right now."






What about your cronies?






That was a big misconception.

The people with me weren't friends.






- Why were they in your room?

- I hang with lots of people.






And that's how I am.

It's similar to like you said,






about Led Zeppelin. They don't

know all of the people with them.






This guy got the weed?

OK, you can kick it.






Got the money?

You can kick it.






This guy has connections to the clubs?

OK, you can kick it. I don't know him.








But that was my fault, I had that

kind of environment around me.






I didn't do nothing. I'm charged with

being in concert with some guys.






Well, where are they at?






Why me? Because I'm Tupac...






I'm not mad at them.

I'm mad at the system.






I don't want nobody to go to jail,






but I don't wanna go

for something I didn't do.






I just don't wanna be the scapegoat.








I just couldn't believe

this was going on in my life.






See the cameras. It wasn't like I had a

chance for justice like a normal citizen.






Hi, Tupac. Can you tell me

how you're doing today?






Well, I just had to listen to the

prosecution's closing argument,






and it was so far from the truth that it

has me drained at the end of the day.






But I'm leaving it in

the hands of the jury.






I'm learning a lot about people's

innermost fears in this trial.






It's not even about my trial no more.

It's just about






Ioud rap music, tattoo-having thugs.








It's about some nightmare

that these people are having.






I can't understand why it's so close.






There's no evidence I sodomized her,

even though you put that in the paper.






Print the facts so everybody

can sort it out.






My life is ruined because nobody

has a chance to get the facts.






Fact is, there was no semen found.






No semen found, no forcible entry,

no entry into the anal, no nothing.






I wanted to explain it.








If you could go back to the night

when the abuse occurred,






- Is there anything you'd do differently?

- Yeah.






I would not have closed my eyes

until she was out of the room,






until everybody was out of the room.






So when you left the room

and left her with those people...






I didn't leave her with those people

or bring her to them.






- She came over?

- Right.






She came over, knew

those people, knew everything.






I just didn't grab her out of there.








I'm guilty of not being a smart man,

not being a goodhearted man,






I guess, or being more considerate.






At any point, were you aware she

was involved in something she...






- Cut. That's a problem right there.

- Excuse me.






None of these legal matters

can be asked.






I have a list of the stuff

you'll have to cut out. Sorry.






- All right.

- The gentleman is out on bail.






I see.








I couldn't defend myself.






This would never have happened

to anybody else.






They have no evidence on me,

and it's about to come out.






Now my life is over.

This is a year later.






A year after the world's

been thinking I'm a rapist.






The whole world

owes me an apology.






I went through it and didn't

kill myself like Kurt Cobain.






And I should, because this is

some crazy madness.






Central, I got a black male

shot at 48th and 7th.








Last night, just after midnight,

at 723 7th Avenue,






that's between 48th and 49th Street,






rap star Tupac Shakur and

three members of his group






were robbed and shot.






They shot me, straight up.






I just kept thinking,

"They really did shoot me."






When I wasn't dead,

immediately I was like, "Oh, man."






I was like, "No, this ain't it."








I know how it's gonna be when I die.

It's gonna be no noise.






You ain't gonna hear people

screaming. I'm gonna fade out.






And I didn't... None of that was there.






I was like, "I got shot five times.

I'm not dead. They missed. I'm back."






When Shakur resisted,

he was shot five times,






twice in the head

and twice in the groin area.






And his most serious wound,

a gunshot through the hand,






hitting an artery in his thigh.






He's listed in serious

but stable condition.








Until it happened, I really did believe

no black person would ever shoot me.






I believed that I didn't have to

fear my own community.






You know, I was like,

"I represent them.






"I'm their ambassador to the world.

They would never do me wrong."






I believe that this was a robbery.






Anybody who was gonna walk into

that building was gonna be robbed.






The police don't wanna find out

who shot me. They're happy.






As far as that Vibe interview,

just read everything over








and read my reply, read their reply,

read what people say.






Everybody that was there

knows what happened.






My recollection was, I was shooting

a video, the second half of "Warning",






which is the B-side of "Big Poppa",

and I was shooting around the block.






And I heard my man was up at the

studio doing a Junior M.A.F.I.A. session.






So I got off at the reception area,

and I saw Andre and Little Shawn.






I said, "What's up?" about to get on

the elevator, and he comes out shot.






The Tupac article had me pissed off,

you know what I'm saying?






Because first of all,

he dissed my man,








saying he turned his back on him,

and I know for a fact it didn't happen.






And, like, the rumors that's spreading






is on some tip like we set him up.

And that's crazy.






As soon as he comes out shot,

me and my man try to sit him down.






He called his mom. He asked

my man if he can roll him a blunt.






We asked if he was all right. He's like,

"Yeah, I don't know what's going on."






We were just trying to comfort him.

Andre Harrell called the ambulance.






And everybody there was

very supportive of him.








It was just the total opposite. He

came out and everyone ran to him.






It was nothing but love and concern.






They got different accounts of it,

and I'm the one with the bullet wounds.






I also understand that if you

was to get shot five times,






your mind is just

completely spinning.






You're real confused

about your situation.






It'll make you say things

you don't mean.






I was there for the whole thing. No one

else was there for the whole thing.






I don't know the purpose of why

the story was said in another context.








It's not important that others know

what happened. I said it.






Now that I said it, it's dead.

Believe me or not, I did what I had to.






God knows the truth.






There's no religion about getting shot.

I don't want any converts.






After getting shot, I was like,

"Shit, I don't know who to trust."






In a bizarre twist of events,






Tupac Shakur checked himself out of

Bellevue Hospital Wednesday night.






After surgery, Tupac checked himself

out of Bellevue against doctor's orders.








It was just time to leave.

I didn't feel safe there.






I kept getting

these crazy phone calls.






At that point, I'm just paranoid,

just bugging out.






I couldn't sleep or rest. I was like,

"I'm just tired, and I wanna just..."






And I felt like I'm like a victim,

a target.






I couldn't even sleep at home.

People could kill me at home.






And are the police gonna

come in and kill me?






You know, is there secret police?






I was so deep into the weed

at that point.








And I was like,

"I'm petrified. I'm vulnerable."






I felt like just a prisoner

to my own fame.






That's why I wanted to die at that point.






I felt like, "If everybody's so worried,

why ain't nobody came to help?"






- Mr. Shakur?

- Open up, please. Open up.






- Excuse me.

- Step back, please.






- Just keep it tight, that's all.

- How are you this morning?






The jury deliberated, then, after days

of twists worthy of a Hollywood drama,








Tupac Shakur has finally had

one question answered.






Tonight, the jury found him guilty

of three counts of sexual abuse,






but innocent on six other charges,

including sodomy.






Please, give me some space.

Please, man.






Why did you decide to

leave the hospital?






Please, y'all are not letting me get

through, man. Let me get through!






- Back it up.

- Why did you leave?






And sentencing for this trial

has yet to be scheduled.






Where I was sent was

a maximum-security penitentiary.








I know when I was young,

I couldn't wait to get to jail, straight up.






I mean, I was scared and everything,

but I felt that's part of being a man.






Now that I'm here,

this is not the spot.






I know everybody that comes out says,

"This ain't the spot." This isn't the spot.






Somebody tells you when to get up,

when you can shower, do this, do that.






They can speak to you any way they

want to, and you've gotta accept it.






You can die here, know what I mean?

Yesterday, a dude was murdered.






He wasn't in here on no murder beef.

He was in on a drug beef.








He's gone. He's dead in jail,

you know what I mean?






By another prisoner who had life.






He had nothing to lose,

you know what I mean?






I came to jail. I'm telling you, it's dirty.

It's filthy. It's like you're an animal.






At first, me and the guards

had problems.






I got smacked and treated bad.






They did whatever they could to break

me because I used to talk a lot of shit.






As soon as I got there, they went,

"There he goes, the rich nigger."






I was like, "Oh, shit, he said nigger!"

Everybody's looking at me like, "So?"








And I was like, "My God, this is where

I'm gonna be staying?"






He just said "nigger"!






You've got "n***as"

in one of your records.






N***as. He's talking about niggers.






Niggers was the ones on the rope,

hanging off the thing.






N***as is the ones with gold ropes,

hanging out at clubs.






I learned things there. In jail, it's like

how we should be in life, humble.






I was talking to skinheads

because if you don't like black people,








all right, that's fine.

That's your opinion.






I want people to respect my opinion

when I'm rapping, so I'll respect yours.






You treat me with respect, I'll treat you

with respect, and we'll get along.






This skinhead, "hate black people" all

over, getting autographs for cousins.






I accomplished something.






I know, by him getting my autograph,

that meant something to me.






He couldn't hate black people

and get my autograph.






- The food was terrible, I guess.

- Oh, my goodness.






They've got this liver surprise thing.








The liver surprise. They're trying

to pump that jail on the menu.






They're trying to get it to go prime-time,

get it in the rotation.






I was like, "We had this yesterday.

I liked it already, goddamn."






- No Tater Tots?

- No. Are you crazy? Tater Tots?






I used to get baked potatoes

with a huge finger imprint on it.






- All right.

- It was bad.






No, you don't wanna get me started.

Jell-O with hair all in the mold.






I'd be like, "Damn, man,

how are you gonna mess up Jell-O?"








Jell-O is so wholesome and family-like.

It just ruins it for me.






To have a hair in there, yeah.






I mean, I'm like, "Come on,

Bill Cosby pumps this, man!"






Put the hair in my Jell-O.






And you can't go, "There's a hair in

my Jell-O. I'd like to send this back.






"Can I see the cook, please?"






The cook is a big dude

named Bubba Joe.






The first eight months I spent in

solitude 23 hours a day, reading.






I wrote a script called Live 2 Tell.








I got How to Write a Screenplay,

that big famous book by Syd Field.






I got that, and I remembered all of the

scripts I ever read, and I wrote one.






I read a lot of good books.






I read a lot of Maya Angelou's books.

The Art of War by Sun Tzu.






But in terms of writing music

and lyrics, I couldn't do it.






Everybody's like, "He's in jail now.

He's gonna have the bomb album."






But it's the opposite.






Prison kills your spirit, straight up.

It kills your spirit.








I couldn't write. My inspiration was

gone because I was a caged animal.






But when I was in jail,

a lot of people supported me.






Jasmine Guy, Jada Pinkett,






Mickey Rourke,

he just wrote me funny stories.






The name that sticks out the most,

I'll keep saying this, is Tony Danza.






To me, he is the bomb forever.






I will be his number one fan forever,






because when I got his letter,

I was like, "Whoa!"






I was screaming out to everybody,

"Guess who wrote me!"








They had a story on the local news

that Madonna was coming to visit me.






Madonna has so much power that

the guards gave me an extra shower






because they thought

she was coming to visit me.






I had guards walking me downstairs,

everything, trying to peep a look.






- Did she come?

- No. No, I'm glad.






- But you got the extra shower?

- Hey, I got the shower.






The person that supported me

the most was my mother.






When my mother got clean,

we got real close again.








And even as a crack fiend, Mama

You always was a black queen, Mama






I finally understand, for a woman

It ain't easy, trying to raise a man






I don't blame her for anything.






My mom's the bomb, you know.

The world's best mom.






- You are appreciated

- Lady






Don't you know we love you

Sweet lady






"Dear Mama" is the song

I wrote for my mother.






But it's also for all the mothers.






I'm proud of that.

It affected a lot of people.








It was from Me Against the World,






which was completed

before I went to jail.






It's just me against the world






Me against the world, baby






It was the number one record.






Me Against the World was

one of those... My career highs.






It was a trip in jail.






They'd say stuff like, "You're in jail.

Won't be any rapping for a long time."








I'd be like, "My album is

number one in the country.






"It just beat Bruce Springsteen."






And they'd be like,

"Go back to your cell."






I used to get Entertainment Weekly

and see where my record was






and just trip out and be like,

"Number one in the whole country."






To me, it will always be my favorite,

and jail made me wanna dig deeper.






It took five bullets for me to see

what was really going on.






In jail, you get perspective, and you

start looking at things differently,






like everything is not so important.








You know, you try not

to take it personal.






Because you're talking to killers.






They say something you don't like,

you can't say, "What?"






You gotta be like, "OK, look man,

would you mind not calling me...?"






Anger management like

a mother.






In jail, I tried not to have

negative feelings towards nobody.






It's not like I wanted to get out

and go shoot somebody up.






People said, "You softened up."

Ain't nothing soft. Nothing changed.








If anything, my mentality was like,

"Trust nobody.






"Trust nobody."






It's not like I'm untouchable.

I could be killed as soon as I get out.






I just thought,

"I already took five bullets,






"and if I can help it,

I don't plan on taking more."






Rapper, actor and convict, Tupac

Shakur, walked out of jail last week,






bailed out to the tune of $1.4 million by

Suge Knight of Death Row Records,






which signed Shakur to a deal.






My closest friends did me in.

My closest friends, my homeys.








I took care of their whole family,

took care of everything,






Iooked out for them, put them

in the game, turned on me.






So I just thought, "How could I make

them sorry they ever did this to me?






"How can I come back, like,

50 times stronger and better?"






Fear is stronger than love. Remember

that. Fear is stronger than love.






The love I gave meant nothing

when it came to fear.






No question, sign with Death Row.






Suddenly, I was out on bail,

pending appeal.








If I win my appeal, which,

if God wills, I will,






I would've done 11 months

for nothing.






You see that, judge? I didn't curse.

Probation people, I didn't curse.






Give me my props. Let me stay free.






I was relieved, happy to be home.






I wanted to drive up

and down Sunset






because I love L.A. with a passion.

I love Sunset, everything about L.A.






Can I get tatted up real quick?

I want a crown here.






You know, the energy, that's L.A.








- Hello?

- I'm saying,






we on Venice Beach. It's what you do.

I've been in jail 11 months, Tabitha.






You're supposed to put "I love you".






You got to let me get a look

at something.






It's a trip when last week

you were in a cell,






and then, next week, I'm up at Monty's

with Cristal champagne






and filet mignon and lobster

and shrimps.






Everybody went, "Let me take you out.

You're home? Let me take you to this!"








We was all up in Roscoe's.

I even celebrated at El Pollo Loco






because I was dreaming about

El Pollo Loco the whole time.






Then I went straight to the studio.






And I did 24 tracks in

less than two weeks.






You can mix it later and have n***as

that love being in the studio






just add the drumbeat and shit. You

can do that after the rappers leave.






That's when it's fresh.






Get that beat popping, throw them

n***as on the track, put it down.






Everybody will listen, be like,

"This is the hook."








We'll go lay the hook.

That's the song.






Plus, I had so much to say,

I figured this was the best way to vent,






instead of paying some

psychotherapist $50 million.






I went in the studio. It was cheaper.






Here we go! California, get up!






Out on bail, fresh out of jail

California dreaming






Soon as I step on the scene

I'm hearing hoochies screaming






Fiending for money and alcohol

The life of the West Side player








Where cowards die

And the strong ball






Only in Cali, where we riot, not rally

To live and die






In L.A., we wear Chucks, not Ballies






Dressed in Locs and khaki suits

And ride is what we do






Flossin' but have caution

We collide with other crews






You gotta realize one thing:

Tupac is Death Row.






I feel I have more than just

a business relationship with him.






He can be like a brother, a friend.






I like everyone on the record company.

I like Suge, Snoop and Dre.








I hang out with them anyway,

now it's official.






This is Tupac and Dr. Dre,

and this is the Week in Rock!






- Week in Rock, baby!

- Week in Rock, baby!






I came out, I was like,

"Dre, I want some beats right now."






He's like, "I'm working on

'California Love'."






I said, "You know you owe me this.






"I'm new on Death Row,

fresh out of jail.






"You ain't gonna be finishing

your album soon."








I love collaborating with creative people

that's as talented as 'Pac.






He got right in and wrote his lyrics

while he was behind the mike






and dropped it, and it's funky.






Say what you say

But give me that bomb beat from Dre






Let me serenade the streets of L.A.






Me coming to Death Row,

for another reason was Snoop.






Please welcome

America's Most Wanted,






Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac.






The man got so much style.








Ya'll know we down with this

rock thing, nine-six flavor, Death Row.






But who knew it would last,

this West Side staff?






Yep, yep, yep. This is me and Snoop,

"2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted",






the bomb track. It's the first single.






It's gonna be like the anthem

of West Coast rap.






This is gonna shake the whole

music scene, guaranteed.






Ain't nothing but a gangsta party






Oh, shit

You done fucked up now








You done put two of

America's Most Wanted






In the same motherfucking place

At the same motherfucking time






Y'all n***as about to feel this

Break out the champagne glasses






Picture perfect

I paint a perfect picture






Bomb the hoochies with precision

My intention's to get richer






With the S-N-double-O-P Dogg

My fucking homey






You's a cold-ass n***a

On them hogs






I keep my hand on my gun

'Cause they got me on the run






Now I'm back in the courtroom

Waiting on the outcome








Me and Snoop represent the nucleus

of the entire ghetto.






Snoop represents the more calm,

all legit, by the book,






no waves,

let's get our business handled.






You're doing your job every day






And then you work so hard

Till your hair turn gray






Let me tell you about life

And about the way it is






You see, we live by the gun

So we die by the gun's kids






Tell me not to roll with my Glock

So now I gotta throw away








Floating in a black Benz

And trying to do a show a day






I represent the hard-core, no-holds-

barred, no-prisoners, relentless thug.






They wonder how I live with five shots

N***as is hard to kill on my block






Schemes for currency

And dough-related






Affiliated with the hustlers

And so we made it






We both represent

both sides of the game.






The calm one and the relentless one.






My n***a, Dogg, with me

Eternally the most wanted






Here's my commercial for Death Row.








If you come to Death Row,

you will see






your art brought to a bigger plateau,

and you will be paid one of these days.






Death Row. Count with me.

Count with me.






This is for my homeboys in jail.






These are 100s.

And they ain't counterfeit.






If I said it was the money,

the struggle continues.






I got money, but I have to pay

everybody even more money.






I owe money to Death Row.








So it's not just, "Oh, he's paid.

He's living large." It's not like that.






People wanna sue you,

and I have to settle for this and that






when I know I didn't do anything,

just because it's like:






"I don't wanna go to court another

eight months." Makes you work harder.






Next year, Death Row is gonna

print our own money.






We make so much,

we need to start printing our own.






It's gonna be me and Suge

on the $100 bill.






Me, Suge and Damu gonna be

on the $100 bill.






I felt I'm getting pimped.








This is the $100 bill

on Death Row money, here.






But you have to come up, start from

the bottom and work up to the top.






Ladies and gentlemen,

please welcome acclaimed rap artist






and Grammy nominee, Tupac.






People fail to realize

this is not just play. I work.






Run! Scatter, scatter!






Drag K off the stage.

Y'all come on, man.






Do it for real, man. One, two, three.








When it's time to get down

and do my business, I'm going to.






I can't get no blood on the set?






Shit.






I believe I'm more responsible,

more mature and more focused.






You don't say you need me






You don't sing me love songs






Y'all don't bring us flowers anymore






When I was in jail, I couldn't

remember why I was rapping.






But I was away from it so long, I said,

"I really like going to the studio.








"I really like creating."






Living held down

My game plan, to be trained






And military mind of a thug lord






I like music, and I like acting.

I like doing it.






She's a super freak, super freak

She's super-freaky






I can be me. I can be whoever

because I'm true to me.






The reason I sell six million records,






the reason I can go to jail

and come out without a scratch,








the reason I am who I am is because I

can look into my face and find my soul.






It's there. I didn't sell it.






So lash out and get a glass






Done finally got his own drink

Call it the best






Introducing a special brew

Made for a chosen few






I'm thugged out

While Snoop Dogg's sipping blue






I thought, "I'm a superpower.

Death Row is a superpower.






"Let's combine superpowers and ally."






Damu! My dog's going crazy,

ready to kill a few people.








- Yeah. Yeah.

- He wanna kill.






I love my artists.






I don't consider my people artists.

I consider them family.






It's just a big difference, if they

decided to turn in rapping or singing,






they'd still be my homeboys.

We'd still travel together.






If they needed something,

what's mine will still be theirs.






It's no situation where I'm dealing

with them strictly for business,






because they're good.

It's not like that.








You've gotta have more respect

for your people.






Plus we've got a Death Row East

going on.






- I'm sure you heard about that.

- Tell me about that.






Hold on. Damu! Damu, sit!






But Death Row has a reputation

for having a thug-like mentality.






Won't that get you in trouble?






Death Row has a bigger reputation

for success than anything else.






The reason for all of the fear

involves the world of this man,






the man getting out of the limousine.








Six-foot-three, 335-pound

Marion Knight,






known by the nickname of "Suge",

short for "Sugar".






It's an efficient camp over here,






professional, business-oriented.

I like that.






At the age of only 30,

and with a lengthy criminal record,






including three felony convictions,






Suge Knight has managed

to become the head






of a $100 million record company








and one of the most powerful

and feared men in the music industry.






The controversy

over Death Row Records






and its owner

being sort of a gangster.






Everybody's asking about Death Row.






- Suge ain't no gangsta. He's chilling.

- No?






No, man, Suge a rider.






I know what good morals are,

but you're supposed to disregard






good morals when you're

living in a crazy, bad world.






If you're in hell,

how can you live like an angel?








You're surrounded by devils,

trying to be an angel?






That's like suicide.






I'd like to tell Tupac to keep

his guards up. We're with him.






One other thing I'd like to say,






any artist out there

that want to be an artist






and wants to stay a star

and don't wanna have to worry






about the executive producer

trying to be all in the videos,






all on the records, dancing,

come to Death Row.








When I got out of jail, the West Coast-

East Coast shit was really starting.






Wait, the East Coast don't love

Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg?






The East Coast

ain't got no love for Dr. Dre






and Snoop Dogg and Death Row?






West Coast was Death Row.

The East Coast was Bad Boy.






Check this out.






I'm the executive producer that

a comment was made about earlier.






Everybody thought it was a war,

a war for record sales and attention.






But to me it was personal.








I love the East Coast.

I'm from the East Coast.






But I felt like Puffy and Biggie wanted

to dirty up everything I worked for.






So it made me come back

more relentless.






I'm mad at Biggie. I'm rushing

the n***a. What's the problem?






Yo, Piggie, man,

we got it going on, baby.






It's on and cracking, man.

He's gone, baby. You the man.






So I directed videos.






'Pac, you alive? I mean, you safe?

Man, I'm so happy you're free.








Yeah? Happy to see you,

lying piece of shit.






'Pac, please don't kill me.

It was Buff's idea.






- No, man.

- I'm just a rapper.






Please don't take me out of the game.






I ain't going to kill you.

We was homeboys once, Pig.






Once we homeboys,

we always homeboys,






even if you is a fat phony.






And I did a song

with Faith, Biggie's wife.






Faith's my homegirl. I just want

to send a shout-out to Faith. Hey, girl.








Then I did "Hit 'Em Up".






That's why I fucked your bitch,

You fat motherfucker






Which is a classic battle record.






First off, fuck your bitch

And the clique you claim






West Side, when we ride

Come equipped with game






You claim to be a player

But I fucked your wife






We bust on Bad Boys

N***as fucked for life






I'm a self-made millionaire








Thug living out of prison

Pistols in the air






Biggie, remember when I used

To let you sleep on the couch






And beg a bitch

To let you sleep in the house






- Now it's all about Versace

- You copied my style






- Five shots couldn't drop me

- I took it and smiled






Now I'm about set the record straight






With my AK, I'm still the thug

That you love to hate






Grab your Glocks

When you see Tupac






Call the cops when you see Tupac








Who shot me?

But you punks didn't finish that






You're about to feel

The wrath of a menace






Everything happened

so fast at that point.






I was looking at things,

the East Coast-West Coast thing,






it just got out of control.






Dudes was getting killed,

and I felt responsible.






But I couldn't stop it.






We ain't mad at the whole New York,

just certain people.








I got this project coming out along with

some brothers called One Nation.






It's like an East Coast-West Coast

collaboration






to kill this whole new vibe.






Everybody want it to be a war






between the East Coast

and West Coast.






It's really a problem

with two rappers.






The East Coast-West Coast thing

is something journalists






are making up to get paid off,

so it can drag out






and everybody can have albums. They

perpetuate this, so it can be drama.








When it go down,

don't look at me and Biggie






and be like, "Why is there a big

East Coast/West Coast war?"






When you're shooting this

to 3,300 homes, 300 countries,






telling them about a war

that they would never know exists.






That's where information

becomes a problem.






We both need

to exercise greater restraint.






Damn, sometimes life gets

messed up.






When I was on Death Row,

I was successful but not happy.








Tupac, your life has been marred

by considerable pain.






Do you think you'll get to the point

where you can live a normal life?






No. But, I...






I'm going for it. I'm trying for it,

and until then






I have to make the life that I do live

as happy as I can






and try to do the best

with what I have.






Live the best life I can live,

be as happy as I can be.






Nothing is perfect for anybody,

I don't think.






I felt trapped.








They say, "You made your bed,

lay in it"?






I tried to move.

I can't move to no other bed.






I felt I can't live a different lifestyle.






This the life they gave me,

this the life I made.






I felt I can't change, not for the courts,

not for the parole board,






not for nobody. This is it.






I also felt like something was gonna

happen to me because I'm paranoid.






And I put it in my videos.








That n***a ain't want none.

I been drinking. Where he at?






No, no, no, where he at?






Yo, watch out.






It was a prophecy.






I had a prophecy about my death.






That's why I go in the studio and do

three songs a day, get things ready.






We don't have time or the luxury






to spend all of this time

doing one song. We don't have it.






If I die, it can happen.








If anything were to happen to me,

that album's ready to go.






So it's all good.






I felt as if the only thing

that can kill me is death,






and even then my music

will live forever.






At approximately 9:00 p.m.,

security cameras at the MGM Grand






captured Tupac, Suge Knight and

members of the Death Row entourage






beating an alleged South Side Crip,

Orlando Anderson.






Tupac, Suge and others jumped

Anderson, punching and kicking him.








Terrified bystanders scattered

as the group streamed into the casino






then out into the street.






Whoa.






Just after the Mike Tyson fight,






Shakur, with record company

executive, Suge Knight,






headed for a club.

While stopping at this intersection






a car with four people pulled up

and fired on Shakur and Knight.






Shakur was shot

several times in the chest.






The driver, his record producer,

was grazed in the head.








He's returned to intensive care

after another surgery,






still in critical condition.






All week long fans of Tupac

have gathered outside the hospital.






He's undergone two operations.






His right lung was removed.

He's intermittently conscious.






Jesse Jackson's been here.

Family is keeping vigil.






Despite reports that his wounds

were not life-threatening,






people at the hospital continue to tell

us he is in very serious condition.








At 4:03 this afternoon,

Tupac Shakur was pronounced dead.






Who shot me?

Shit, I don't know.






Sorry.






My death, it's a tragedy

like Shakespeare, I guess.






But I have no bad feelings.

I have love for everybody.






Please welcome the mothers

of Biggie Smalls and Tupac Shakur,






Afeni Shakur and Voletta Wallace.






Coming to grips

with my past, it was hard.






I don't feel what I did was evil.

I feel like the way I was living








and my mentality was a part

of my progression to be a man.






But we grow. We all grow.

We're made to grow.






You either evolve,

or you disappear.






I don't want to be forgotten.






I'll always be a troublemaker

to some people.






But I still get love

from my community.






I owe them everything. That's why

I owe everything to the 'hood.






I've got love there.








I've got love from thugs

and the street dudes.






And that focuses me back

on what I should be doing,






lay out the real mat

on the world and how it is.






The message is,

young black males could do anything






if you just give us a shot,

stop trying to beat us down.






And to my homeboys, we need

to be in control of ourselves.






I'm not saying I'll change the world,

but I guarantee I'll spark






the brain that will change the world.






So keep your head up.








Do what you've gotta do.






And then inside of you,

I'll be reborn.