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Catalog Data

Artist:
Afeni Shakur, 10 Jan 1947 - 2 May 2016  Search this
Sitter:
Tupac Shakur, 16 Jun 1971 - 13 Sept 1996  Search this
Medium:
Color photolithographic poster
Dimensions:
Image/Sheet: 159.4 × 112 cm (62 3/4 × 44 1/8")
Type:
Print
Date:
2002
Exhibition Label:
Nearly two decades after his death, Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) remains one of the most magnetic and best-selling rappers in music. With a poetic and raw lyricism, Shakur wrote songs that exposed the inequities experienced by many impoverished inner-city African American communities. Repeatedly condemned for his explicit, violent, and at times misogynistic lyrics, Shakur seemed to embody the “thug life” that his music so artfully populated. His eight-month incarceration for sexual assault coincided with his crossover success. Though he glorified being a “gangsta” in baggy jeans, Shakur was critical of hip-hop excesses and, like his mother, Afeni, who was involved with the Black Panther Party, strove to right social and racial injustices. For Afeni, he recorded one of the most poignant love ballads to a mother, “Dear Mama.”
Killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas at age twenty-five, Shakur continues to be a profound part of our cultural imagination, most recently inspiring Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Broadway sensation, Hamilton.
A casi dos décadas de su muerte, Tupac Shakur (1971–1996) sigue siendo una de las figuras más magnéticas y de más ventas en el mundo del rap. Con un lirismo poético y crudo a la vez, Shakur escribía canciones sobre las inequidades que sufrían muchas comunidades afroamericanas empobrecidas en las zonas urbanas marginales. Criticado con frecuencia por sus letras explícitas, violentas y en ocasiones misóginas, Shakur parecía encarnar la vida delictiva que su música tan hábilmente describía. De hecho, su encarcelamiento de ocho meses por abuso sexual coincidió con su ascenso a las listas de éxitos crossover. Aunque se jactaba de ser un “gangsta”, con los típicos pantalones embolsados, Shakur criticaba los excesos del hip-hop y al igual que su madre, Afeni, quien estuvo asociada con el Partido Pantera Negra, luchó por rectificar las injusticias sociales y raciales. Para Afeni grabó una de las más emotivas baladas de amor materno, “Dear Mama”.
Shakur murió al ser tiroteado desde un auto en Las Vegas a la edad de veinticinco años, pero continúa vivo en lo profundo de nuestra imaginación cultural y recientemente dejó sentir su inspiración en Hamilton, el musical de Lin-Manuel Miranda que ha causado sensación en Broadway.
Topic:
Costume\Jewelry\Ring  Search this
Costume\Jewelry\Watch  Search this
Religious\Cross  Search this
Costume\Dress Accessory\Handkerchief\Bandana  Search this
Poster  Search this
Costume\Undergarment  Search this
Personal Attribute\Tattoo  Search this
Tupac Shakur: Male  Search this
Tupac Shakur: Literature\Writer  Search this
Tupac Shakur: Performing Arts\Performer\Musician  Search this
Tupac Shakur: Literature\Writer\Poet  Search this
Tupac Shakur: Performing Arts\Performer\Actor  Search this
Tupac Shakur: Performing Arts\Producer\Music producer  Search this
Portrait  Search this
Credit Line:
National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution
Object number:
NPG.2014.115
Restrictions & Rights:
Usage conditions apply
Copyright:
© Afeni Shakur
See more items in:
National Portrait Gallery Collection
Location:
Currently not on view
Data Source:
National Portrait Gallery
GUID:
http://n2t.net/ark:/65665/sm4bfe24c7a-87ae-4fa4-be1a-3d05cd606f3f
EDAN-URL:
edanmdm:npg_NPG.2014.115