Tupac Shakur Is Still Alive Essay, Research Paper
Chris Zenone
Tupac Shakur Is Still Alive
On September 7, 1996, Tupac Amaru Shakur was riding in the passenger side of a black BMW driven by Marion Suge Knight, president of Death Row Records. Tupac and Suge had just finished watching Mike Tyson defeat Bruce Seldon at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tupac was standing up through the sunroof while the car was stopped at a traffic light. The Cadillac containing the gunmen passed an entourage of Tupac?s allies, many of them bodyguards. Four unidentified men pulled alongside Suge?s car, fired 13 rounds, and sped away. No one gives chase and there were no witnesses on the street. How come? Why not, especially after a heavyweight fight? Tupac was shot in multiple places including his pelvis, hand, and torso. Suge was grazed in the head w/ a slug of a bullet fragment. On Friday, September 13, 1996, he was reportedly pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m. at the University Medical Center in Las Vegas. But, did he really die? There are many suspicious details about his departure that contribute to this theory. It is supposed that Tupac is still alive b/c of things said before and after his death, actions done before and after his death, and other reports.
?I got a big money scheme, and you ain?t even wit? it,? 2Pac states in the song ?I Ain?t Mad At Cha.? 2Pac certainly earned a lot of money by faking his death. His LP All Eyez On Me (1996), rap?s first 2 disc album, shot back up to the Billboard top 10 in the weeks following his death. His latest CD, The Don Killuminati: The Seven-Day Theory, recorded under the alias Makaveli, debuted on the Billboard charts as the number one album in the nation. By selling 664,000 copies, it surpassed the ?gold? plateau in one week and is now a multi-platinum hit. Sales of his other CD?s also increased dramatically, w/ his third solo album, Me Against the World (1995), actually climbing back onto the Billboard charts.
Las Vegas is a payoff city, meaning all sorts of folks have been known to be on the take, like lawyers, doctors, press, etc. When Tupac was in the Las Vegas hospital and one of his lungs was removed, the doctors were tight-lipped about his condition. One nurse made the public statement that Tupac would live and that she was positive of it. The fact that a trained medical professional stated clearly that 2Pac would live shows that his condition may have been much better than what was reported at the time. Suge Knight released a statement that in an interview that after the shooting occurred, 2Pac was awake and making conversation in the vehicle. Apparently, Suge was trying to find a hospital and 2Pac laughed before saying, ?Why are you taking me to the hospital, you?re the one who got shot in the head.? Perhaps the most pressing piece of evidence that he is still alive isn?t what has been said, but has remained unsaid. Time magazine reports that police spokesman Phil Roland said, ?We?re puzzled that his whole entourage had their heads turned and didn?t see anything.?
Actions have been taken that lead us to presume that 2Pac has to still be alive. A majority of these actions were taken by 2Pac himself. In interviews prior to the shooting, he discussed how he wanted to stop rapping, being a gangster, and step out of the limelight. Approximately one month before the shooting occurred, Tupac recorded a new video for the song ?I Ain?t Mad At Cha.? In this video, 2Pac walks out of a Las Vegas club and is shot much in the manner of how his death had really occurred. He dies in the ambulance and goes to heaven. Is the fact that the September 7th shooting closely resembles his video extremely coincidental or was it planned? Also, while on the subject of videos, in the video ?To Live and Die in L.A.? he wore a pair of the new Jordan?s before they even came out. Tupac?s name change also leads one to believe his death has been faked. Back in early 1996, when he released All Eyez On Me, he had a few tracks that featured a group that he was part of called the Outlaw Immortalz. Here is where his name change started. He selected his alias to be Makaveli, though spelled differently, is a pseudonym for the 16th century Italian philosopher Nicolo Machiavelli. Machiavelli wrote a book titled The Prince, in which the main character fakes his death in order to fool his enemies. 2Pac studied Machiaveli in depth while in prison, was a fan, and had read his books several times. Perhaps Tupac was taking his advice? He certainly has enemies on the East coast, most of who are connected to Bad Boy Entertainment, a rival of Death Row. In 1994, 2Pac was shot five times in New York City while he was on his way to the studio, and he claimed that Bad Boy had something to do with the failed hit. In any case, his name change became fully complete on his posthumous album, where he states in the booklet, ?Exit: 2Pac, Enter: Makaveli.? An eerie three-fingered handprint also appears on the inside of the Makaveli booklet. Tupac had two of his fingers shot off during the September 7th shooting. Is it coincidence? It is strange that an autopsy was never performed on the body (since when don?t you autopsy a murder victim?), and 2Pac?s family reportedly cremated his body the day after he died. No one outside of the family has seen Tupac?s dead body, other than the doctors, who could have easily been paid off with Tupac?s riches. These actions, both before and after the shooting, are strange and point to the fact that Tupac Amaru Shakur is still alive.
Other reports have been published that point to the fact that Tupac isn?t dead. One such listing came from Chuck D, formerly of the group Public Enemy. Chuck states many reasons as to why Tupac isn?t dead, and when they are added together they point to the consensus that he is still alive. One tip-off is that Tupac supposedly died on Friday the 13th. He also explains that Tupac?s forthcoming movies and music will net huge successes in the future, and has since his death, 2Pac has since his death released three movies, three LPs and has done numerous duets. He wonders why 2Pac always wore a bulletproof vest even to the 1996 MTV Music Awards, but didn?t have one on the night of a public event like a Tyson fight. 2Pac even states in his music that he always wore one. In the song ?Lord Knows,? he says ?Everyday is a test, wear my bullet-proof vest?? Also in the song ?I See Death Around the Corner,? he remarks ?Pack a gat in da vest under my clothes as I dress?? Both songs appear on the Me Against the World album. The last statement that he makes is that he makes is asking why memorial services were canceled in Los Angeles and Atlanta, both of which were open to the public.
One counterargument that may mislead people into thinking that Tupac is still alive is the fact that an autopsy picture and report were released. Have you ever been standing in a grocery line and happen to see The National Inquirer? Well, if so, then you know how pictures can be altered, right? Also, on the autopsy report, it states that he weighed 215 pounds when he only weighed 168. Not only that, but it also declares that he was 6? 2? when he was only 5?10?.
Another counterargument that is trying to disprove his still being alive is that his mother is going around the country speaking of her son?s death. Of course she or anyone for that fact, that knows that he is still alive isn?t going to admit it. He supposedly faked his death, then why would anyone blow his cover by admitting that he is still around?
Once one summarizes all the evidence, the things said before and after his death, actions before and after his death, among other reports, it becomes obvious that Tupac Amaru Shakur is not dead.