Name	California
Cover	California.JPG
Artist	Mylène Farmer
From album	Anamorphosée
Released	26 March 1996 (see: release history)
Format	CD single, CD maxi, 12" maxi, digital download (since 2005)
Recorded	1995
Genre	Pop
Length	3:58 (single version) 4:59 (album version)
Label	Polydor
Writer	Lyrics: Mylène Farmer Music: Laurent Boutonnat
Producer	Laurent Boutonnat
Last single	"L'Instant X"(1995)
This single	"California"(1996)
Next single	"Comme j'ai mal"(1996)
Album	Anamorphosée
Type	single
This track	"California"
Track no	1
Next track	"Vertige"
Next no	2

}}

"California" is a 1995 song recorded by the French artist Mylène Farmer. It was the third single from her fourth studio album, Anamorphosée, and was released on 26 March 1996. The song marked the only collaboration with American movie screenwriter and director Abel Ferrara who directed the very expensive music video in which Farmer appears both as a bourgeois woman and a prostitute. Real tribute to the California, the song is generally deemed as one of Farmer's signature songs and has been performed during almost all the singer's tours, although it met a relative success in France and Belgium.

Background, writing and release

Farmer wanted to release "California", one of the most daring songs of the album, from the marketing of Anamorphosée. However, it was released many months after, as the third single, but was widely aired on radio. Many fans regard this song as one of the most emblematic of Farmer.

Among the different media for this single, there was a CD single distributed in a limited triptych digipack edition, and a CD maxi which contains six tracks - this one is the only CD maxi in Farmer's career still for sale because, seeing the number of tracks, it is referenced by Universal as a "mini-album" and is re-edited. "California" was also released in Germany with a new white cover. Regarding the various remixes, they are the result of collaboration between Laurent Boutonnat / Bertrand Châtenet ('LAPD remix' and 'wandering club mix'), and various American DJs: Niki Gasolino & Peter Parker, Nils Ruzicka, and Ramon Zenker. Two versions of the promotional CD were sent to the radio station on 29 February 1996; one of them, the luxurious edition, shows the outline of Farmer, which must be lifted to take the CD. The designer Henry Neu said he was particularly proud of having created it.

The song is available on Anamorphosée in its original version, and on the best of Les Mots in the shorter radio version. It should be noted that, surprisingly, the song is placed at the beginning of the second CD, just before "XXL" and "L'Instant X", which does not comply with the chronological order. It was also remixed in 2003 by Romain Tranchart and Rawman for the compilation RemixeS.

Lyrics and music

"California" is the only song from the album Anamorphosée to refer to the singular name of this one and was the second of Farmer's songs with an English title, after "Beyond My Control". The song begins with different sounds evoking the street: a door that slams, an English voice in a loudspeaker, a siren of an ambulance. Farmer then referred to her desire to live in America to make a new start in her life. The song has a "nagging rhythm" and "Anglo-Saxon sonorities"; lyrics play with "anglicisms, sounds and onomatopoeia".

It is a song with a highly elegant vocabulary where alternate puns and lyrics in French and English; it is a clear tribute to California. There are many literary references: for example, the phrase "Vienne la nuit et sonne l'heure et moi je meurs / Entre apathie et pesanteur où je demeure" alluded to the French poem Le Pont Mirabeau, written by Guillaume Apollinaire, in which there is the verse "Vienne la nuit sonne l'heure / Les jours s'en vont je demeure". Then Farmer tried to contact him, particularly after seeing his film on a similar theme, Snake Eyes, with Madonna. In interviews, Farmer stated she phoned Ferrara many times, then they met in New York. She told him she wanted to play the role of a prostitute in the video, and eventually, she wrote the screenplay in collaboration with him. The video, a 5:18 Requiem Publishing production which cost about 600,000 euro, making it the most expensive music video of the year, was shot for three days and two nights in Los Angeles (Sunset Boulevard). Ferrara was surprised and puzzled by the insistence of Farmer. She proposed him 200,000 dollars to shoot a three-minute music video which eventually became a short film. Finally, Ferrara said he had a great respect for Farmer's professionalism.

Comment and reception

The first images of the video were published by French magazine Voici which had managed to acquire illegally some shots during the filming. This was the last time that Marianne Rosensthiel photographed Farmer during the shooting. The video was aired for the first time on March 20, 1996, on M6.

According to biographer Bernard Violet, the video provides the message that "women love to sometimes turn into a sexual object, but they still have their pride", and compares the end of the video to the film Basic Instinct. By contrast, Royer deemed the video as a "total success, in which are merging the dreamlike imaginary of Mylène and the brutal realism of Ferrara".

The song was also performed at the time of the 1996 tour in a remixed techno version (the 'Wandering mix'). Images of Los Angeles by night were shown on the giant screens of the stage, and Farmer, entirely dressed in golden, performed first alone, then with two female dancers, a very suggestive choreography. The song was also performed and in an acoustic and jazzy version during the 2000 tour. Farmer wore a white dress and white shoes; with her two female vocalists, she was sitting on the steps of the staircase, and then got up and do a few steps on the stage. Then Farmer went in front of the door at the top of the stairs, and at the end, she left the stage while it was in a full black. The song was only performed in stadiums: Farmer wore a glittering short dress with red cape with hood and performed a choreography similar to the one during the 1996 tour. This version is only available on the video version of the album N°5 on Tour.

Critical reception

The author Erwan Chuberre considered "California" as "one of the best tracks of the album", and that the lyrics are "particularly exquisite and successful". The song was also one of the most aired on radio in 1996 and was ranked number 63 on the End of year chart.

In Belgium (Wallonia), the single entered the Ultratop 40 Singles Chart on 4 May 1996, then fell off and re-entered four times and reached number 22 on 3 August, which was nonetheless the lower peak position of the five singles from the album Anamorphosée. It fell off the chart on 7 September, after fourteen weeks and was the 86th best-selling single of 1996.

Cover versions

In 2004, Cedric, an unknown singer who participated in a programme on the radio station NRJ, covered the song in a R&B; version. It was not released as a single.

CD single / CD single -Digipack

CD maxi - Digipack

12" maxi - Disc 1

12" maxi - Disc 2

Digital download

CD maxi - Germany

CD single - Promo / CD single - Promo - Luxurious edition / CD single - Promo - Germany

VHS - Promo

Release history

References

Notes

External links

Mylène Farmer — "California" All about the song, on Mylene.net

Category:1995 songs Category:1996 singles Category:Mylène Farmer songs Category:Songs with lyrics by Mylène Farmer Category:Songs with music by Laurent Boutonnat Category:Songs about California

Name	Mylène Farmer
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Mylène Jeanne Gautier
Born	September 12, 1961
Origin	France
Citizenship	French
Genre	Pop, rock, electronica
Occupation	Singer, songwriter, actress
Years active	1984–present
Label	Polydor Records
Associated acts	Moby, Seal, Archive, Alizée, Jean-Louis Murat}}

Mylène Farmer born Mylène Jeanne Gautier (born 12 September 1961) is a French singer, songwriter, occasional actress and author. She has sold more than 25 million records and is among the most successful recording artists of all time in France. She holds the record for the most number one hits in the French charts, with ten so far.

Early years

Farmer was born in Pierrefonds, Quebec, Canada. Her parents moved from France in the late 1950s as Farmer's father, Max, pursued an engineering contract on a dam. Her family returned to France when she was eight, settling in the Parisian suburb of Ville d'Avray. In her teenage years, Farmer was passionate about horse-riding, qualifying as a riding instructor at the equestrian centre in Saumur. At the age of 17, however, Farmer discovered acting and she abandoned the stables to take a three-year course at the Cours Florent, a drama school in Paris. Changing her name to Mylène Farmer as a tribute to her idol, 1930s Hollywood actress Frances Farmer, she began to earn a living as a model acting in several TV ads.

In 1984, Farmer met Laurent Boutonnat, a young film student also enrolled in Cours Florent, after replying to a newspaper ad for an actress for a small film he was working on. Farmer and Boutonnat became friends and forged a creative partnership, writing and producing the music. Boutonnat, whose ambition was to become a film director, was the force behind Mylène’s videos.

Farmer gained fame with songs featuring shocking yet poetic lyrics, and explicit music videos: "Maman a tort" was about the love of a young girl for her female hospital nurse. "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces" contains hints of sodomy; the video, set in the 18th century, featured a caning. "Libertine" is said to feature the first full frontal nudity appearance by a singer on a major music video. "Que mon cœur lâche" was about love with condoms in the age of AIDS; the video for the song features a scene in which God tells Jesus he will not send him to Earth again because the last time "it was a disaster." The videos for "Beyond My Control" and "Je te rends ton amour" were censored at the time because of their sexual and violent content; later released in a video single, the latter one became the highest selling release of that kind in France.

Her most well-known songs include "Désenchantée", "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces", "Sans contrefaçon", "Libertine", "California", "C'est une belle journée", "Rêver", "XXL" and "Les Mots".

Debut (1984-1989)

Boutonnat and a young songwriter named Jérôme Dahan had written a song, and were auditioning to find a singer to record it. Farmer was eventually chosen and recorded the song, called "Maman a tort" (one of the few songs not to be written by Farmer herself), which was released to good success in March 1984. The video cost the modest sum of 5000 FR but caused a stir in the music world. However, the following single, "On est tous des imbéciles", was met with little praise.

Despite the relative success of her first two singles, Farmer, helped by Boutonnat, started working on her first album. Even if this album was almost entirely written and composed by Boutonnat, it was then that it was decided that Farmer would write the lyrics of her songs and Boutonnat would compose the music and direct the videos. "Libertine", the album's lead single, was released in March 1986 and set the tone for Farmer's musical style. The sensual, romantic lyrics were inspired by 19th-century literature. As for the video, which had a running time of more than 10 minutes, Boutonnat got inspired by the film Barry Lyndon and the novels of the Marquis de Sade, thus giving the video a cinematic style. Farmer, lit by candlelight, is shrouded in mystery and sexual ambiguity, it also was the very first video in which a French female singer appeared full frontal naked. The following single, "Tristana", also met success and the video also had a cinematic approach that impressed the audience. Meanwhile, another single from the album, Plus grandir, also shot in cinematic 35 mm, was released.

In 1988, Boutonnat and Farmer began work on her next album, Ainsi soit je... (a play on the French expression ainsi soit-il, meaning "so be it" or "amen"). This album, infused with a much darker atmosphere, is more sexually ambiguous than her previous one, featuring songs inspired by Mylène’s favourite authors, including the French romantic poet Charles Baudelaire and the American horror writer Edgar Allan Poe. The album sold 1.8 million copies on the back of the Nº2 hit "Sans contrefaçon" as well as the first Nº1 hit of career, "Pourvu qu'elles soient douces". The other singles, "Sans logique" and title song were also hits in France, while the Juliette Gréco cover "Déshabillez-moi" became a fan favourite. Ainsi soit je... is the best-selling female album in France of the 1980s.

In spite of her drama courses, Farmer found it difficult to overcome shyness when in front of an audience. It was only after hesitation that she agreed to make a concert tour in 1989. After singing in a small venue in Saint-Étienne as a test, the singer came to Paris to perform at the Palais des Sports for a week in May. Following the positive response of the audience, she agreed for a full-scale 52-date tour through francophone Europe. A live album documenting the tour was released at the end of the year, titled En Concert, also containing a new song, "A quoi je sers", in which she questions the future of her career. The costumes of the tour were designed by the French designer Thierry Mugler.

It was also during this period that it was noticed that Farmer rarely gives interviews or appears in public, even though she did much more than she does today.

L'Autre... and "Désenchantée" (1990-1992)

By the turn of the decade Farmer was a full-blown superstar in France, but it wasn't until the release of her third album, L'Autre..., and single "Désenchantée" that she became iconic. The album, released on 8 April 1991, displayed a new image to her audience: more mature, more confident, with very short hair and a more defiant attitude (as evidenced in the videos for "Désenchantée" and particularly "Je t'aime mélancolie", in which Farmer plays a professional boxer fighting a male opponent). The music had also evolved in comparison to her previous records. The lyrics now approached a larger scope of subjects such as religion ("Agnus Dei"), politics ("Désenchantée") and press criticism ("Je t'aime mélancolie").

"Désenchantée", the album's lead single, became a phenomenon in French pop music, striking a universal chord with its political lyrics. The song debuted at Nº12 in France and hit Nº1 two weeks later, remaining 9 weeks atop of the chart. At the time, it went on to become the best selling French single of all time (both in country and around the globe), according to Guinness Book of World Records. It also spent 6 weeks at Nº1 in Belgium. The song also made the Top 10 in Canada and the Top 20 in Austria and the Netherlands. It is considered by many to be Farmer's signature-song. "Désenchantée", which was accompanied by an epic video directed by Laurent Boutonnat in which Mylène plays a rebelling prisoner in a facility which resembles a concentration camp or gulag.

Following the phenomenal success of Désenchantée, Farmer released three more very successful singles from the album: "Regrets", a gold-selling Nº3 duet performed with Jean-Louis Murat, "Je t'aime mélancolie" (Nº3) and "Beyond My Control" (Nº8), the latter having a blood-and-sex-charged video that was banned from airplay. The success of the singles helped its parent album sell close to 2 million copies in France alone, having been certified Diamond in 1992. It spent a then-record 20 weeks at the pole position of the French charts, as well as topping the chart in Belgium and making top 10 in Canada. It has become Farmer's best selling studio album.

Prior to the release of the album's third single, on 14 November 1991

Giorgino (1992-1994)

In late 1992 she released the remix album Dance Remixes, a two-disc set containing 14 remixes of the singer's greatest dance hits plus a new song - and also single - called "Que mon cœur lâche". As usual, Farmer did not shy away from controversy; "Que mon cœur lâche", a song dealing with AIDS and sexual relations, is accompanied by a video directed by Luc Besson (the first time in the singer's career that a video wasn't directed by Laurent Boutonnat) in which Farmer plays an angel sent down to earth by God (who refuses to send Jesus again stating that "last time it was a disaster") to save mankind from itself. The imagery in the clip references pop stars, condoms, prostitution, homosexuality and drug use. It had a budget of about € 100 000. The single was also recorded in an English version, which was released under the name "My Soul Is Slashed".

"Que mon cœur lâche" would be the last single released by Farmer in 3 years. In the meantime the singer would star in a movie, as her longtime collaborator had written a script he had wanted to direct for a long time. The result was the ill-fated Giorgino (1994). The film, shot in English, was a huge critical and commercial flop. Budgeted at 80 million Francs, it was seen by only 60 000 people and recovered only 1% of its budget. One of the main reasons for the film's flop was its 3-hour-plus length. According to Farmer herself, the bad reception of Giorgino was particularly hard on Boutonnat, who was directing his first feature film, something he would not do again for 13 years until the release of Jacquou le Croquant in 2007. Following the lukewarm reception of the film, Farmer decided to leave France to take a long break in the USA.

Anamorphosée (1995-1997)

During her time in California, Farmer started to write her fourth studio album, Anamorphosée, before inviting Laurent Boutonnat over there to reconcile after the bitter incidents of 1994 and to start making music together again. Farmer also started listening to rock music during that period; as a result, the album had an American chic-rock sound. The album was launched by "XXL", a rock song with blasting electric guitars, and a video directed by Marcus Nispel featuring Mylène strapped to the front of a moving train. The single became her first to debut at Nº1. Anamorphosée debuted at Nº2 in the album charts and sold half a million copies in 3 months. The album continued to sell well with the release of "L'Instant X", "California" (a jazzy-pop ballad bolstered with bass guitar featuring a highly-acclaimed video directed by Abel Ferrara), "Comme j'ai mal" and "Rêver", which helped the album reach Nº1 in January 1997 – 16 months after its release. The album is the first to contain music written by Farmer ("Tomber 7 fois...").

In summer 1996 Farmer embarked on her second concert tour which met with huge success. The corresponding live album, Live à Bercy, is currently the best-selling French live album ever. During the tour, Farmer sang a Raï version of Michel Polnareff's La Poupée qui fait non with Khaled which was released as a promotional single from the live album and became a Top 10 hit in France.

Innamoramento and Mylènium (1998-2000)

Farmer returned in spring 1999 with her 5th studio album Innamoramento. The lead single "L'Âme-stram-gram" was a futuristic up-tempo techno-ballad with erotic lyrics accompanied by a Chinese-themed video in which Farmer commits suicide to save her twin. Both the single and the album went straight to #2 on the charts.

The video for the second single, "Je te rends ton amour", sparked controversy because of its religious blasphemy being condemned by the Catholic Church and banned by many networks. Despite this, Farmer released a video single, which became the highest selling release of that kind in France.

In late 1999, Farmer embarked on her third concert tour, the Mylenium Tour, which set the record of the highest grossing tour by a non-English speaking artist. The stage of the show featured a huge pharaonic statue at the center of the stage from which she emerged and flew before being carried down by the hand of this very statue. During the tour, Farmer released the album's third and fourth singles: "Souviens-toi du jour" and "Optimistique-moi".

After "Innamoramento", the last single of the album, she recorded "L'Histoire d'une fée, c'est..." for the animated film , and released her third live album and DVD documenting the Mylènium Tour along with "Dessine-moi un mouton", the promotional single for the live CD of the show.

Alizée (2000-2004)

In 2000, Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat had assembled songs and video ideas they felt appropriate for a younger, new star. They began the search for a female singer to break into the French charts - they found Alizée, a contestant on the French television show Graines de stars. Farmer and Boutonnat wrote and produced Alizée's albums Gourmandises and Mes courants électriques. Alizée's biggest hit, "Moi... Lolita" reached the top of the charts and she became the most successful French singer that year. In 2001, Le Figaro announced Farmer as top earning French entertainer of the year thanks, in part, to her writing, recording, and producing credits of Alizée's music, which earned 10.4 million euros.

Alizée's image was crafted by Farmer and Boutonnat; she was allowed a few interviews of no more than 20 minutes and a limited number of promotional appearances. In 2005, after two successful albums and a concert tour, Alizée amicably parted ways with the duo to meet different songwriters and producers.

Les mots (2001-2003)

At the end of 2001, and seventeen years into her career, Universal issued Farmer's first greatest hits collection: Les Mots whose title track and lead single, a duet with Seal, became an enormous hit. The music video of the song was the first one directed by Laurent Boutonnat since "Beyond My Control", and borrowed many influences from art. Les Mots was the Nº1 selling album of 2001 and 2002, and remains the best selling greatest hits album in France with more than 1.5 million sold. The album also featured the new tracks and singles, including Top 10 hits "C'est une belle journée" and "Pardonne-moi".

Avant que l'ombre... (2004-2006)

In December 2004, after a long period of silence, Farmer held a press conference announcing her new album, Avant que l'ombre..., and the single "Fuck Them All" as well as a special 13-night concert engagement at the Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in January 2006. This era featured no further promotion, and marked a new level of reclusivity for the star, who simply stated : "What I have to say is in my music". She also announced her new series of concerts in Paris-Bercy, a show designed by Mark Fisher. She explained that she could not tour due to the complex sets of the performances of the show, which featured two stages, a mobile bridge to link the two stages and a curtain of words written with water.

The album debuted and spent several weeks at Nº1, selling nearly a million copies and going multi-platinum, although its commercial success is considered inferior to her previous albums because she made little if no effort to promote it. Nonetheless, all five singles became Top 10 hits in France while the single "L'amour n'est rien..." became a very big success in Russia.

As announced in her press conference, she returned to the stage in January 2006 for 13 dates in Paris-Bercy. A live album and concert DVD, Avant que l'ombre... à Bercy were released in December 2006. Within months, the DVD became the best-selling music DVD in France ever.

After her concerts in Bercy, electronic musician Moby invited her to record a duet with her. Choosing "Slipping Away", Farmer translated the lyrics herself to French, and the resulting single became a phenomenal success in French-speaking countries, becoming her 4th Nº1 single in France.

Point de Suture (2007-2010)

In 2007, Farmer's long-time songwriting partner, Laurent Boutonnat, directed his second feature film, Jacquou le Croquant, after a 13-year hiatus from the cinema since Giorgino in 1994. Farmer recorded the theme song of the film, "Devant soi", for the end credits.

In March 2008, Universal France confirmed Farmer would release her seventh studio album near the end of 2008, and embark on her fifth concert tour the following year, including two shows at the Stade de France. The record's lead single, "Dégénération", had a minimal electronic music while its corresponding video marked the singer's return to the scripted videos of the beginning of her career. The song became Farmer's 5th Nº1 single. The album, Point de Suture, released in stores on 25 August, followed suit debuting at Nº1 with over 100 000 copies sold in its first week in France. The electronic-driven album continues in the vein of Farmer's previous work, featuring a mix of ballads and upbeat, synth-driven pop songs. Farmer's next four singles from the album, "Appelle mon numéro", "Si j'avais au moins...", "C'est dans l'air" and "Sextonik", all became Nº1 hits in France, Farmer beating her own record. Farmer then had a record of nine Nº1 hits in France, more than any other artist in French music history. It is also the first time that all five singles from her album became Nº1 hits.

Meanwhile, in 2008 Farmer announced a new protégée in the vein of Alizée: Lisa, Farmer's niece. Her lead single, "Drole de creepie", was released in September 2008, produced and written by Laurent Boutonnat and Farmer. The song accompanied the hit children's series, Growing Up Creepie, and the video depicts Lisa dressed as Creepie Creecher. Unlike Farmer & Boutonnat's previous side-projects, Lisa is marketed primarily to children.

During that period, Farmer also worked on the French version of Luc Besson's animated feature Arthur and the Minimoys, lending her voice to Selenia, the character voiced by Madonna in the international version. The movie was a box-office hit.

Farmer's sold-out tour began in May 2009 in Nice and ended in September 2009 in Brussels, gathering extremely positive response from the critics. She also gave two concerts at the Stade de France, as well as other concerts in Russia, Belgium and Switzerland. The show was designed by Mark Fisher.

A new live album documenting her 2009 tour, entitled N°5 on Tour, was released on 7 December 2009 and hit Nº1 position in the charts becoming double-platinum in its first week of release. A DVD of her Stade de France concerts followed on 12 April 2010, becoming instantly diamond.

Bleu Noir (2010-Present)

In the latter half of 2010, the media reported that Mylène Farmer would work with Line Renaud and Ben Harper in their respective new releases. After thirty years of absence, Renaud released her new album Rue Washington in November 2010, which contains the track "C'est pas l'heure," a duet with Farmer written by Farmer and Laurent Boutonnat. Also in November 2010, Australian band INXS released the album Original Sin as a tribute to the late Michael Hutchence. Farmer covered "Never Tear Us Apart" with Ben Harper in the album, featuring new lyrics in French written by Farmer.

It was announced surprisingly on 27 September 2010 that Farmer would be releasing a new single "Oui mais... non" to lead her next album in a press release by Polydor. The single was released to radio and debuted on Le 6/9 of NRJ on 29 September. Unlike all the previous musical works by Farmer, Laurent Boutonnat was not included in the production or composition of the single. Instead Farmer hired RedOne, known for his work with Lady Gaga to produce and write the music for the single. The single cover depicts Farmer's left profile with the words "Oui mais... non" tattooed on her upper chest. The single was released to digital downloading markets on 11 October and hit Nº1 on the French Digital Chart. One week before the release of the album, the physical CD of "Oui mais...non" was released and helped Farmer garner her 10th Nº1 single in the French Single Chart, yet again breaking her own record. The album title Bleu Noir was officially confirmed on 20 October, and was released on 6 December 2010. The album entered the French Album Chart at Nº1 and the global chart at Nº14.

Filmography

Giorgino (1994 by Laurent Boutonnat) (portrayed Catherine Degrâce)

Arthur et les Minimoys (Arthur and the Invisibles) (2006 by Luc Besson) (French voice of Princess Selenia)

Arthur et la Vengeance de Maltazard (2009 by Luc Besson) (French voice of Princess Selenia)

Arthur et la Guerre des Deux Mondes (2010 by Luc Besson) (French voice of Princess Selenia)

Discography

Cendres de Lune (1986)

Ainsi soit je... (1988)

L'Autre... (1991)

Anamorphosée (1995)

Innamoramento (1999)

Avant que l'ombre... (2005)

Point de suture (2008)

Bleu Noir (2010)

Bibliography

; By Mylène Farmer

Lisa-Loup et le Conteur (2003) - Mylène Farmer - Anne Carrière Ed. - ISBN 2843372216 - A tale written and illustrated by Mylène Farmer

Avant que l'ombre à Bercy - Paris 2006 (2006) - Mylène Farmer - Anne Carrière Ed. - ISBN 2843374332

; About Mylène Farmer

Mylène Farmer (1989) - Patrick Milo - Albin Michel Ed.

Mylène Farmer, Ainsi soit-elle (1990) - Philippe Seguy - Taillandier Ed.

L'album photo Mylène Farmer (1991) - Geda Ed.

Mystérieuse Sylphide (2000) - David Marguet - Idoles de la Pop Ed.

Picture Book Mylène Farmer (2001) - Collectif - Omega Ed.

Mylène Farmer de A à Z (2002) - Florence Rajon - MusicBook Ed.

La part d'ombre (2003) - Caroline Bee, Antoine Bioy & Benjamin Thiry - Archipel Ed.

Au Cœur du Mythe (2003) - Jean-Claude Perrier - Bartillat Ed.

L'Ange Rouge (2003) - Béatrice Nouveau - Michel Lafon Ed.

Le Mystère Mylène Farmer (2003) - Mathias Goudeau - Prélude & Fugue Ed.

L'ange blessé (2004) - Caroline Bee - Librio Musique Ed.

Mylène Farmer, de chair et de sang (2004) - Annie et Bernard Reval - France Empire Ed.

Mylène Farmer (2004) - Bernard Violet - Fayard Ed.

Mylène Farmer (2005) - Fabien Lecœuvre - VadeRetro Ed.

Mylène Farmer & Vous : Le Référentiel (2005) - Maxime Lemen - Ter Prod Ed.

Les Années Sygma (2005) - Sylvain Sennefelder & Maxime Lemen - Tear Prod Ed.

Le Dictionnaire des Chansons de Mylène Farmer (2006) - Benoît Cachin - Tournon Ed.

Fou de Mylène Farmer, deux années à l'attendre (2006) - Christophe-Ange Papini - K&B; Ed.

Belle de Scène (2006) - Julien Wagner - K&B; Ed.

Dans la peau de Mylène Farmer (2006) - Line Grégory - Michel Lafon Ed.

Mylène Farmer Influences (2006) - Benoît Cachin - Tournon Ed.

Mylène Farmer Phénoménale (2006) - Erwan Chuberre - City Ed.

Mylène Farmer, le culte (2007) - Sophie Khairallah - Why Not Ed.

Le Référentiel Mylène Farmer 2008 (2007) - Renan Cornetto - K&B; Ed.

L'intégrale Mylène Farmer (2007) - Erwan Chuberre - City Ed.

Mylène Farmer, la collection - L'ultime référentiel (2007) - Why Not Ed.

Sainte Mylène, Priez pour Moi ! (2007) - Erwan Chuberre - City Ed.

Mais où est encore passée Mylène Farmer ? (2008) - Bioy/Beuh/Tudor - K&B; Ed.

Amylène analgésique (2008) - Arno Mothra - Komakino Ed.

Mylène Farmer : la libertine (2008) - Thierry Wolf - La Lagune Ed.

Mylène (2008) - Hugues Royer - Flammarion Ed.

Mylène Farmer : des mots sur nos désirs (2009) - Erwan Chuberre - City Ed.

Mylène Farmer : La culture de l'inaccessibilité (2010) - Julien Rigal Premium ed

Farmer has never acknowledged any of the works listed above. "Everything that is said about me is false..." ("Tout ce qui est dit sur moi est faux...")

Companies owned by Farmer

{| class="wikitable sortable" |+List of companies owned by Mylène Farmer born Gautier ! width=""| Name ! width=""| Immatriculation ! width=""| Legal status ! width=""| Activity ! width=""| Headquarters ! width=""| Capital ! Trivia |- | |26 October 1989 |SARL |Sound recording and music publishing |15 Rue de Douai, Paris |200 000 € |Co-directed by Laurent Boutonnat |- | |13 December 1993 |SARL |Sound recording and music publishing |4 Rue de la Paix, Paris |100 000 € |Staffings : 5 (Mylène Gautier, Paul Van Parys...) |- |Innamoramento |12 December 1997 |SARL |Institutional and advertising films production |4 Rue de la Paix, Paris |45 000 € | |- |Dichotomie |29 November 2000 |SARL |Sound recording and music publishing |4 Rue de la Paix, Paris |8000 € | |- |Isiaka |27 February 2002 |SARL |Sound recording and music publishing |15 Rue de Douai, Paris |8000 € |Co-directed by Laurent Boutonnat |- |SCI ML |19 February 2003 |Civil society |Rental of lands and other properties |15 Rue de Douai, Paris |225 000 € |Co-directed by Laurent Boutonnat |}

Unofficial fanclub

The Mylène Farmer-International Fan Club (MFIFC) existed from 1995 to 2001. At its peak, it had over ten thousand subscribers in 37 countries. The club published subscriber-only fanzines, which included interviews with people who personally knew Mylène, including Khaled, Marcus Nispel, Abel Ferrara, H. R. Giger and Paco Rabanne. They also organised a fan tour in which several members attended concerts in Moscow and St. Petersburg.

See also

List of artists who reached number one on the French Singles Chart

External links

Listen to Mylène Farmer's discography

Mylene Farmer's photos, videos, songs (English)

Latin Mylene Farmer (Spanish and French)

Mylene Farmer's Concerts, Tourdates, Bio, Songs, Videos, Lyrics, Awards, Filmograpy, Videography and Discography (English)

Mylene Farmer Fan-Made French website and Forum (English/French)

Mylene Farmer`s Photos archive

Mylene Farmer México (Spanish)

Mylene Farmer Romania (Romanian)

M.F. International: Mylène Farmer & General French Music Forum (English)

References

Category:1961 births Category:Living people Category:Mylène Farmer Category:1980s singers Category:1990s singers Category:2000s singers Category:Canadian dance musicians Category:French-language singers Category:French children's writers Category:French dance musicians Category:French female singers Category:French pop singers Category:French singer-songwriters Category:People from Montreal

Name	Tupac Amaru Shakur
Background	solo_singer
Birth name	Lesane Parish Crooks
Alias	2Pac, Pac, Makaveli
Origin	Marin City, California, U.S.
Born	June 16, 1971East Harlem, New York City, New York, U.S.
Died	September 13, 1996Las Vegas, Nevada, U.S.
Genre	Hip hop
Occupation	Rapper, actor, record producer, poet, screenwriter, activist
Years active	1988–1996 (rapping)
Label	Interscope, Death Row, Amaru
Associated acts	Outlawz, Snoop Doggy Dogg, Digital Underground, Biggie, Richie Rich, K-Ci & JoJo, Dave Hollister, Johnny "J", Dr. Dre, Tha Dogg Pound, Boot Camp Clik, Nate Dogg
Url	www.tasf.org

Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac (or simply Pac) and Makaveli, was an American rapper. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. In the United States alone he has sold 37.5 million records. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time.

In addition to his career as a top-selling rap artist, he was a promising actor, and a social activist. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up amid violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, other social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie and backup dancer for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.

In September 1996, Shakur was shot four times in the Las Vegas metropolitan area of Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.

Early life

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on the East Harlem section of Manhattan in New York City. He was named after Túpac Amaru II, a Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and was subsequently executed.

His mother, Afeni Shakur, and his father, Billy Garland, were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s; he was born just one month after his mother's acquittal on more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York Panther 21 court case.

Although unconfirmed by the Shakur family, several sources (including the official coroner's report) list his birth name as "Lesane Parish Crooks". This name was supposedly entered on the birth certificate because Afeni feared her enemies would attack her son, and disguised his true identity using a different last name. She changed it later, following her separation from Garland and marriage to Mutulu Shakur.

Struggle and incarceration surrounded Shakur from an early age. His godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, a high ranking Black Panther, was convicted of murdering a school teacher during a 1968 robbery, although his sentence was later overturned. His stepfather, Mutulu, spent four years at large on the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives list beginning in 1982, when Shakur was a pre-teen. Mutulu was wanted in part for having helped his sister Assata Shakur (also known as Joanne Chesimard) to escape from a penitentiary in New Jersey, where she had been incarcerated for allegedly shooting a state trooper to death in 1973. Mutulu was caught in 1986 and imprisoned for the robbery of a Brinks armored truck in which two police officers and a guard were killed. Shakur had a half-sister, Sekyiwa, two years his junior, and an older stepbrother, Mopreme "Komani" Shakur, who appeared on many of his recordings.

At the age of twelve, Shakur enrolled in Harlem's 127th Street Repertory Ensemble and was cast as the Travis Younger character in the play A Raisin in the Sun, which was performed at the famous Apollo Theater. In 1986, the family relocated to Baltimore, Maryland. After completing his second year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School he transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. He performed in Shakespeare plays, and in the role of the Mouse King in The Nutcracker. Although he lacked trendy clothing, he was one of the most popular kids in his school because of his sense of humor, superior rapping skills, and ability to mix in with all crowds. He developed a close friendship with a young Jada Pinkett (later Jada Pinkett Smith) that lasted until his death. In the documentary , Shakur says, "Jada is my heart. She will be my friend for my whole life," and Pinkett Smith calls him "one of my best friends. He was like a brother. It was beyond friendship for us. The type of relationship we had, you only get that once in a lifetime." A poem written by Shakur titled "Jada" appears in his book, The Rose That Grew From Concrete, which also includes a poem dedicated to Pinkett Smith called "The Tears in Cupid's Eyes". During his time in art school, Shakur began dating the daughter of the director of the Baltimore Communist Party USA.

In June 1988, Shakur and his family moved once again, this time to Marin City, California, He began attending the poetry classes of Leila Steinberg in 1989. That same year, Steinberg organized a concert with a former group of Shakur's, Strictly Dope; the concert led to him being signed with Atron Gregory who set him up with the up-and-coming rap group Digital Underground. In 1990, he was hired as the band's backup dancer and roadie.

Legal issues

Even as he garnered attention as a rapper and actor, Shakur gained notoriety for his conflicts with the law. In October 1991, he attempted to file a $10 million civil suit against the law enforcement of the Oakland Police Department, alleging they brutally beat him for jaywalking.

In 1992, a Texas state trooper was killed by a teenager who was listening to 2Pacalypse Now which included songs about killing police. This caused a swirl of media controversy. Dan Quayle, the Vice President of the United States at the time, demanded that the album be withdrawn from music stores and media across the country; Interscope refused.

On August 22, 1992, in Marin City, California, Shakur rapped at an outdoor festival, and stayed for an hour signing autographs and pictures. Some earlier negative remarks made by Shakur about Marin City had caught up and when arguments started, voices got loud; he pulled a Colt Mustang, cocked it, fumbled and it fell. Someone picked up the gun and a bullet discharged. Though nobody in the crowd was shot, about 100 yards away, 6-year old Qa'id Walker-Teal rode a bicycle at a schoolyard and was hit in the forehead, the bullet killing him. Shakur and Mopreme left in their car and were stopped by an angry mob, by chance, in front of a sheriff's substation. The police "rescued" and took the two into custody, who were released without charge. In 1995, a civil case was brought up by Qa'id's mother. Shakur's lawyer said that the festival was a "nasty situation," and Shakur was saddened by the death of the boy. Shakur's record company settled the lawsuit for a figure reported between $300,000 and $500,000.

In October 1993, in Atlanta, two brothers and off-duty police officers, Mark and Scott Whitwell, were with their wives celebrating Mrs. Whitwell's recent passing of the state bar examination. As they crossed the street, a car with Shakur inside passed by them or "almost struck them," after which the Whitwells began an altercation with the driver, Shakur and the other passengers, which was then joined by a second passing car. Shakur shot one officer in the buttocks, and the other in the leg, back, or abdomen, according to varying news reports. There were no other injuries, but Mark Whitwell was charged with firing at Shakur's car and later lying to the police during the investigation, and Shakur with the shooting, until prosecutors decided to drop all charges against all parties.

In November 1993, Shakur and others were charged with sexually assaulting a woman in a hotel room. According to the complaint, Shakur sodomized the woman and then encouraged his friends to sexually abuse her. Shakur denied the charges. According to Shakur, he had prior relations days earlier with the woman; she performed oral sex on him on a club dance floor and the two later had consensual sex in his hotel room. The complainant claimed sexual assault after her second visit to Shakur's hotel room; she alleged that Shakur and his entourage gang banged her, and she said to Shakur when she left, "Why you let them do this to me?" Shakur said that he fell asleep shortly after the woman arrived and later awoke to her accusations and legal threats. In the ensuing trial, Shakur was convicted of sexual abuse. In sentencing Shakur to 1½–4½ years in prison, the judge described the crime as "an act of brutal violence against a helpless woman." After serving part of his sentence, Shakur was released on bail pending appeal. On April 5, 1996, a judge sentenced him to serve 120 days in jail for violating terms of his release on bail.

In 1995, a wrongful death suit was brought against Shakur for a 1992 shooting that killed Qa'id Walker-Teal, a six-year old of Marin City. The child was the victim of a stray bullet in a shootout between Shakur's entourage and a rival group. Ballistics tests proved the bullet that killed the boy was not from Shakur's or any members of his entourage's guns. No criminal charges were brought. Shakur settled with the family for an undisclosed amount, estimated at $300,000–$500,000.

November 1994 shooting

On the night of November 30, 1994, the day before the verdict in his sexual abuse trial was to be announced, Shakur was shot five times and robbed after entering the lobby of Quad Recording Studios in Manhattan by two armed men in army fatigues. He would later accuse Sean Combs, Andre Harrell, and Biggie Smalls—whom he saw after the shooting—of setting him up. Shakur also suspected his close friend and associate, Randy "Stretch" Walker, of being involved in the attempt. According to the doctors at Bellevue Hospital, where he was admitted immediately following the incident, Shakur had received five bullet wounds; twice in the head, twice in the groin and once through the arm and thigh. He checked out of the hospital, against doctor's orders, three hours after surgery. In the day that followed, Shakur entered the courthouse in a wheelchair and was found guilty of three counts of molestation, but innocent of six others, including sodomy. On February 6, 1995, he was sentenced to one-and-a-half to four-and-a-half years in prison on a sexual assault charge.

A year later on November 30, 1995, Stretch was killed after being shot twice in the back by three men who pulled up alongside his green minivan at 112th Ave. and 209th St. in Queens Village, while he was driving. His minivan smashed into a tree and hit a parked car before flipping over.

On March 27, 2008, the LA Times issued an apology to Combs for blaming him for having a role in the November 1994 shooting. The article stated that Shakur was led to the studio by Biggie's associates to gun him down to make favor with Biggie. The newspaper relied on forged documents that The Smoking Gun proved to be faked. Combs stated that he is disgusted with the LA Times for printing the story.

Prison sentence

Shakur began serving his prison sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility on February 14, 1995. Shortly afterwards, he released his multi-platinum album Me Against the World. Shakur is the only artist ever to have an album at number one on the Billboard 200 while serving a prison sentence. The album made its debut on the Billboard 200 and stayed at the top of the charts for five weeks. The record album sold 240,000 copies in its first week, setting a record for highest first week sales for a solo male rap artist at the time. While serving his sentence, he married his long-time girlfriend, Keisha Morris, on April 4, 1995; the couple later divorced in 1996. While imprisoned, Shakur read many books by Niccolò Machiavelli, Sun Tzu's The Art of War and other works of political philosophy and strategy. He also wrote a screenplay titled Live 2 Tell while incarcerated, a story about an adolescent who becomes a drug baron.

In October 1995, Shakur's case was on appeal but due to all of his legal fees he could not raise the $1.4 million bail. After serving eleven months of his one-and-a-half year to four-and-a-half year sentence, Shakur was released from the penitentiary due in large part to the help and influence of Suge Knight, the CEO of Death Row Records, who posted a $1.4 million bail pending appeal of the conviction in exchange for Shakur to release three albums under the Death Row label.

Death Row Records

Upon his release from Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur immediately went back to song recording. He began a new group called Outlaw Immortalz. Shakur began recording his first album with Death Row and released the single "California Love" soon after. On February 13, 1996, Shakur released his fourth solo album, All Eyez on Me. This double album was the first and second of his three-album commitment to Death Row Records. It sold over nine million copies. The record was a general departure from the introspective subject matter of Me Against the World, being more oriented toward a thug and gangsta mentality. Shakur continued his recordings despite increasing problems at the Death Row label. Dr. Dre left his post as house producer to form his own label, Aftermath. Shakur continued to produce hundreds of tracks during his time at Death Row, most of which would be released on his posthumous albums R U Still Down? (Remember Me), Still I Rise, Until the End of Time, Better Dayz, Loyal to the Game and Pac's Life. He also began the process of recording an album with the Boot Camp Clik and their label Duck Down Records, both New York–based, entitled One Nation.

On June 4, 1996, he and Outlawz released the "Hit 'Em Up", a scathing lyrical assault on Biggie and others associated with him. In the track, Shakur claimed to have had intercourse with Faith Evans, Biggie's wife at the time, and attacks Bad Boy's street credibility. Though no hard evidence suggests so, Shakur was convinced that some members associated with Bad Boy had known about the '94 attack on him beforehand due to their behavior that night and what his sources told him. Shakur aligned himself with Suge, Death Row's CEO, who was already bitter toward Combs over a 1995 incident at the Platinum Club in Atlanta, Georgia, which culminated in the death of Suge's friend and bodyguard, Jake Robles; Suge was adamant in voicing his suspicions of Combs' involvement. Shakur's signing with Suge and Death Row added fuel to building an East Coast-West Coast conflict. Both sides remained bitter enemies until Shakur's death. On July 4, 1996, he performed live at the House of Blues with Outlawz, Tha Dogg Pound, and Snoop Doggy Dogg also headlining. This was Shakur's very last live performance.

While incarcerated in Clinton Correctional Facility, Shakur read and studied Niccolò Machiavelli and other published works, which inspired his pseudonym "Makaveli" under which he released the record album . The album presents a stark contrast to previous works. Throughout the album, Shakur continues to focus on the themes of pain and aggression, making this album one of the emotionally darker works of his career. Shakur wrote and recorded all the lyrics in only three days and the production took another four days, combining for a total of seven days to complete the album (hence the name).

Makaveli Records

He mentioned Makaveli Records a few times before his death. This was supposed to be a music label for up and coming artists that Shakur had an interest in developing or potentially signing, and his own future projects would have also been published through it as well.

September 1996 shooting and death

, from the cover of the book The Killing of Tupac Shakur by Cathy Scott]] On the night of September 7, 1996, Shakur attended the Mike Tyson–Bruce Seldon boxing match at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. After leaving the match, one of Suge's associates spotted 21-year-old Orlando "Baby Lane" Anderson, a member of the Southside Crips, in the MGM Grand lobby and informed Shakur, who then attacked Anderson. Shakur's entourage, as well as Suge and his followers, assisted in assaulting Anderson. The fight was captured on the hotel's video surveillance. Earlier that year, Anderson and a group of Crips had robbed a member of Death Row's entourage in a Foot Locker store, precipitating Shakur's attack. After the brawl, Shakur went to rendezvous with Suge to go to Death Row-owned Club 662 (now known as restaurant/club Seven). He rode in Suge's 1996 black BMW 750iL sedan as part of a larger convoy including many in Shakur's entourage.

At 10:55 p.m., while paused at a red light, Shakur rolled down his window and a photographer took his photograph. At around 11:00–11:05 p.m., they were halted on Las Vegas Blvd. by Metro bicycle police for playing the car stereo too loud and not having license plates. The plates were then found in the trunk of Suge's car; they were released without being fined a few minutes later. At about 11:10 p.m., while stopped at a red light at Flamingo Road near the intersection of Koval Lane in front of the Maxim Hotel, a vehicle occupied by two women pulled up on their right side. Shakur, who was standing up through the sunroof, exchanged words with the two women, and invited them to go to Club 662. Suge was hit in the head by fragmentation, though it is thought that a bullet grazed him. According to Suge, a bullet from the gunfire had been lodged in his skull, but medical reports later contradicted this statement.

At the time of the drive-by Shakur's bodyguard was following behind in a vehicle belonging to Kidada Jones, Shakur's then-fiancée. The bodyguard, Frank Alexander, stated that when he was about to ride along with the rapper in Suge's car, Shakur asked him to drive Kidada Jones' car instead just in case they were too drunk and needed additional vehicles from Club 662 back to the hotel. Shortly after the assault, the bodyguard reported in his documentary, Before I Wake, that one of the convoy's cars drove off after the assailant but he never heard back from the occupants.

After arriving on the scene, police and paramedics took Suge and a mortally wounded Shakur to the University Medical Center. According to an interview with one of Shakur's closest friends the music video director Gobi, while at the hospital, he received news from a Death Row marketing employee that the shooters had called the record label and were sending death threats aimed at Shakur, claiming that they were going there to "finish him off". Upon hearing this, Gobi immediately alerted the Las Vegas police, but the police claimed they were understaffed and no one could be sent.

Despite having been resuscitated in a trauma center and surviving a multitude of surgeries (as well as the removal of a failed right lung), Shakur had gotten through the critical phase of the medical therapy and was given a 50% chance of pulling through.

Murder case

Due largely to a perceived lack of progress by law enforcement in the investigation of Shakur's murder, many independent investigations and theories emerged. Because of the acrimony between Shakur and Biggie (who was murdered in March 1997), there was speculation from the outset about the possibility of Biggie's involvement. Biggie, as well as his family, relatives, and associates, vehemently denied all such accusations. In 2002, the LA Times published a story by Pulitzer Prize-winning investigative reporter Chuck Philips, who claimed to have uncovered evidence implicating Biggie, in addition to Anderson and the Southside Crips, in the attack. Philips quoted unnamed gang-member sources who claimed Biggie had ties to the Crips, often hiring them for security during West Coast appearances, and that Biggie colluded with the Crips to murder Shakur. In 2008, after The Smoking Gun reported that the documents relied upon by Philips for his story were fraudulent, the LA Times printed an official front-page retraction of Philips' story. Less than five months later, Philips accepted a buyout and left the LA Times.

In support of their claims, Biggie's family submitted documentation to MTV suggesting that he was working in a New York recording studio the night of the drive-by shooting. His manager Wayne Barrow and fellow rapper James "Lil' Cease" Lloyd made public announcements denying Biggie's partaking in the crime and claimed further that they were both with him in the recording studio during the night of the event.

The high profile nature of the killing and ensuing gang violence caught the attention of English filmmaker Nick Broomfield, who made the documentary film Biggie & Tupac which examines the lack of progress in the case by speaking to those close to the two slain rappers and the investigation. Shakur's close childhood friend and member of Outlawz, Yafeu "Yaki Kadafi" Fula, was in the convoy when the drive-by occurred and indicated to police that he might be able to identify the assailants, however, he was shot and killed shortly thereafter in a housing project in Irvington.

A DVD titled was released on October 23, 2007, more than eleven years after Shakur's murder. It explores aspects surrounding the event and provides fresh insights into the cold case with new details about the environment.

Influences

Shakur's music and philosophy is rooted in many American, African-American, and World entities, including the Black Panther Party, Black nationalism, egalitarianism, and liberty. His debut album, 2Pacalypse Now, revealed the socially conscious side of Shakur. On this album, Shakur attacked social injustice, poverty and police brutality on songs "Brenda's Got a Baby", "Trapped" and "Part Time Mutha". His style on this album was highly influenced by the social consciousness and Afrocentrism pervading hip hop in the late 1980s and early 1990s. On this initial release, Shakur helped extend the success of such rap groups as Boogie Down Productions, Public Enemy, X-Clan, and Grandmaster Flash, as he became one of the first major socially conscious rappers from the West Coast.

On his second record, Shakur continued to rap about the social ills facing African-Americans, with songs like "The Streetz R Deathrow" and "Last Wordz". He also showed his compassionate side with the anthem "Keep Ya Head Up", while simultaneously putting his legendary aggressiveness on display with the title track from the album Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z. he added a salute to his former group Digital Underground by including them on the playful track "I Get Around". Throughout his career, an increasingly aggressive attitude can be seen pervading Shakur's subsequent albums.

The contradictory themes of social inequality and injustice, unbridled aggression, compassion, playfulness, and hope all continued to shape Shakur's work, as witnessed with the release of his incendiary 1995 album Me Against the World. In 1996, Shakur released All Eyez on Me. Many of these tracks are considered by many critics to be classics, including "Ambitionz Az a Ridah", "I Ain't Mad at Cha", "California Love", "Life Goes On" and "Picture Me Rollin'".; All Eyez on Me was a change of style from his earlier works. While still containing socially conscious songs and themes, Shakur's album was heavily influenced by party tracks and tended to have a more "feel good" vibe than his first albums. Shakur described it as a celebration of life, and the record was critically and commercially successful.

Personal life

Shakur was a voracious reader. He was inspired by a wide variety of writers, including William Shakespeare, Niccolò Machiavelli, Donald Goines, Sun Tzu, Kurt Vonnegut, Mikhail Bakunin, Maya Angelou, Alice Walker, and Khalil Gibran. In his book, Dyson describes the experience of visiting the home of Shakur's friend and promoter Leila Steinberg to find "the sea of books" once owned by Shakur.

Legacy

, Germany]] At a Mobb Deep concert following the death of the famed icon and release of , Cormega recalled in an interview that the fans were all shouting "Makaveli," and emphasized the influence of The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory and of Shakur himself even in New York at the height of the media-dubbed 'intercoastal rivalry'.

Shakur is held in high esteem by other MCs – in the book How to Rap, Bishop Lamont notes that Shakur “mastered every element, every aspect” of rapping and Fredro Starr of Onyx says Shakur, "was a master of the flow." "Every rapper who grew up in the Nineties owes something to Tupac," wrote 50 Cent. "He didn't sound like anyone who came before him."

To preserve Shakur's legacy, his mother founded the Shakur Family Foundation (later re-named the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation or TASF) in 1997. The TASF's stated mission is to "provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents." The TASF sponsors essay contests, charity events, a performing arts day camp for teenagers and undergraduate scholarships. The Foundation officially opened the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts (TASCA) in Stone Mountain, Georgia, on June 11, 2005. On November 14, 2003, a documentary about Shakur entitled was released under the supervision of his mother and narrated entirely in his voice. It was nominated for Best Documentary in the 2005 Academy Awards. Proceeds will go to a charity set up by Shakur's mother Afeni. On April 17, 2003, Harvard University co-sponsored an academic symposium entitled "All Eyez on Me: Tupac Shakur and the Search for the Modern Folk Hero." The speakers discussed a wide range of topics dealing with Shakur's impact on everything from entertainment to sociology.

Many of the speakers discussed Shakur's status and public persona, including State University of New York at Buffalo English professor Mark Anthony Neal who gave the talk "Thug Nigga Intellectual: Tupac as Celebrity Gramscian" in which he argued that Shakur was an example of the "organic intellectual" expressing the concerns of a larger group. Professor Neal has also indicated in his writings that the death of Shakur has left a "leadership void amongst hip-hop artists." Neal further describes him as a "walking contradiction", a status that allowed him to "make being an intellectual accessible to ordinary people."

Professor of Communications Murray Forman, of Northeastern University, spoke of the mythical status about Shakur's life and death. He addressed the symbolism and mythology surrounding Shakur's death in his talk entitled "Tupac Shakur: O.G. (Ostensibly Gone)". Among his findings were that Shakur's fans have "succeeded in resurrecting Tupac as an ethereal life force." In "From Thug Life to Legend: Realization of a Black Folk Hero", Professor of Music at Northeastern University, Emmett Price, compared Shakur's public image to that of the trickster-figures of African-American folklore which gave rise to the urban "bad-man" persona of the post-slavery period. He ultimately described Shakur as a "prolific artist" who was "driven by a terrible sense of urgency" in a quest to "unify mind, body, and spirit".

Michael Eric Dyson, University of Pennsylvania Avalon Professor of Humanities and African American Studies and author of the book Holler If You Hear Me: Searching for Tupac Shakur indicated that Shakur "spoke with brilliance and insight as someone who bears witness to the pain of those who would never have his platform. He told the truth, even as he struggled with the fragments of his identity." At one Harvard Conference the theme was Shakur's impact on entertainment, race relations, politics and the "hero/martyr". In late 1997, the University of California, Berkeley offered a student-led course entitled "History 98: Poetry and History of Tupac Shakur."

In late 2003, the Makaveli Branded Clothing line was launched by Afeni. In 2005, Death Row released . The DVD was the final recorded performance of Shakur's career, which took place on July 4, 1996, and features a plethora of Death Row artists. In August 2006, Tupac Shakur Legacy was released. The interactive biography was written by Jamal Joseph. It features unseen family photographs, intimate stories, and over 20 removable reproductions of his handwritten song lyrics, contracts, scripts, poetry, and other personal papers. Shakur's sixth posthumous studio album, Pac's Life, was released on November 21, 2006. It commemorates the 10th anniversary of Shakur's death. He is still considered one of the most popular artists in the music industry .

According to Forbes, in 2008 Shakur's estate made $15 million. In 2002, they recognize him as a Top Earning Dead celebrity coming in on number ten on their list.

Library of Congress

Shakur's hit song "Dear Mama" is one of 25 songs that was added to the National Recording Registry in 2010. The Library of Congress has called "Dear Mama" "a moving and eloquent homage to both the murdered rapper's own mother and all mothers struggling to maintain a family in the face of addiction, poverty and societal indifference." This honor comes seven days after his birthday, where the rapper would have been 39. Shakur is the third rapper to enter the library, behind Grandmaster Flash and Public Enemy.

Honors

MTV ranked him at #2 on their list of The Greatest MCs of All Time. Shakur was inducted into the Hip-Hop Hall of Fame in 2002. In 2003, MTV's "22 Greatest MCs" countdown listed Shakur as the "number 1 MC", as voted by the viewers. In 2004, at the VH1 Hip Hop Honors Shakur was honored along with DJ Hollywood, Kool DJ Herc, KRS-One, Public Enemy, Run-D.M.C., Rock Steady Crew, and Sugarhill Gang. A Vibe magazine poll in 2004 rated Shakur "the greatest rapper of all time" as voted by fans. At the First Annual Turks & Caicos International Film Festival held on Tuesday, October 17, 2006, Shakur was honored for his undeniable voice and talent and as a performer who crossed racial, ethnic, cultural and medium lines; his mother accepted the award on his behalf. In 2008, The National Association Of Recording Merchandisers in conjunction with the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame recognized him as a very influential artist and has added him in their Definitive 200 list. On Wednesday, June 23, 2010, Shakur was inducted to the Library of Congress’s National Recording Registry. The seat of the Catholic Church released a list of 12 songs onto the social networking Web site's streaming music service. Among the artists included are Mozart, Muse and Dame Shirley Bassey; the list also includes Shakur's song "Changes", which was released two years after his shooting death on a greatest hits album in 1998. His double album, All Eyez on Me, is one of the highest-selling rap albums of all time, with over 5 million copies of the album sold in the United States alone by April 1996; it was eventually certified 9x platinum in June 1998 by the RIAA.

Discography

Studio albums

Posthumous albums

Documentaries

Shakur's life has been recognized in big and small documentaries each trying capture the many different events during his short lifetime, most notably the Academy Award–nominated , released in 2003.

1997: ''Tupac Shakur: Thug Immortal

1997: ''Tupac Shakur: Words Never Die (TV)

2001: ''Tupac Shakur: Before I Wake...

2001: ''Welcome to Deathrow

2002: ''

2002: ''Biggie & Tupac

2002: ''Tha Westside

2003: ''2Pac 4 Ever

2003: ''

2004: ''Tupac vs.

2004: ''Tupac: The Hip Hop Genius (TV)

2006: ''So Many Years, So Many Tears

2007: ''

2009: ''Tupac: Assassination II: Reckoning

See also

List of best-selling music artists

List of number-one albums (United States)

List of number-one hits (United States)

References

Sources

. .

External links

2Pac Legacy (Official website)

Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation for the Arts

Tupac Legacy Tour

Yaki Kadafi Official Website

Online catalog of Shakur's personal library from his apartment at the time of his death, online at LibraryThing

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