Afeni Shakur Davis (born Alice Faye Williams: January 22, 1947)[citation needed] is an African American music businesswoman, philanthropist, former political activist and ex-Black Panther. She is the mother of Tupac Shakur. She acted as her own criminal defense attorney after being accused of taking part in numerous bombings as a member of the Panthers.
Shakur was born in Lumberton, North Carolina on January 22, 1947.[citation needed]
Exactly one year following Tupac's death, with the money made from Tupac's posthumous albums, Afeni founded the Georgia-based Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation, which provides art programs for young people, and Amaru Entertainment, the holding company for all Tupac's unreleased material. She has also since launched a fashion clothing line, Makaveli Branded; all proceeds go to his charity, the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation[citation needed].
Shakur was reportedly in Federal Court on July 20, 2007, to file an injunction to prevent Death Row Records from selling any unreleased material from Tupac after the company failed to prove that the unreleased songs were not part of its bankruptcy settlement. She created a record label named Amaru Records to release Tupac's unreleased recordings.[citation needed] Afeni Shakur won her court case against Death Row Record to receive 150 unreleased songs by her son.
Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 – September 13, 1996), known by his stage names 2Pac, Pac, and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million records worldwide as of 2010, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world. Rolling Stone Magazine named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time. The themes of most of Tupac's songs are the violence and hardship in inner cities, racism, social problems, and conflicts with other rappers during the East Coast–West Coast hip hop rivalry. Shakur began his career as a roadie, backup dancer, and MC for the alternative hip hop group Digital Underground.
Both of his parents and several other family members were members of the Black Panthers, and Tupac made reference to the organization in the song "Changes". Shakur was involved in a West-coast East-coast rivalry after a major feud with East-coast rappers, producers and record-label members of staff.
On September 7, 1996, Shakur was shot four times in Las Vegas, Nevada. He was taken to the University Medical Center, where he died six days later.
William Jefferson "Billy" Garland (June 17, 1918 – March 16, 1960), was an American blues guitarist, singer, and songwriter. Garland was famous for his falsetto singing combined with gentle guitar playing style. Much of Garland's output was recorded from 1940 – 1950, including 1945's "Got Nothing on Me".
Garland was born in Flowood, Mississippi, and died in 1960 in a car accident in Chicago. His pioneering contribution to the genre has been recognized by the Rockabilly Hall of Fame.
Marion "Suge" Knight, Jr. ( /ˈʃʊɡ/; born April 19, 1965) (a.k.a. Big Suge or Big Simon) is the founder and CEO of Black Kapital Records and co-founder and former CEO of Death Row Records. Death Row Records rose to dominate the rap charts after Dr. Dre's breakthrough album The Chronic in 1992. After several years of chart successes for artists including Tupac Shakur, Dr. Dre, Snoop Dogg, Outlawz, and Tha Dogg Pound, Death Row Records stagnated after Knight's incarceration on parole violation charges in September 1996.
Marion Hugh Knight was born in Compton, California. His name, Suge, derives from "Sugar Bear", a childhood nickname. He attended Lynwood High School, then graduated and got a football scholarship to University of Nevada, Las Vegas, where he went and played football for several years. After school, he played professionally for the Los Angeles Rams as a replacement player during the 1987 NFL strike. Later, he found work as a concert promoter and a bodyguard for celebrities including Bobby Brown.