Tupac Amaru Shakur aka Lesane Parish Crooks.
Although his West Coast appreciation indicated otherwise, Shakur was born in East Harlem, New York, on June 16, 1971.
He first moved to the West coast (Marin County) in 1988, at the age of 17.
Shakur's real name was Lesane Parish Crooks.
Afeni Shakur, Tupac's mother, renamed him Tupac Amaru Shakur a little under a year after Tupac was born.
Shakur was named after the South American revolutionary Túpac Amaru.
Túpac Amaru was a South American revolutionary who led the indigenous revolt against Spanish rule. The revolutionary would be executed by his oppressors. "Tupac Amaru" means "shining serpent." "Shakur" means "thankful to God" in Arabic.
Afeni Shakur was an active member of the Black Panther party. Tupac Shakur was born one month and three days after Afeni had been acquitted of charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks."
Afeni spent time in jail while she was five months pregnant with Shakur.
