01x04 - Ambitionz Az A Ridah

[bunniefuu]

[Afeni] I hate prison.

If I failed my son in anything,

I failed to protect him
from that.

[reporter]
We begin with the man
whose music

is as controversial as he is.

It would seem that
his middle name is "trouble."

But in fact,
he was never arrested

until he got famous.

Tupac Shakur,

who just turned 24 years old,

has grown up
in front of our eyes,

making him seem like
the king of contradiction.

He has spent
the last eight months

in a maximum security prison.

[Garland]
I wasn't in his life
for 15 years,

but Tupac wanted
to see me again,

so I made that trip
up to Dannemora.

Four and a half hours.

Last stop you see
is Montreal, 55 miles.

They put you up there

purposely to keep you away
from family and friends.

Oh, sh*t. That was no place
for a human being.

Soon as you pull up,

all you see is
a 60-foot old castle wall,

like it's been there
for years.

[Blood]
Yeah, it was a f*ck' dungeon.
People talk about Attica.

Dannemora is the one.

That sh*t would take
the starch out of your a*s.

[Dante]
Very violent. He was
there with stone-cold K*llers.

Once he came out
to the visitation room...

[whoops] "Inmates,
get up! Leave! Let's go."

They talked to 'em like sh*t.
Like, "Pac, what's going on?"

"Man, somebody got stabbed
in the bathroom."

Talk again. [whoops]
"Get the f*ck up!

Let's go." "Somebody got
stabbed in the kitchen."

[whoops]
Seemed like every
five minutes,

somebody was getting stabbed.

So we'd try to keep
his spirit up.

[voices clamoring]

♪ I'm just a young Black male
Cursed since my birth ♪

♪ Had to turn
To crack sales ♪

♪ If worse come to worse
Headed for them packed jails ♪

♪ Or maybe it's a hearse
My only way to stack mail... ♪

[E.D.I.]
Tupac has the distinction
of being the only pop star

with a number one album incarcerated.

All his vocals was done
for Me Against the World

before he was in prison.

But it wasn't an album yet,

so he would call me every day

while we was in the studio

and make me put the phone up

while they was
playing the records.

"Tell 'em to turn
the guitar down."

So, he actually put it together

when he was already incarcerated.

I think I dig real deep
with this album.

From "Dear Mama" to
"Shed So Many Tears,"

I tell my own
personal problems.

[Atron]
"Dear Mama" shot the album
to number one.

But how can you feel
like you're having success

as an artist when
you're locked up?

I don't think, really, the album

did as good as it
could have been doing

'cause I ain't gettin'
no awards.

And then there was
talk about him

having trouble in prison.

[Tupac] First, me
and the guards had problems.

I got smacked because

I used to talk a lot of sh*t.

[Billy]
He said that the guards
would threaten him.

"Who does this n*gga
think he is?"

[Watani] Clearly didn't
want to be there.

He felt that he was a victim,

and he, to some extent,
contributed that

to being a product
of the movement.

In other words,
he was treated differently

because he was Tupac Shakur.

But he was protected in prison.

Nobody was going to touch him.
Because we had people inside.

[Atron]
During that time period,
we started an appeal package.

When the appeal was granted,
bail was already in place.

[Watani] We had individuals
that was gonna put
money up to get him out.

But sometimes
in a father-son

or uncle-nephew relationship,
you have this pushback.

So, I think that was
what was going on
with Pac and myself.

[E.D.I.] He had a lot
of resentment built up over
the years to the point where

he might have been like,
"Y'all had y'all turn to do it.

It's my turn.
Let me do it my way."

He wants his own thing,
but when he came home,

it was going to be all positive.

He was going to stop smoking
weed, was clear,

ready to turn over
a new leaf.

We just got to be
smarter and sharper,

or they gonna
start taking away

each and every person
that steps forward

to do anything positive
for the community.

So, that's why
you be wondering why

everybody want to live
a negative lifestyle.

It's safer. And the community
don't support us

when we do step out

and take b*ll*ts for y'all.

[man] So, can we look forward
to some very positive things

from Tupac Shakur
in the future?

Oh, no doubt.
You can look forward to me

doing movies, writing movies,
starring in movies.

Soon, I want to direct them.

You can look forward to me
doing records.

Got a community project
that's in the works right now.

I just met with Al Sharpton,

Malikah Shabazz,
Malcolm X's daughter,

a whole bunch of teachers

and educators
and community workers.

And we're just going to start
slowly but surely

taking our
communities back.

He was gonna dedicate himself
to building a better society,

all that kind of stuff,

and then come Suge.

[reporter]
At the age of only 30,

and with a lengthy
criminal record,

Suge Knight has managed
to become the head

of a hundred-million-dollar
record company

and one of the most powerful

and feared men
in the American music industry.

[Berman]
Suge Knight and Dre
were the partners

of Death Row.

The Chronic. Bam!
You know?

And then Snoop Dogg, Doggystyle.

Bam.

Suge was singularly focused...

[telephone rings]

...on taking over the rap game.

He wanted to dominate it.

[Snoop Dogg]
At Death Row,

we needed Tupac
like he needed us.

So I made a call to Suge...

This is a piece that's missing
from the equation.

Is there anything you can do
to put him with us?

[Watani] So Suge and Kenner
come out to Clinton prison.

[Suge]
When I went to go visit Pac,
you know, he was telling me

that he didn't have
no money on his book.

His mother didn't have a place.

He wanted to get out.

And I was like,

"There's probably
a 98% chance I get you out.

The first thing you gotta do
is shape it up,

pull yourself together
and be ready to ride.

Far as your moms, instead of
getting her an apartment,

I'll buy her a house."

And Pac was like,

"You believe in me,
I believe in you."

Let's do it,
we don't need nobody.

No doubt.

[Watani]
He believed that there was
elements on the East Coast

that was out to get him.

They shot me.

So, he felt West Coast
was coming to save him.

But let's be clear.

Death Row was funded
through Interscope,

so Death Row didn't get him out.

It was Pac's publishing money,
so we didn't need any of that.

[Atron]
Tupac needed to stay on
the straight and narrow.

So, I said, I don't think
Death Row was a good idea.

But when Kenner
and Suge came out,

Tupac had signed
this piece of paper.

[Allen] And what
we know now was

he had a three-album
commitment.

[Watani] With three albums,
he figured he was done.

That was what
he was telling me.

[Tupac] I just signed
to Death Row Records.

And we finna come out
pretty tight.

- Did you sign with them?
- No question.
Signed with Death Row.

[buzzer sounds]

[Watani]
That was when we broke professionally.

It's like, "Man, what
are you doing?" You know?

So, none of the team
rode with him.

[Mike Tyson]
I just gotta be honest,

I thought it was good
that he signed

with those guys at the time.

No other-- no other
record company

would've gave him
that power boost.

♪

[Tupac] I feel like this
jail time was like a coma.

Except I got to think.

I got to watch the world
move around me...

without being a part of it.

♪

And I got to see how I took
a lot of things for granted.

And so I said,
"When I come out...

I'm definitely gonna
enjoy life more.

And I'm going to try
to live it to the fullest."

And that is just to get
everything I want.

♪

Make a goal, accomplish it,

make another one,
accomplish it.

And keep going
higher and higher.

♪

I learned my lesson.

If we can just be
even from here, I'm cool.

I'm only 24.

You know,
the world is just beginning.

Let's start part two
of Tupac's life.

♪ California Love

♪

♪ California
Knows how to party ♪

♪ In the city of L.A.

♪ In the city of
Good old Watts ♪

♪ In the city
City of Compton ♪

♪ We keepin' it rockin'

♪ We keepin' rockin'

♪ Now let me
Welcome everybody
To the Wild, Wild West ♪

♪ A state that's untouchable
Like Eliot Ness ♪

♪ The track hits your eardrum
Like a slug to your chest ♪

♪ Pack a vest for your Jimmy
In the city of sex ♪

♪ We in that Sunshine State
Where the b*mb-a*s hemp be ♪

♪ The state where you never
Find a dance floor empty ♪

♪ And p*mps be on a mission
For them greens ♪

♪ Lean mean money-
Making machines ♪

♪ Servin' fiends

[Dre] When Tupac
gets out of jail,

he came right to the studio.

And he's like, "Man,
I've been trying to get

a m*therf*cking
Dre beat forever.

I had to stop and go,
"Dre, you do not know how long

I waited to get
in this booth."

[Dre] I put this track on.

He starts writing.

After the 20, 30 minutes,

he says,
"I got the verse."

He's like, "Turn
the f*cking mic on, man."

California Love.

♪ Out on bail fresh out of jail
California dreaming ♪

♪ Soon as I step on the scene
I'm hearing hoochies screaming

♪ Fiending for money
and alcohol ♪

♪ The life of
A Westside player ♪

♪ Where cowards die
and the strong ball ♪

[Snoop] Tupac gave us
a new burst of energy

to turn it up another level.

He was with the best producer,

dopest rappers
that moved like he moved,

that felt like he felt--
Death Row Records.

[indistinct]

♪ Only in Cali where we riot
Not rally, to live and die ♪

- ♪ In L.A. we wearin'
Chucks not Ballys ♪
- ♪ Yeah, that's right on

♪ Dressed in Locs and khaki
Suits and ride is what we do ♪

♪ Flossin' but have caution
We collide with other crews ♪

♪ Famous because
We throw grams worldwide ♪

♪ Let 'em recognize from
Long Beach to Rosecrans ♪

♪ Bumpin' and grindin' like
A slow jam, it's Westside ♪

♪ So you know the row
Won't bow down to no man ♪

♪ Say what you say, but give me
That b*mb beat from Dre ♪

♪ Let me serenade
The streets of L.A. ♪

♪ From Oakland to Sactown

♪ The Bay Area and back down

♪ Cali is where they put
They mack down... ♪

If you come to Death Row,

you will see your art brought
to a bigger plateau,

and you will be paid

one of these days,
Death Row. Come on.

Let's count with me.
Come on, y'all.

Next year,
Death Row gonna start

printing our own money

'cause we makin' so much,

we need to start printing
our own money.

[Snoop]
He was happy, excited.

He had money, and he was free.

But sometimes the progression
is a digression

because the environment
was bad for him.

♪ ...an earthquake
on the Richter scale ♪

[tape switches off, music stops]

[Allen] Glo, I just want
you to describe the feeling

you had because all these years,
you and your sister,

from Virginia to North Carolina,

to the poverty in New York...

Finally, this is
the American dream

you guys are
getting ready to realize.

What is that feeling?

I can only tell you... happy.

Afeni and Tupac
were getting along again,

trying to live
a different life.

It was an adventure.

At any event I could be at,
I was at.

And Suge put on this
Mother's Day event every year.

[Allen]
You were at this event?

[Glo]
Yes, 'cause look at me,

I am the first and original

number one main groupie to Pac.

[host]
Good afternoon,

and on behalf of Suge Knight

and Death Row Records,

Happy Mother's Day to everyone.

[Suge] Death Row is
like an artist label.

And where the artist start from,
they start from the mothers.

This is our way of giving
something back.

[Glo] The other mothers
were there too.

And Tupac would perform
"Dear Mama."

And he wanted this to be
for all the mothers.

[man] Tupac!

[cheering]

Hey, before we go
into the song...

I know everybody
love their mama.

But I want to talk about
something else first.

I want to talk about
the people that don't have

they mama no more.

We've got to get back
to that old-school sh*t

where we all care for everybody,

and all of us raise
all these kids

'cause we all out of hand.

So, last year about this time,

I was sitting in a maximum
security penitentiary.

I couldn't sing
this song for my mama,

but I'mma do it today for
all y'all and all y'all moms.

[Glo] For me,
it was the wow effect.

- He's the baby...
- ♪ Dear Mama

...that you knew from birth,

and you're looking at him now.
And wow!

♪ When I was young
Me and my mama had beef ♪

♪ Seventeen years old
Kicked out on the streets ♪

♪ Though back at the time
I never thought ♪

♪ I'd see her face
Ain't a woman alive ♪

♪ That could take
My mama's place ♪

♪ Suspended from school
And scared to go home ♪

♪ I was a fool with the big
Boys breakin' all the rules ♪

♪ I shed tears
With my baby sister ♪

♪ Over the years
We was poorer ♪

♪ Than the other
little kids... ♪

[Glo] I loved it.
Tupac was living his dream,

and wanted us to be
part of that dream.

So, the other time
I got to see him perform,

he had sent for us,
we came to Vegas.

And he was playing
at The 662 Club.

Suge's club.

And this boy's on stage
tearing it up.

And I am too.

I'm doing
the old school two-step.

I'm moving with it,
moving with it.

I'm doing a whole lot
of that, right?

And somebody comes and tap me

and say, "Tupac said
for you to sit down."

- [record scratch]
- What?!

"He say you
throwing up g*ng signs."

g*ng signs?!
What is he talking about?

♪ Picture me rollin' in
My 500 Benz ♪

♪ I got no love for
These n*gg*s ♪

♪ There's no need
To be friends ♪

♪ They got me
Under surveillance ♪

♪ That's what
Somebody be tellin' me ♪

♪ Known as don't be
insulted ♪

♪ But I ain't the one tellin'

So, now I'm scared
of all things Suge.

But with Tupac,
I didn't see it like danger

and all of that, I just
saw it as just the persona.
There's only music.

♪ Mama, I'm still thuggin'
The world is a w*r zone ♪

♪ My homies is inmates,
And most of them dead grown ♪

[Dre] You know,
it's really difficult

to give me f*cking
goosebumps in the studio.

Usually, artists, they come
out of the mic booth,

and then they come out
and hear it on the big speakers.

Tupac was different.

♪ Flossin' a Benz on rims
That isn't stolen ♪

♪ My dreams is censored
My hopes are gone ♪

♪ I'm like a fiend
That finally sees ♪

♪ When all the dope is gone

♪ My nerves is wrecked
Heart beatin' ♪

♪ And my hands
Is swollen ♪

♪ Thinking of the Gs
I'll be holdin' ♪

[Dre] He would stay
in the mic booth.

Like, "Man, put up
another beat!"

He was writing, writing,
writing, writing

till it's all the way done.

That's the difference
between a regular writer

and somebody that's just
writing with the passion

of, "I want you to feel
the way I feel,

and I can't give you
that feeling until I get it."

He didn't try to polish
his sh*t up.

That's what made Tupac
the greatest.

He liked his sh*t raw.

♪ Just picture me rollin'

[Dre] It was one of my favorite

experiences as a producer.

But to be honest, Allen,
I-- I really try to forget

a lot of those moments because...

that was like
the height of Death Row.

And it was just like a bunch
of g*ngb*ng sh*t going on

and what have you.

And you'd
have to muscle through

a bunch of bullshit just to
get to the studio to record.

So, the bottom line is
I'm a fan of Tupac,

and we worked on a few songs.

A couple of them came out.

But I was thinking
about leaving Death Row

for a long time before that.

I understand that we had this
East Coast rivalry going on.

For me, it started out
as a friendly competition.

[Snoop] The media was pushing
the East Coast/West Coast.

But what y'all don't know is,
we was really showing love.

[Tupac] There is no fear.
There is no problem.

There ain't nothing
but opportunity.

[Snoop] We rappers.
This is what we do.

We're competitive-driven.

[Tupac]
America has shown us
over and over again

what ambition is

and what forms ambition
should be shown,

and how ambition
can take you to the top.

All we doing
is putting a mirror up
and showing you that,

"Yes, we saw it,
and, yes, we're doing it."

[Snoop] I remember
the first couple of weeks,

he used to ride in the back
of my Rolls-Royce.

And Suge was like,
"This n*gga with us now."

I might as well see
my little brother 'cause...

[Snoop]
He gets everything.

[Suge]
...I get a Benz, he get a Benz.

[Snoop]
Three weeks later,
he had a Rolls-Royce.

[Suge]
I get a Rolls, he get a Rolls.

[Dre]
For most of Pac's career,

he didn't feel like anybody
had his back.

Pac also grew up

without a consistent,
strong male figure,

so Suge represented
a big brother role.

[Watani]
This guy got him out of jail,
making his dream come true.

Then we almost drowned
together at Cabo.

That's a different story.

[Dre] Pac wasn't that great
of a swimmer.

Almost drowned.

And Suge jumped
in the water to save his life.

One of the reasons
why I always have Pac' back

is 'cause he always
have my back.

That was my little brother.

[Shock G] If Suge says it,
that's the new way it is.

[Suge]
And I know one thing.

Pac love Death Row.

And Death Row love Pac.

First one of the ads that's
happening for the single.

[Suge]
So, all eyes is on him.

[Shock G]
All Eyez On Me was
Tupac showing that respect,

being a man and making
the best record
for the West Coast

that he could, and that's
what Suge stood for,

so that's what Pac did.

- [Tupac laughs]
- [Shock G] But listen
to him laugh.

- [Tupac] Death Row.
- Death Row. [laughs]

He's not laughing.

- You could hear it.
Forced laughter.
- [Tupac laughs]

[Mike Tyson] He was creating
a record that Suge wanted.

It's tight, man.

[Dre]
If anybody knows Tupac,

he's like a comedian,
joke after joke.

He wasn't none of that.

He was serious, focused,

and his temper was short.

[Watani]
All of those records, all he's
talking about is the pain.

[interviewer] Do your mother's
feelings ever get hurt

when you talk about how painful

- and sad you were as a kid?
- [Tupac] Yes.

- Yes, she's always--
- That must be hard
for her to hear.

She's always like that.
I always used to feel like

she cared more about
"the" people

than "her" people.

But I love her for that.

That's how I am.

But because of my mother,
I'm a chainsmoker.

[both laugh]

[Gobi] This dude at 25
had accomplished more

than most
in their lifetime.

And look, without being sacrilegious,

where the f*ck was Jesus
when he was 25?

[Allen laughs]

[Gobi] What would Pac have been

if they had allowed him

to live to 33?

I was a fly on the wall,
a wannabe filmmaker,

sh**ting a living
documentary on you.

So, the first thing I noticed

was that this m*therf*cker
was on a inexplicable schedule.

He packed his days in

with as much creativity
as possible.

And we're on the set

for the video
How Do U Want It.

First thing,
Pac tells all the men

to take their tops off.

"These girls are all naked.

You m*therf*ckers need to
take at least your top off."

I was like,
"This guy's dope as f*ck."

He's like, equal opportunity

with the porn stars
and the strippers, right?

♪ No matter where I go

♪ I see the same hoes

Uh, anyway, we sh**t the video,

and then the guy that was
supposed to direct

2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted

calls up two days
before the sh**t,

and he says,
"I'm not doing it."

"What are you talking about?"

He's like, "I'm not sharing

co-director credit with Tupac."

Pac just looked at me,

and he said, "Let
the m*therf*cker do it."

So, that became my official
first directing credit,

2 of Amerikaz Most Wanted.
Right there on the spot.

It was like he saw
something special in me

that no one else
had ever seen before.

[Snoop] That's what
it was with him.

He loved giving love,

and putting spotlights
on other people

and letting other
m*therf*ckers shine.

Look how many
opportunities he gave

to Thug Life
and the Outlawz.

And he was teaching me
how to give structure

with my homies
because there was

so much gangster sh*t
instilled in us,

I didn't know I was great.

[reporter] Tupac Shakur
reminds that the rappers

have sold millions of records.

If we can represent
that many votes,

we got to let these
politicians be scared of us.

[Snoop] He was training me to be
more of a speaking vessel

for the people
coming behind us.

This rap thing is
a blessing in disguise,
believe me.

You got more g*ng members
doing rap than doing k*lling,

so let's keep
the rap thing going

and keep the vote thing going.

I'm preaching right now.

I'm preaching.

[cheering]

He was putting
sh*t on my head

that I needed
to get me on the path

because I was fighting
a m*rder case.

How much gangster sh*t can I do?

[reporter]
It happened in this
Los Angeles park.

Snoop's bodyguard
shot and k*lled

24-year-old
Philip Woldemariam.

Snoop's attorney
claims self-defense

and says the DA
has an agenda.

That terrible music is gonna
get out into the public.

That's why he's
prosecuting this man.

[Snoop]
So, I'm fighting
for my life, thinking,

"How am I
going to be different?"

And Tupac was there with me
going to court.

Today is "We Love Snoop Day."

Because he
fighting for his life

when y'all know
he didn't do it.

But he got to go
through all this,

make all his mama's
hair gray for this.

How do you feel,
having been on the other side

of situations like this?

I'm going to the studio
to make Bob Dole mad.

I'm finna make
you real mad

for what y'all doin'
to my homeboy,

you and Delores Tucker.

[Snoop] Tupac understood the
frustration of being locked up

and wrongfully accused.

So we got real close,

and our relationship
was based off aspirations

as far as
what we're gonna be.

Like, "You gonna
win this case."

n*gga, we two of America's most
wanted. n*gga, we great."

[judge] Calvin Broadus,
not guilty of the crime
of m*rder in the first degree.

[Snoop] And when I actually
won the case, we celebrated.

[Dan Rather]
A jury in Los Angeles

found the 24-year-old
rapper

and his bodyguard

not guilty
in the fatal sh**ting

of a g*ng member.

Snoop Doggy Dogg,
whose real name is...

[cork pops]

[Snoop]
Say, man, some of the greatest
sh*t ever written

came out of pain.

We learned to bring that pain

that we were given
into a better picture.

[reporter]
In the fatal sh**ting
of a g*ng member...

[Snoop]
He wasn't brought up
in a regular household,

so definitely his art

is gonna give you...

pictures that the average
artist can't paint.

♪ Picture perfect
I paint a perfect picture ♪

♪ b*mb the hoochies
With precision ♪

♪ My intention's
To get richer ♪

♪ With the S-N
Double-O-P, Dogg ♪

♪ My f*ck' homie, You's a
Cold-a*s n*gga on them hogs ♪

♪ Sure nuff, I keep my hand
On my g*n ♪

♪ 'Cause they got me
On the run ♪

♪ Now I'm back in the courtroom
Waitin' on the outcome ♪

♪ "Free Tupac" is all
That's on a niggaz mind ♪

♪ But at the same time

♪ It seems they
Tryin' to take mine ♪

♪ So I'mma get smart
And get defensive and sh*t ♪

♪ And put together
A million march ♪

♪ For some gangsta sh*t

[Mike Wallace]
In New York, a jury
acquitted 13 Black Panthers

accused of conspiring
to b*mb buildings

and k*ll policemen.

[man]
It's a beautiful victory.

[Glo] We were acquitted

one month and three days
before Tupac was born.

It was a joyous time
because Tupac was carried

under the worst conditions,

and then, lo and behold,
here comes this

healthy, smiling,
beautiful baby.

[Afeni] He loved life.
It was like, "I'm here."

But it's just that my life
had been by now so devastated,

I really didn't know
how to get it back on track.

[Jamal]
Colonial warfare,
mental disorder.

The acquittal
of the Panther 21
was a true highlight

before a fall into struggle,
depression, disorientation.

We, as a movement,
were dealing with

post-traumatic
stress syndrome

because the whole army
had been decimated.

And none of us thought
we would wind up broke,

paranoid, and depressed.

[Garland]
Oppression brings
about addictions,

so a lot of people
in the movement

become addicted
to certain substances.

[Jamal]
So people started drinking,
and I'm smoking whatever

anybody passed me,
and my mission was to be numb.

But somehow,
Afeni on her worst days

was better than a lot of people
are on their best days.

[Billy]
She was an icon,

the face of strong women
in our movement.

But she was trying
to move on with life.

[Glo]
When Tupac was small,

Afeni worked for
the Bronx Legal Services.

And she had a friend there,

an actress and a singer,
Ebony Jo-Ann.

- She was awesome, right?
- Yeah.

Afeni's job was to stop
ill*gal evictions.

Afeni was a warrior.

She was also trying to get
the government onboard

with acupuncture,
with Mutulu Shakur.

[Glo] Afeni and Mutulu
became a couple.

I liked Mutulu.

A family guy,
loved the children.

They had a daughter, Sekyiwa.

I have fond memories of Mutulu.

[Lesane] Mutulu bought
a brownstone in Strivers' Row,

a very nice area
where Black doctors

and lawyers lived.

And he turned it into a clinic.

[Jamal]
Mutulu and Afeni also formed
the National Task Force

for COINTELPRO
Litigation and Research,

with emphasis around
Geronimo Pratt.

[reporter]
Serving life for m*rder,

and now there are
growing indications

Geronimo Pratt has spent
23 years in prison

for something he didn't do.

[Lesane] We kept hearing
about Geronimo.

He was falsely imprisoned
in California.

[Glo]
So, that's what she was doing

when she would
go to California.

She was working on
Geronimo's case,

one of Tupac's godfathers.

[reporter] Isn't it true
that Geronimo Pratt wired
a shotgun to the head

of a California State judge
and blew it off?

No. No. You sound like
the COINTELPRO.

- [woman] Like?
- The COINTELPRO.

COINTELPRO
makes us paranoid.

Do you know if he's
ever k*lled anybody?

- [reporter] Yes, I do.
- How do you know?

Were you a witness
to a k*lling that he committed?

[reporter]
I'll ask the questions.

I know,
but that's my godfather,

and that's disrespectful

for you to speak of
my godfather that way.

And I will not allow that
unless you have proof

- or you are witness.
- [reporter] I'll ask--

If you have neither,
then you can't do that.

Because I would never do that
to your family members.

- [reporter] I'm just
asking a question.
- I understand,

but you cannot
disrespect my family.

- [reporter] Okay.
- Okay?

[Watani] He couldn't run
from who he was.

He was a child
that was born in the movement.

They targeted him
as a result of that.

[Afeni]
It wasn't that the police
was looking for me.

Please understand that.

It's just that I lost my job

because the pressure
from the police,

it was just really hard
for me.

And sometimes when my children
went to school,

they were followed by the FBI

and police officers
who would corner them,

then ask them about people
that they might have known.

Those were experiences
that I wish

that I had not had
my children exposed to.

[Lesane]
We were all traumatized.

First p*stol I ever saw
was in Feni's room.

Afeni lived
across the hall from us.

There was always a lot
of Panther paraphernalia

that had cops getting
they pig brains blown out.

You know, things like that
in a child's mind

didn't seem normal.

'Cause they would tell us,

"When the pigs come to you,

don't say nothing to them."

[Jamala] 'Cause the feds,
they used to come to the house,

- and we're just the kids.
- [pounding on door]

[Lesane] Pac was
a mischievous kid.

He liked to play a lot.
He was fun-loving.

[Jamala] You would have
thought he would have
became a comedian.

But in Harlem,
back in those days,

it wasn't cool to have names
like Tupac,

Qatari, Sekyiwa, Mutulu...

I wanted my name to be Lisa.
But it was Jamala.

[laughs]

Definitely, there was
a chip on my shoulder.

Mm-hmm.

People always thought
we was African.

And we got teased a lot.

Like, "You bald-headed
Black b*tch."

That's how
the fighting would start.

But Pac didn't know
how to mind his business.

He would intervene

and walk up to a brother
and tell that brother,

"Keep your hands off
your woman."

And we'd be like,
"Yo, Pac, chill!

Come on, man,
let's keep walking.

We don't know these people."

He would challenge you
with his intelligence.

"I bet you can't spell
'harpsichord.'"

But his mom used to make him
read The New York Times

as a punishment.

Okay, nine times out of ten,

she'd whoop his tail.

[Afeni] "Take your little
sorry self in that corner...

[Glo] But the other part
of that punishment

- was that he had to read.
- ...get The New York Times.

- [Tupac]
She's my guide through life.
- [Afeni] Read it.

- [Tupac] She knows the
importance of being honest.
- [Afeni] And let's have

- a debate about it.
- [Tupac] We talk about everything.

- [Afeni] Not a discussion.
- [Tupac] Facing each
situation as it comes.

- [Afeni] The more we
challenge our inside...
- [Tupac] Being realistic

- about the problem...
- [Afeni] make ourselves think...

- [Tupac] ...analyzing i...
- [Afeni] critically...

- [Tupac] and solving it.
- [Afeni] how can that hurt?"

[Tupac] It's just that everybody
doesn't think like us.

[Glo]
Feni wanted all of us
to be smart and active

in the community,

and she was
the most generous person.

Give you anything.
Her son, same thing.

But people take
advantage of that too,

so that's adding to
that knot in her gut.

Because the only person
I knew that provided

for Afeni Shakur
was Afeni Shakur.

[reporter 1]
On October 20th, 1981,

remaining members of the
radical Weather Underground

and Black Liberation Army

ambushed a Brink's truck,
k*lling a guard,

later k*lling
two police officers.

[reporter 2]
Several of the suspects left

this Harlem acupuncture clinic.

- A Dr. Shakur's name...
- [sighs]

...was listed on a plaque.

[reporter 3]
Fugitive Mutulu Shakur,

reputedly the mastermind
of the Brink's heist.

They were pretty secretive
around me.

I then began reading things
in the newspaper.

♪ Ain't nothin' but
A gangsta party ♪

[Glo] Mutulu,
wanted by the police.

[Lesane] He was number one
on America's Most Wanted list.

♪ Ain't nothin' but
A gangsta party ♪

That's where everything
became, "What?"

[reporter]
SWAT teams raided
two separate

New York City apartments.

[Lesane] We didn't know
what was going on.

Suddenly, Mutulu wasn't
around anymore. Jamal...

[reporter]
Twenty-nine year-old
Edward Joseph...

- I went back to prison.
- [Lesane] Blood...

I was in prison.

I'm Jesse James.

[reporter] Five suspects
are still at large

in what appears to be a network

of new t*rror1st activity.

[Lesane] It was always mysticism
about police violence.

♪ Now give me 50 feet
Defeat is not my destiny ♪

♪ Release me to the streets but
keep whatever's left of me ♪

♪ Jealousy is envious
Suffering is greed ♪

♪ Better be prepared when you
Cowards bust at me ♪

♪ I bust and flee
These niggaz must be crazy ♪

♪ What? There ain't no mercy,
m*therf*ckers ♪

♪ Who can fade the th*gs?

♪ You thought it was
But it wasn't ♪

♪ Now disappear

♪ Bow down in the presence
Of a boss player ♪

I was very naive. I thought
I knew a lot, but I didn't.

Like when they broke
that girl out of jail.

[reporter 1]
Assata Shakur escaped

from the Clinton
Correctional Facility.

Now, I'm wondering,
"Who thought of that sh*t?"

- [reporter 1] No shots
were fired.
- And that money...

- [reporter 1] Close to
one million dollars...
- Where's the money?

[reporter 1] ...missing
from similar holdups,

investigators are now wondering
what the motive might be.

[reporter 2] A lot of the
money was placed in envelopes
and delivered anonymously

to homes in Harlem
at Christmastime.

[Glo] All I know is

Afeni had no furniture
in the whole house.

[Afeni]
We were poor.

And I'll tell you what
Tupac always wanted to know...

why are we so poor?

[Tupac]
If money was nothing

and everything depended
on your moral standards,

we'd be millionaires.

But since it's not like that,

I missed out
on a lot of things,

and it made me very bitter.

[Lesane] So, the poverty,
the Panthers, the g*ns...

we all suffer from post-
traumatic stress disorder,
you know?

Particularly Tupac,
particularly Afeni.

They didn't know it
because no one knew

what anxiety looked like,
or depression.

We just...
we covered it up with drugs.

[Allen] I'm reading these
addresses: Bank Street,

1240 Woodpress Avenue,
200 West 108 Street,

59 Morningside Drive,
626 Riverside Drive,

something Underhill Avenue,

Third Avenue,

409 Edgecombe,

1838 7th Avenue
and-- and Kerrigan?

- Kerrigan.
- Kerrigan Avenue.

[Allen] What was
going on with Afeni
that she was moving...

that displaced in her life,

and how was it affecting
Tupac and the other children?

Well, when Afeni
was moving a lot,

it wasn't just Afeni,
we were all moving

and, um, I think
a lot of it was, um...

finances.

Afeni's spirit was
totally diminished in 1984.

She was angry because
no one came to her aid.

Her aid was me.

But I had six children.

I'm also going through
my own personal challenges,

and I look back and I wonder

what would have happened if

someone would have
looked at her as a woman.

[Allen] Hmm.

You know, and said,
"What do you need, sister?"

You know, "Where-- where
are you living at, sister?"

[Afeni] We were homeless
during this period,

and this is when I was starting
to, um, smoke crack cocaine.

[Glo]
Afeni was using drugs,

and sometimes
she wouldn't come home,

and Tupac, I felt for him

because I knew
he was suffering.

[Tupac] I'm dealing
with Daddy not being there.

My mother's dealing
with my man not being there.

'Cause my mother always
told me, "Don't you ever

just volunteer yourself
to our people

'cause they'll use you."
You know what I'm saying?

She also told me
to follow my heart.

[Jamala] As a child,
Tupac's hobbies were writing,

and writing and performing.

[Glo] At 13 years old,
his family was the theater,

and it was very strange

because there'd never been
a child in this company before.

But Tupac went to the company
and won their heart

because he was very good
with his lines,

and he also used to help them
with their lines.

The first time he appeared
professionally on stage

was the year that Jesse Jackson
was running for president.

They were having a benefit
at the world-famous Apollo.

[Tupac] 1984,
Raisin in the Sun,

Jesse Jackson's presidential
campaign. It was a fundraiser.

[Ebony] That was
a perfect role for Tupac

because life was
like that for him,

where you don't have a bedroom.
[sighs]

I loved it because
it was about...

moving on.

[Glo] Feni went
to every rehearsal.

The night of the performance,
the theater was full.

[Tupac] It was when
the curtain went up,

I just caught that bug.

[Glo] We saw
a scrawny little boy

elevate himself to an actor.

- [Lesane] He nailed it.
- [Tupac] Like, whoa.

[Lesane] Felt like
this kid is a star.

[Glo] That was it.
That was the beginning

of a dream that
we didn't see coming.

[sultry saxophone plays]

[LL Cool J] ♪ I'm goin'
Back to Cali, Cali, Cali ♪

♪ I'm goin' back to Cali

♪ Hmm, I don't think so

[Donald] Baltimore was
a very racially divided city

geographically,
and a lot of the white kids

that came to the Baltimore
School of the Arts

had never been around
African American kids.

So, I asked them
to say their name,

and when it got
around to Tupac,

some of the kids giggled.

Well, he stood up
and delivered

a 10-minute speech about
how he would not tolerate

anyone making fun of his name.

[chuckles] That was the end
of that conversation.

This guy knew who he was.

♪ Goin' back to Cali

♪ Stylin', profilin'

♪ Growlin' and smilin'

[Donald] That smile.

He had this absolutely
infectious smile.

People gravitated toward him,
and he had a lot of friends.

[Tupac] I had a friend
named John Cole

who was blond
and had blue eyes,

and he put me
through high school.

[John] Tupac and I
were very close.

I was a visual artist.
Dye jeans.

He would take those
clothes and wear 'em.

[Tupac] It was fun
for him to not have,

and it was fun for me to have.

[John] We listened to
a lot of Prince, Kate Bush,

The Cure, Peter Gabriel,
LL Cool J.

He was MC New York.

[Tupac] It was fun for him
to hear rap music.

It was fun for me to hear
all of these things

that has really defined
who I am as an artist today.

♪ Goin' back
to Cali, Cali, Cali ♪

♪ I'm goin' back to Cali

[Tupac] So, from that union,
that stretch with John,

I know him.

I feel like I've always been
an actor, and acting
is my first love.

I went to School
of Performing Arts,

but due to poverty,
I never got a chance

to leisurely study acting.

What I did do
was throw myself

in as many experiences
as I could,

so now I have
so many things to draw from.

And I don't want anybody
to take that from me and say,

"You're a rapper
who's acting."

[Tim Roth] I didn't know enough
about him, so I was skeptical

because I wanted an actor,
not a, you know, musician,
to play off.

And I had no idea.
But once we connected,

which was immediately,
then I was on my toes

because he was
better than me, you know.

[laughter]

He was
talking the language

of an actor and then
just surprising you

during the scene as well.

[director]
And action.

My f*cking lady's
gonna die here,

and you're telling me
about some f*cking numbers?

If I knew the sh*t,
I'd have wrote it down.

I need to see
a doctor right away.

[Roth] He had some chops.
And he was the funniest f*ck.

We laughed a lot.

Well, have you learned
anything from Tim in this?

I know he's given you
some acting advice himself.

- Yes, actually.
Honestly, I have.
- Mm-hmm.

And, you know,
I'm glad you're giving me

the opportunity
to talk about it.

I've learned
a lot from this guy.

I've learned exactly
what not to do

when the camera's on me.

[Roth] I mean, I think
we were in a bubble,

and it was a safe zone for him,

just for
a little chunk of time.

Can I just bring one thing
to your attention?

- What's that?
- The fashion.

Look at me.

- Stop.
- Look at him. Look at him.

He's ruining the whole movie!

I took three months to get
my little gear right,

took him three minutes
to pick this.

[Roth] We came from very,
very different worlds.

But a big part of your time
as an actor is doing nothing.

And we find ourselves
sitting, having a beer,

waiting for the sun to go down,
and he would talk to me a lot

about things that he'd done,
things that he regretted,

his time in prison, his mom.
He was a very sensitive guy.

But that wasn't stuff that you
could, at that point certainly,

put in the public's eye.

I mean, he was huge.

And it was the first film

where I actually
had to have security.

Rival groups would come down
to the location calling at him

because of the East Coast/
West Coast thing.

[Tupac] That's what's
frustrating and aggravating,

that I can't live down
this big shadow

that I made to protect myself

'cause it started out
as I need an alter ego

to keep people away from me
and to protect myself.

And not that it's like
a total facade.

It's me,
but it's just...

- [lighter clicks]
- ...blown up.

[Glo] Discovering that
his mother was out of control

using narcotics

put an edge on Tupac Amaru.

[Tupac] Being numb,

anesthetizing ourselves
to the world.

My life has
made it easy for me

to jump into this character

because he's articulate, talented.

He's just a heroin addict
like you've never seen.

But we all have addictions,

and I think that Spoon

is a man who hasn't
found that peace.

So, I would be Spoon.
Had I not took these chances,

had I not gone all out,
I would still be

a talented human being
that no one knew about.

[Afeni] Our move to Baltimore

was affected by the poverty,

but had I not been
messing around with drugs,

I believe that I would have
been able to stay in New York.

[John] I mean, he didn't
like to talk about it,

but he would tell me
they had to leave New York.

[Tupac] We moved
out of New York because...

[John]
They were on the run.

[Tupac] They figured out
who she was,

and she couldn't keep a job.
That should be ill*gal.

[John] Of course, I went
to his house on Greenmount.

Faye stayed in the front room,

which was usually
blacked out at the time.

The shades were drawn,
like hiding out.

He would be on the outs
occasionally with Faye.

[Afeni] His point was,
"Why every time

we get some place,
we have to move?

Why do you always
have to lose your job?

Why does... why is it... why?

And the larger society

could not take
responsibility for my errors.

[John] In his room, there
were rats crawling around,

and he didn't really
get along in his neighborhood.

Drug dealers and stuff
were targeting him

because it was a bad area.

[Afeni] So, the best thing
about the School of the Arts

is that he was
with people who had dreams

and aspirations like himself.

They gave Tupac a sense
that this was not permanent

because there was
no evidence in my life

that said it wasn't.

I remember we had enough money
for three potatoes.

I would make French fries,

and we would sit
and sing folk songs.

And this particular song

helped me to deal with
the changes with my son.

But the greatest effect
it had on me

was when he was an adult

and had the right
to make his own decisions.

[vocalist]
♪ Your children

[vocalists]
♪ Are not your children

♪ They are the sons
And the daughters ♪

♪ Of life's
Longing for itself ♪

♪ They come through you
But they are not from you ♪

♪ And though they are with you
They belong not to you ♪

♪ You can give them your love
But not your thoughts ♪

♪ They have
Their own thoughts ♪

♪ They have their own
Thoughts ♪

♪ You can house their bodies

♪ But not their souls

♪ For their souls dwell

♪ In a place of tomorrow

♪ Which you cannot visit
Not even in your dreams ♪

♪ You can strive
To be like them ♪

♪ But you cannot make them
Just like you ♪

♪ Strive to be like them

♪ But you cannot make them
Just like you ♪

[Afeni] Your children
are not you.

[Ambitionz Az A Ridah playing]

♪ I won't deny it,
I'm a straight ridah ♪

♪ You don't wanna
f*ck with me ♪

♪ My ambitions as a ridah

♪ I'm a straight ridah
Police bustin' me ♪

♪ So many b*ttlefield scars
While driven in plush cars ♪

♪ This life as a rap star
Is nothin' without guard ♪

♪ Was born rough and rugged,
Addressin' the mass public ♪

♪ My attitude was f*ck it
'Cause m*therf*ckers love it ♪

♪ To be a soldier, must
Maintain composure at ease ♪

♪ Though life is complicated
Only what you make it to be ♪

- ♪ And, uh
- ♪ And my ambitions
as a ridah ♪

♪ To catch her while she hot
And horny-- go up inside her ♪

♪ Then I spit some game
In her ear ♪

♪ Go to the telly, h*, equipped
with money in a 'Benz ♪

♪ 'Cause, b*tch,
I'm barely broke ♪

♪ And now you got me
right beside you ♪

♪ Hopin' you listen
I catch you ♪

♪ Payin' attention to my
Ambitions as a ridah ♪

♪ I won't deny it,
I'm a straight ridah ♪

♪ You don't wanna
f*ck with me ♪

- ♪ My ambitions as a ridah
- ♪ Police bustin' at me

[Dre] Pac was like,
"f*ck being broke."

You could see by
the way he spoiled himself.

That was Pac saying, "Look,

I was the bummy n*gga
on the block,

but not anymore.
I'm a king now."

As he should
'cause he bled for it.

[Ray Luv] This is
a remake of Pac's crown ring.

It's a reminder that royalty

is not about
how you get treated,

it's more about how you
take care of your people.

[Afeni] June 16th,
Tupac's birthday.

[Glo]
Tupac was living his dream

'cause another one of
his dreams is a compound.

[woman] Hey, chicken here.
I'm fryin' dirty lickin'
chicken, crispy brown.

[overlapping happy chatter]

[Jamala] I remember
living in Calabasas,

the neighborhood
was primarily

maybe white.

But all they knew is that
a house full of n*gg*s

just moved into...
into Calabasas!

[laughter]

n*gga, we live here.

How 'bout that?

[laughter]

Pac'd be like, "n*gga,
we live here, yo!"

[laughter]

This our sh*t!

[Dante] Pac was always like,
"Get money."

He was like, make sure
you make some f*cking money

and change the lives
of your family.

[woman]
Oh, look at this!

"Happy birthday, Makaveli.

Can't stop, won't stop."

[Jamala] It is a picture of
Tupac when he was six years old.

So, he loves the book
The Prince.

His interest right now
is historical characters

and their lives, people who have
made a difference in history,

one way or the other.

[Glo] Pac worked
every day, all night.

We only got two weeks
to do this whole album.

[Lesane]
His work ethic is legendary.

Get that beat popping.
Throw them n*gg*s on the track.

The name of the song is whatever
this n*gga's last word was.

[Lesane] But people
don't understand
the motivation behind that.

♪ Too immature
To understand your ways ♪

♪ Inexperienced
Back in the days ♪

♪ Caused so many arguments
And strays ♪

[Tupac] That booth
is my confessional.

I purge myself of
nightmares, dreams, hopes,

plans, plots,
memories, fantasies.

[Lesane] That was his air.

I need it. It's my drug.

- [Lesane] His vent.
- You know what I mean?

- [Lesane] His oxygen.
- It calms me, soothes me.

[Lesane]
Otherwise, he was hurtin'.

♪ Never leave me, baby,
I'm paranoid ♪

♪ Sleeping with you loaded
By my bedside, crazy ♪

♪ Jealous when you hang
With the fellas ♪

[Afeni] At this point,
he wanted to settle down.

♪ The moment you come home
I'm waitin' by the phone ♪

♪ This is true love,
I can feel it ♪

[Glo] Kidada, who had
a smile beyond belief.

[Tupac] ♪ Just me
And my girlfriend ♪

[Glo] She loved Tupac,
and Tupac loved her.

That was a real relationship.

They wanted to have babies.
They wanted to be married.

[Jamala] He just wanted
that fulfillment,

but you could tell
he was getting tired.

[Lesane] Pac would get up
in the morning, smoke a blunt,

and write songs,
write scripts.

We would go from set to studio
to set to studio,

and it was a repeat every day.

[Jamala] Back home, he may
got three hours of sleep.

"Yo, make sure I'm up
at five in the morning,"

and the Outlawz had to be
five steps behind him.

"Make sure that these
m*therf*ckers get up

and meet me at the studio
at such and such time."

[Gobi]
Everyone had a role for him.

Keep in mind, Pac had his whole
family on sort of retainer,

as well as the Outlawz.

This 25-year-old had,
like, 40 people

that he was taking care of.

His stress level
was through the roof.

Come on, man, come on!

Interaction!

[Roth]
He was absolutely exhausted,

leaving work,
going to the studio,

writing all the time,
worked into the ground.

[Gobi] We did like seven
or eight videos in five months,

but they're complex,
and we had

a bunch of movies
he wanted to do.

So, we're going to have
a whole slew of movies,

and 24/7 Productions is going
to become his movie company.

[Jamala] He was forming his own
record company, Euphanasia.

[Jamal] Tupac was building
something of his own,

and Afeni is giving
as much advice as she can.

But Suge is
a very loud presence,

and also very paranoid
about anyone, including Afeni,

influencing Tupac because
Tupac is a golden calf.

[Tupac] ♪ All I need
In this life of sin ♪

♪ Is me and my girlfriend

[Roth]
He was a cash cow.

♪ Down to ride
To the bloody end ♪

♪ Just me and my girlfriend

[Roth] And I think
he was aware of that.

♪ All I need
In this life of sin ♪

- ♪ Is me and my girlfriend
- [Roth] My only worry

was that he wasn't able
to change his trajectory.

[interviewer] Do you think that
because of your legal problems,

there are some companies
that might say,

"He's a little
too controversial,

I don't know if we can
deal with his projects"?

Without question.

And I'm trying to do
as much as I can

by producing, by writing,
doing low budgets,

whatever I gotta do to show
that I'm a better person.

And I think
I can handle it this time.

Everything I've ever done, I
don't think I was professional.

[interviewer] Meaning you didn't
show up on time,
things like that?

[Tupac]
I didn't show up on time.

I didn't have the concentration
I should have had.

Being mad at Spike Lee and all
of those people, all of that.

Dissing the Hughes Brothers.
I wish I didn't do that.

[interviewer] Have you
made peace with them?

[Tupac] Not personally,
but I'm trying to.

You know,
I was young and dumb.

[Afeni] He got caught up,
but I think it's like a junkie.

He wasn't a drug addict,

but we're all
addicted to something.

♪ Lost in the whirlwind

♪ 'Ninety-six
Bonnie and Clyde ♪

♪ Me and my girlfriend

♪ Doing 85 when we ride

♪ Trapped
In this world of sin ♪

♪ Born as a ghetto child

♪ Raised in this whirlwind

♪ Look for me

[Afeni] Fantasy.

The imagination.

The building things up,

to making things better
than what it is.

That's myth sh*t.

[Lesane] So, we all dropped
the ball in a sense

'cause somebody
should have said,

"Nah, Pac, please take a break.
Take a year off."

We can only imagine
what he was suffering from,

that he never got a chance
to properly heal.

[Afeni] Ambition. Ambition. Money.

More money.

He believed that he
could absorb that crap...

and not let it
become part of him.

He could use it
as a mean to an end.

[Me and My Girlfriend
playing, distorted]

♪ Lost in the whirlwind

♪ 'Ninety-six
Bonnie and Clyde ♪

♪ Me and my girlfriend

♪ Doing 85 when we ride

♪ Trapped in this world
Of sin ♪

♪ Born as a ghetto child

♪ Raised in this whirlwind

♪ Look for me

♪ All I need
In this life of sin ♪

♪ Is me and my girlfriend

[music continues,
heavily distorted]

♪ All I need
In this world of sin ♪

♪ Is me and my girlfriend

♪ Down to ride
To the bloody end ♪

♪ Me and my girlfriend

♪ All I need
In this life of sin ♪

[undistorted]
♪ Is me and my girlfriend

[Allen]
Myth-making.

People think boxing
is just this.

You actually have
to hype these fights.

You have to see these fights.
You have to sell these fights.

- Absolutely.
- It's a show.

Absolutely. Listen, um,
everything's a show.

This whole planet's a show.

What that guy Shakespeare says,
it's a stage. It really is.

Me, for instance, you know,

I don't think, um,

I'm a liar, but, um,

I may take the lie
and hide it so well

under the truth,
you might never find it.

[Donald] I don't think
there's any underestimating

the value of vulnerability
in artistry.

You have to be able to touch
everything emotionally.

You've got to be able
to go to the dark places

as well as to the happy places.

He had access
to a level of stress,

and he had to cope
with that stress.

What do you do? You either
fall apart or you use it,

and I think he'd learned
to use it at a very early age.

His strengths
came with his versatility.

That's what an actor does.
An actor transforms.

Oh, man, baby,
I'mma tell ya...

[woman] He ain't
got no hair like...

...the dreads
ain't workin', baby!

[man] That's out
of style, baby!

The dreads ain't workin', baby!

You wanna do something
like this, baby.

[Donald]
He could pretend to be anybody.

He had a chameleon-like nature.

♪ She's a super freak,
Super freak ♪

♪ She's super freaky
Yeah, yeah ♪

[Donald] He could be a clown.
He could be a tragedian,
who's sobbing and crying,

to being funny
and running around.

He just had a natural instinct
for transforming.

Let me tie somebody up.
I'm 'bout to get freaky.
My name's Rick James.

Come on! I'm about
to tie somebody up
and burn it all down!

Super freak!

[John] He would do characters,
basically. And...

Burn my saxophone player!
Burn him!

[John] ...he had this one,
"I'm Red Bone."

You know, and just
go on and on and on

for days and days and days,
where you were like,

"Okay, it's just you and me,
like, stop, you know,
just be Pac."

- And he was--
- [Allen] For days?

Yeah, yeah, for days.

[Donald] Very often, the work
we were doing was improv.

And then sometimes the kids
would tend to be themselves
in that circumstance.

Tupac always became
somebody else

and brought better work
into the studio
every time he came in.

So, one time I gave
the students an assignment
to do a movement piece

to their favorite song,

and he had picked
Don McLean's Vincent.

[Don McLean]
♪ Starry, starry night

♪ Paint your palette
Blue and gray ♪

[Donald] He said
Vincent van Gogh
was misunderstood.

[McLean] ♪ Look out
On a summer's day ♪

[Donald]
And he related to that...

♪ With eyes that know
The darkness in my soul ♪

[Donald] ...as an artist...

♪ Now I understand

[Donald] ...and choreographed
this fabulous

theater piece
telling that story...

♪ What you tried
To say to me ♪

[Donald] ...just using
his body, no voice.

♪ How you suffered
For your sanity ♪

[Donald] He was a great,
great storyteller.

♪ And how you tried
To set them free ♪

♪ They would not listen,
They did not know how ♪

[Donald] And the story he told
most effectively...

♪ Perhaps they'll
Listen now ♪

[Donald]
...was his own truth.

But he didn't really
open up to me about his mom.

The closest he came was to say,
"My mom has problems."

And near the end
of his second year,
he came to me,

and I knew there was
something going on

because I'd gotten ripples
from some other students

and could see
he was really upset.

He said that his mom
was moving to Oakland.

He had-- he cried.

He said, "I gotta go.

For my mom and my sister."

I remember him being, like,
his dream was going away.

And that's hard to watch.

[Glo]
So, once again, here we go.

My name is Tupac Shakur,

and I attend
Tamalpais High School,

and I'm 17 years old.

[Donald]
I was concerned that this was
gonna break the continuity.

[Glo]
I felt helpless.

And I felt for him as this
child who was moving a lot.

[Lesane]
Harlem, Bronx, Baltimore,

Marin, Oakland,
Atlanta, and L.A.

When you ship a kid
around like that,

there's an emptiness in there.

His family loved him dearly,

but he never had
that deep-rooted support

that makes a kid feel
loved and confident.

That's what the tats
and the Thug Life was.

That's why he kept
the Hennessey and
the weed all strong.

And that's why he didn't take
no sh*t off none of them
police or nothing.

He had to let brothers know,
"I'm with you."

[McLean]
♪ Now I understand

[Lesane] "Is this what I have
to do to get y'all attention?"

[McLean] ♪ What you tried
To say to me ♪

[Lesane]
"Now, will you listen to me?"

[McLean] ♪ How you suffered
For your sanity ♪

♪ And how you tried
to set them free ♪

♪ They would not listen

♪ They did not know how

♪ Perhaps they'll listen now

[Lesane]
"Y'all like real n*gg*s?
That's what a man is?

All right, watch this."

[Tupac] I want all
of you West Coast people

to give up some love
when this song come on.

[Hit Em Up by 2Pac playing]

[crowd cheering]

♪ Take money

♪ First off, f*ck your b*tch
And the click you claim ♪

♪ Westside when we ride
Come equipped with game ♪

♪ You claim to be a player
But I f*cked your wife ♪

♪ We bust on Bad Boys
Niggaz f*cked for life ♪

♪ Plus Puffy tryin' to see me
Weak hearts I rip ♪

♪ Biggie Smalls
And Junior M.A.F.I.A.
Some mark-a*s b*tches ♪

♪ We keep on comin' while
We runnin' for yo' jewels ♪

♪ Steady gunnin', keep on
Bustin' at them fools
You know the rules ♪

♪ Lil' Ceaser, go ask
Ya homie how I leave ya ♪

♪ Cut your young a*s up
Leave you in pieces
Now be deceased ♪

♪ Lil' Kim, don't f*ck around
With real G's ♪

♪ Quick to snatch yo' ugly a*s
Off the streets
So f*ck peace ♪

♪ I let them niggaz know
It's on for life ♪

♪ So let the Westside
Ride tonight ♪

♪ Bad Boy m*rder*d on wax
And k*lled ♪

♪ f*ck wit' me and get yo' caps
Peeled, you know, see ♪

♪ Grab ya Glocks,
When you see Tupac ♪

♪ Call the cops,
When you see Tupac, uh ♪

♪ Who shot me
But ya punks didn't finish ♪

♪ Now ya 'bout to feel
The wrath of a menace ♪

- ♪ n*gga, I hit 'em up
- ♪ Take money

[Donald] Habit is
the actor's worst enemy.

One of the last conversations
I had with him, I said,

"You don't have to live this,"

that he was letting
his poetic mandate

overpower his inner being.

♪ I'm a self-made millionaire

♪ Thug livin' out a prison,
Pistols in the air ♪

♪ Biggie, remember when I used
To let you sleep on the couch ♪

♪ And beg a b*tch to let you
Sleep in the house ♪

♪ Now it's all about Versace,
You copied my style ♪

♪ Five shots couldn't drop me,
I took it and smiled ♪

♪ Now I'm 'bout to set
The record straight ♪

♪ With my A.K. I'm still the
Thug that you love to hate ♪

♪ m*therf*cker, I hit 'em up

[Money B] When Hit Em Up
came out, I was like,

"Eh, I don't know
about this record.

Seems vindictive,
and that's all it is.

It doesn't sound like you."

And he was like,
"f*ck that record.

I've already recorded
seven more albums."

He's like,
"I'mma get back to it.

And I just need to get
this out the way,

take care of my obligation."

[Tupac] ♪ f*ck Mobb Deep,
f*ck Biggie ♪

♪ f*ck Bad Boy as a staff,
Record label ♪

♪ And as a m*therf*cking crew

[E.D.I.]
On some hip hop sh*t,
I love Hit Em Up

because it's
a classic battle record,

so I was super ready to do it.

But when I look back on it,
there was definitely

some lines crossed
with the outro.

♪ Oh, yeah, Mobb Deep
You wanna f*ck with us? ♪

♪ You little young-a*s
m*therf*ckers ♪

♪ Don't one of you n*gg*s
Got sickle-cell or something? ♪

♪ You're f*cking with me,
n*gga, you f*ck around ♪

♪ And have a seizure
Or a heart attack ♪

♪ You better back the f*ck up
Before you get ♪

♪ Smacked the f*ck up
This how we do it
On our side ♪

♪ Any of you n*gg*s
From New York ♪

♪ That want to bring it
Bring it! ♪

♪ But we ain't singing,
we bringing drama ♪

♪ f*ck you and your
m*therf*cking mama ♪

He had no brakes.
And we had a lot

to do with that too,
because we rooted him on.

[Allen] Was there a lesson
you took from Tupac's life?

Yeah. Shut my f*cking mouth.

[Tupac] ♪ All of y'all
m*therf*ckers, f*ck you ♪

♪ Die slow, m*therf*cker

♪ My .44 make sure
All y'all kids don't grow! ♪

♪ You m*therf*ckers
Can't be us or see us ♪

♪ We motherfuckin'
Thug Life-riders,
Westside till we die! ♪

♪ Out here in California,
n*gga, we warned ya ♪

♪ We'll b*mb on you
m*therf*ckers! ♪

♪ We do our job!

♪ You think you mob?
n*gga, we the
Motherfuckin' mob ♪

♪ Ain't nothing but K*llers

[g*nsh*t]

♪ Are you still down?

♪ Uh, are you
Still down for me? ♪

♪ Are you down for me?

♪ Are you still down?

[chuckles]

♪ Why you turning on me?

[Snoop] '96 MTV Awards,
up until that point,

we had always rolled
with each other,
whether we were right or wrong.

[announcer] Please welcome
America's Most Wanted,

Snoop Doggy Dogg and Tupac.

[Snoop] And it felt like,
towards the end,

once Dre left,
Suge is more vocal

in what's being said
and what's being done.

The dialogue at Death Row
becomes, "No, n*gga,
you can't leave.

And if you do leave,
n*gga, you gonna
leave in a box."

I think I knew
the difference between

rappers we gettin' into it with

or some real n*gg*s
you gettin' into it with.

And the difference between
a rapper, he has a career

and consequences on his mind
that may not make him
want to go all the way.

[Jenny McCarthy]
The winner is...

Coolio, Gangsta's Paradise.

[cheering and applause]

[Tupac] California Love
and Crossroads were
the best videos of the year.

We should all
got an award tonight.

I'm sharing this
with all my homies.

I said this,
I'm not on a mission
to save the world.

But I do have children,
and I recognize that
other people have children.

So it's got to be a bridge.
You can't be one-sided.

I mean, I try to show
all aspects of my
personality in my music.

- I'll be right here. Okay.
- Nah, I'm straight. I got it.

[Coolio] I've seen many come.
I've seen many go.

Sometimes, the good die young,
but that's just how it go.

[Snoop] With Pac, it was
different because I knew he had

a lot of built-up energy
from being locked up.

[interviewer] All right.
So, you lost Best Rap Video.

You at all disappointed
about that?

Oh, no, I didn't lose,
see, 'cause I sold

six and a half million copies, so...

- He won. He won.
- I won.

I got the most expensive CD
out there,

and I sold
six and a half million of those,

and I don't see nobody
touching me on that.

So, no, I did not receive
the little spaceman,

but it's cool 'cause my video
is in rotation on MTV.
I'm not mad.

[Snoop] So my thing was,
how can I give him the support

and the acknowledgement
that he needs

so he can make Death Row better
and make us greater?

Because, you know,
songs was coming out
from Biggie,

and n*gg*s out here
was eggin' him on.

[interviewer] I know that Biggie
and Puffy are here tonight.

Um, did you see them?
Do you have anything to say
to them at all?

Nah, but even if we saw them,
we're not...

We are businessmen.
We are not animals.

It's not like
we're gonna see them
and rush them and jump on them.

If they see us
and they want the drama,

we're gonna definitely
bring it like only
Death Row could bring it.

[Snoop] We're getting
all this money.

You know,
all of that pressure is on you

with the most gangsterist label
in the f*cking world,

you feel like you gotta do
some gangsta sh*t.

The day after the awards show,

I was asked a question
on Hot 97...

[man] Can you envision a day
when, you know, get together
and make an album...

[Snoop] ...based off my
opinion on Biggie and Puffy
and would I work with them.

There's no dream of making
an album with Biggie and Puffy,
or none of them.

We're not sweating it like that.

This is our family over here.

We peacefully coexist right now.

[Snoop] I had just
beat a m*rder case,

so I was thinking
politically correct.

Hey, I like Puffy and Biggie.

We sell large amounts
of records,

and they sell a few records,

and really, there's no--
there's no competition.

[Snoop]
I like Biggie music.
He dope as f*ck.

sh*t, I'll do a song with him.

If you wanna talk,
we're gonna make it specific

as to what you can talk about.

[Snoop]
When, in Pac's mind,

I should have said,
"f*ck Biggie and Puffy.

I ain't working
with them n*gg*s.

This is Death Row."

The next morning,

we go to the airport
to fly back to L.A.

But when I get to the plane,
Suge tell me...

"Your security
can't roll."

So, I'm like, "Okay,
this is when they're
gonna try to take me out."

[Tupac] You're sh**ting this
to 30-- 300 homes--

300 countries, telling them

about an
East Coast/West Coast w*r that
they would never know exists.

So that's where information
becomes a problem.

[Snoop] And if it did,
if it did exist...

If it did exist, Pac,
we wouldn't be here.

[Tupac] That's right, and if
it exists, I wouldn't be here.

When I walked
on the plane, I walked by Pac,

and I'm like, "You going to
the Tyson fight in Vegas, cuh?"

My n*gga do me like this.

So, I just walk
and sit in the back

and, like, put my little
blanket on my head,

with my knife
and my little fork,

and just ride like this
for five and a half hours
back to L.A.,

with one eye open.

When we land,
I ask him again,

"Cuz, you going
to the Tyson fight?"

He just turned around
and walk off.

All right. I go to L.A.

They go to the Tyson fight.

[announcer] And now, ladies
and gentlemen in attendance,

boxing fans
joining us around the world,

- it's showtime!
- [cheering and applause]

♪ My family tree
Consists of drug dealers
th*gs and K*llers ♪

♪ Strugglin', known to hustle
Screamin', f*ck they
Feelings! ♪

♪ I got advice from my father
All he told me was this ♪

♪ "n*gga, get off your a*s
If you plan to be rich! ♪

♪ There's ten rules
To the game, but I'll share
With you two ♪

♪ Know n*gg*s gon' hate you
For whatever you do ♪

♪ Now, rule one
Get your cash on, M.O.B. ♪

♪ That's Money Over b*tches
'Cause they breed envy ♪

♪ Now, rule two is a hard one
Watch for phonies ♪

♪ Keep your enemies close
n*gga, watch your homies" ♪

♪ It seemed
A little unimportant
When he told me, I smiled ♪

♪ Picture jewels bein' handed
To an innocent child ♪

♪ I never knew, in my lifetime
I'd live by these rules ♪

♪ Initiated as an outlaw
Studyin' rules ♪

♪ Now, Papa ain't around
So I gotta recall ♪

♪ Or come to grips with bein'
Written on my enemy's walls ♪

♪ Promised if I have a seed
I'mma guide him right ♪

♪ Dear Lord,
Don't let me die tonight ♪

♪ I got words for my comrades
Listen and learn ♪

♪ Ain't nothin' free
Get back what you earned ♪

♪ No doubt, gettin' higher
Than a motherfucka
Bless me, please ♪

♪ This Thug Life'll be
The death of me ♪

♪ Come on, yeah

♪ And I remember
What my papa told me ♪

♪ Remember
What my papa told me ♪

♪ Blasphemy!

♪ Love for dem dat steal
In the name of da Lord ♪

♪ And I remember
What my pops told me ♪

♪ Dem a-tell enuff lie but
holdin' my bird in a cloud ♪

♪ Usin' de name
Of de Lord in vain ♪

♪ Remember
What my pops told me ♪

♪ We probably in Hell already