Today is Monday, June 20th, 1988 and we are looking at a teenage boy's life before his fame. His name is Tupac Amaru Shakur and he has just turned 17 years old and is about to receive some life changing news from his mother Afeni Shakur. Tupac was about to get a glass of water from the kitchen, and could see his mother at their kitchen table stressing over how they were going to stay in their apartment. She had her hands on her head, with an envelope from their apartments laying open on the table, at this time, she unfortunately already knew what it was for. Tupac, His mother, and sister Sekyiwa were living in a small apartment in Baltimore, Maryland at the time. Afeni always made sure her kids were fed and healthy, but wasn't making enough money for them to keep living in their small apartment. This was an enormous decision for her as well, but it was only for the best for her son Tupac.
Afeni then heard Tupac pouring himself a glass of water and looked up at him with his beautiful brown eyes just like his father, staring directly at her. His eyes were full of hope, hoping he could make his mother feel better, and relieve her from this stress.
"Sweetie could you come here, so we can talk." Afeni said in a worrisome tone.
Tupac gulps down his glass of water, "Yes Mama" his voice just as worried, but was trying to play it off calmly. He did not want his mother to be more stressed.
"Okay, I have some news, and pretty sure you already know... Well you know how we got a letter from the landlord, saying that we were late on rent." Afeni said.
Tupac replies, "You said that you made enough to pay the rent, before it got too late."
"Yes I did, I thought with all these hours I'been working, that it would be enough for rent, but we also gotta eat." Afeni said, knowing her son would understand. Showing Tupac the letter they received saying they only had 30 days to have the rent or they were getting evicted.
"Well we gon' get evicted, we have already gotten two notice letters. But, I came up with a plan, I've been reaching out to some family friends in California. I found a place for you to stay for awhile, baby." Afeni said, hoping he would be excited,
Tupac stared at his mom in awe for a second, then said, "Wait, a place for me to stay? what you mean, ma?"
Afeni then reassured, "Yes, but me and your sister will go as soon as I get the money, we still have some time, and we will be there as soon as we can! I promise, baby."
"I only have enough money for one plane ticket right now, so we are going to get your plane ticket on Thursday so you get there by the weekend." Pride in her eyes, knowing her son can handle it.
"I know it may seem scary, but I know you son and you love making new friends. They also know a place you can work at while you are there to earn some money to save up and use for necessities. Also the wages in California are better, once we are all there, we will both be working and we won't have to worry about not having enough money for rent or food. It is a little hard for us here, we are really struggling and a new city will hopefully give us a fresh start."
"I'm not too worried, I'm sure it'll be nice over there, I've heard a lotta good things about California. I'm pumped for a new start, I will be saving all my mula for us, but I'll try and use it for fun too." Tupac said, making some of his mother's stress go away. He thought about all the new responsibilities he would have, but also tried to look on the bright side, like helping earn money, and making new connections.
Thursday came a little too soon, Tupac as ready as he could ever be. Early that morning, Tupac and his mother, along with his sister Sekyiwa drove to the airport to book his flight. They were able to book Tupac a flight departing in about a couple of hours. Afeni was trying to calm Tupac, while he was trying to calm her as well, they were both a little nervous. It felt like time went by so fast, Tupac only had 15 minutes left until his flight took off. He gave his mother and sister the biggest of hugs before he had to board the plane.
"Bye Mama, bye Sekyiwa." Tupac said, holding in his tears.
"See you soon, I love you." Afeni responded, trying to be strong for her son.
"I loooove you!" Tupac said, almost shouting as he headed to his flight. His flight flew by, it was about a 5 hour flight until he finally made it to California. He was picked up from the airport by this Lady in her late thirties, come to find out her name is Rosé. He was going to be staying with her and her family until his mom was able to scrounge up some money and get a flight, so they could have their fresh start in the new city all together. Tupac was very polite to Rosé during the ride to her house, he introduced himself and learned how she knew his mother, Afeni through the Black Panthers. It was a 30 minute drive until they reached Rosé's tiny house, Tupac noticed that the neighborhood suits him well, many black families live in these homes, it wasn't such a diverse neighborhood. Tupac entered the house, then was given a tour and some house rules. He was going to be sharing a room with Rosé's son, the same age as Tupac, his name is William. Tupac took out his things and organized them in the dresser they provided him.
The next day, Tupac got to know William and they got along. They had some things in common as well, he also told him about their neighborhood. He knows some thugs that live nearby, they were raised with no other choice, and weren't given the best of options in life. Some of them sold drugs around the streets, or were part of a gang. William explained to him that he tried to stay away from the gangs, but does help sell drugs from time to time. Later in the day, William took Tupac to Round Table Pizza, so he could talk to the manager and get a job, so he could start saving money. He got the job and was going to start on Wednesday, he was going to work full-time at $7 an hour, until school starts in the fall. His mom was only making about $5-6 an hour back in Baltimore. They were on summer break at the time, and didn't start school until the beginning of September. Giving Tupac time to save his money to help his mom get a place for them once she arrived.
Tupac was excited to get some more work experience, plus finally earn some money. He also couldn't wait for the perks of working at a pizza place, like getting free or discounted pizza.
Wednesday came by and it was going to be his first day at Round Table Pizza, he started off as a cashier, and he would take people's orders and clean the lobby. It wasn't too bad, they did get very busy at times, but it was a pizza place, so that was normal. His manager was nice, along with his co-workers, they would always help Tupac when he had questions. Tupac is very social, so it was easy for him to get to know everyone. He knew all of his co-workers in a matter of a week.
Tupac would also call his mom every week to see how things were going, he could talk to his mother for hours, she was very understanding and missed her son. He would also let her know how things were going on his side as well.
A month passes by and his mother finally had enough money to get a ticket for her and Sekyiwa to meet Tupac in California. The moment they have been waiting for, it felt so long since they last saw each other. When Tupac arrived at the airport to pick-up his mother and sister, it was like a movie scene when they saw each other almost running to give each other a big hug.
"Oh Tupac, I've missed ya so much!" Afeni said, holding her son's face in her hands.
"I've missed you Mama." Tupac murmured, while a tear trickled down his cheek.
Afeni then gave Rosé a hug. "Thank you for watching over my baby.", she said.
"It was nothing, you son is a pure joy to have" Rosé replied.
They headed back to Rosé's house, because they were going to need some time to get back on their feet, and look for a place to stay. They arrived at Rosé's house and his mom and sister were settling in the room they were going to stay in. Tupac's mother and sister Sekyiwa were going to be sharing a room with Rosé's daughter Daisy, she was a beautiful 10 year old little girl. After they settled their things in the room, Afeni got to catch up with Rosé. They didn't know each other, this was their first time getting acquainted. Rosé even told Afeni of a job she found available for her.
"We can go whenever you'd like and talk to the manager, but I told them you were a hard worker. They would like you to start soon, we've been needing more people." Rosé said.
"Thank you, we could go tomorrow. I'd like to start as soon as possible, also how much is the pay gurl." Afeni questioned with anticipation.
"Well I started at about eight dollars an hour, so I'm guessing around there." Rosé said, leaving Afeni speechless, she wasn't making nearly as much in Baltimore. Their new start in the Bay Area of California was finally falling in to place.
The next day, Afeni and Rosé went to go get Afeni the job at the office Rosé is working at. The working environment was nice, and after talking to the manager she was hired. Afeni will be starting tomorrow, she was excited to finally earn some real money.
Tupac and William, back in the neighborhood, went to go hang out with some of William's friends. Some of his friends are drug dealers, this was Tupac's first time learning about the world of drugs and selling them. He was still only 17, he did know about drugs, but not everything. Since William was very immersed in "the life", Tupac was curious, but he mostly wanted to earn more money, the fast money. He didn't want his family struggling anymore, this city was their fresh start. One of William's drug dealer friends Josh, known as "J Dog", came up to William and Tupac.
"Hey so Will's been tellin me that you want in on my lil' business." J Dog said to Tupac.
"Yeah, come on Pac tell'em" William replied, nudging Tupac on the shoulder.
"Yeah, I want in, man, wassup?." Tupac smirked.
J Dog gave Tupac a basic walkthrough, so he could get started. J Dog gave both of them a decent stash to work with. They would have to give some of the profit to J Dog, but that's how it worked. The rest of the dough they earned, they got to keep. It wasn't too hard they just had to not get caught by the authorities or parents, if they did it would be solely on them.
Tupac got the hang of it after a couple of weeks, they both sold their whole stash. Tupac was very surprised from all the money they earned. Every time they would finish selling their stash they would go and give J Dog his half of the profit, but still leaving Tupac and William with a good stack of money. They were also still both working at Round Table Pizza, this was just their side hustle, to earn a little extra.
It is now the end of August, Today was a big day Tupac and his mother finally had enough money to get their own place. Their new apartment was in Marin, California, a little far from the school Tupac was going to attend, Tamalpais High School with William. Tupac and his mom were going to make it work. The rent was a little expensive, not like how it was in Baltimore, but Tupac was getting another job at a Soup kitchen. He didn't want his mom to worry about working two jobs. Also, Tupac didn't want his mom to get suspicious of all the extra money he was making from the secret business.
They got settled into their new home before school started. Once Tupac realized they were doing okay, he started to focus on his love for music. Tupac loves to write, and is very poetic.
Today is Monday, September 5th, 1988, and it is Tupac's first day at his new high school. He woke up early, his mom making Tupac and Sekyiwa a quick breakfast before school. Tupac finished breakfast, gave his mother and sister a kiss on the head, and was headed out the door to catch the bus.
"Breakfast was delicious, thank you mama! Bye, Love you!" Tupac exclaimed.
Afeni replied, "You're welcome sweetie, have a great day." Waving from the kitchen table.
Tupac caught the bus on time and was headed to school, during the bus ride he had already made some friends.
"We're Here!" the bus driver shouted.
Tupac had arrived at Tamalpais High School, and was headed to the office to meet his counselor, and get his class schedule. On his way in, he passed by William and told him that they would meet later, since he still had to go to the office.
As soon as Tupac enters the office this lady approaches him, "You must be Tupac, follow me." she said, taking him to her office. "You can call me Mrs. Johnson." she firmly says. They both take a seat, and she grabs his file, to make sure he is ready to start his first day.
"Okay, so I have all the required information, you should be ready to start today." Mrs. Johnson said.
"Sounds good!" Tupac replied sweetly.
"Stay right here, I'm going to go print out your schedule." Mrs. Johnson said.
"Okay." responded Tupac. He waited patiently taping his feet on the ground, and making a little beat.
Mrs. Johnson comes back to the office a couple minutes later, "Okay, here's your schedule Tupac." she said, handing over his schedule. "Let me know if you run into any problems, I'm here to help."
"I will, thank you, Mrs. Johnson." he said, with a big smile on his face.
He checks his schedule to see what classes he has. Tupac's schedule read:
1st hour - Algebra 2
2nd hour - Science
3rd hour - History
Lunch
4th hour - Art
5th hour - Senior English
6th hour - Personal Finance
"Okay, first hour is in room 105." Tupac said to himself.
First to third hour went well, the teachers gave an introduction to the class, and the class expectations. Tupac was headed off to lunch, so he could finally meet and catch up with William. He entered the cafeteria, and saw Will waving from a table at the corner of the cafeteria. He was sitting with a group of his friends. Tupac went to get his lunch, and then walked over to Will's table. He grabbed an open seat right next to him.
"Hey Pac" Will said, reaching out his hand to do their little handshake.
Tupac relied, "Hey Will."
Tupac introduced himself, and got to know Will's friends, he already knew a couple. They ate their lunch, talked for while, Tupac also let Will know how he was doing. Then they had to head off to their fourth hour, but also found out they had the same sixth hour.
"Later!" Will said
Tupac replied, "Catch ya later!" and was headed off to class.
Tupac really enjoyed art class and got excited to explore new ways of expressing himself, then headed off to English and got to know his english teacher Mrs. Carrie, he let her know he really loves writing. Tupac was excited for this class, and wanted to learn as much as he could, to help him with his writing. He showed Mrs. Carrie, some of the raps he has written, and she was very impressed, and glad to have him in her class. Next class was Personal Finance, Will is in this class, Tupac thought this class was interesting, he was going to learn how to manage money. Since he was taking it with Will they could help each other out.
The last bell rang which meant it was the end of the school day, it was like all the students were stampeding out of the school. Tupac and Will hanged out for a while, until the buses came.
"See ya tomorrow." Tupac said, heading to his bus.
"See ya!" Will replied, heading to his bus.
Tupac gets home, and waits for Sekyiwa to get off school, so he can pick her up from the bus stop. Once it was time he went down to Sekyiwa's bus stop, to wait for her bus. Her bus rolled by and Sekyiwa got off, then they headed inside.
"How was school?" Tupac asked.
"It was fun! My teacher is really nice, and I made some new friends." Sekyiwa replied.
"That's good!" Tupac said, then asked, "Hey want me to make us something to eat till mom gets home."
"Yes, I'm hungry." she replied, rubbing her belly.
Tupac laughed, "Okay."
He whipped up some ramen noodles for them, and they sat on the table talking about their day, while slurping up their noodles.
The day goes by and they go to sleep, since they had school again tomorrow.
The weekend came by, and Tupac had to go work at the soup kitchen, he carried his journal and work clothes in his backpack. He carried his journal because he would write raps when he found free time, at the soup kitchen all he had to do was pack up food. He makes it to work and starts his day, they had a lot of work cut out for them. Tupac didn't have much food left to pack, so he had some free time, he pulls out his journal from his bag to work on some raps. While he was writing his manager strolls by to check on his employees and finds Tupac writing. His demeanor changed completely.
"Hey! I don't pay you to doodle, GET BACK TO WORK!" His manager exclaimed.
"Yes Sir." Tupac replies, putting his journal back in his backpack, and gets back to work.
Sometimes Tupac would get caught writing at the soup kitchen, but he got sneakier and would only write when he knew his manager wouldn't check on him.
It was getting close to the end of the school year, all the seniors were going to be graduating. Tupac did okay in school and thought he was going to graduate too, but he realized that he did move around a lot and struggled in school because his family was struggling to live in Baltimore. He talked to his counselor Mrs. Johnson, to see if he was going to graduate. She said he wasn't going to because he is very behind in credits. Mrs. Johnson told him that he could graduate, but he would have to come back for summer school, also for the next school year to graduate next year. She did also mention he could get his GED, which would be a little easier, and it's like a high school diploma. Tupac thought he already learned a lot and wanted to work on becoming a rapper, so getting his GED would be much better for him.
A couple months went by and Tupac was working on getting his GED. He also found his way around in the music industry and got some studio time a couple of times, but nothing too big. Tupac's passion for music and making change in the world was so strong, it kept him going to reach his dream.
It is now 1989, and Tupac was at a club and met this woman. It was a very quick interaction, and didn't think he would meet her again. A couple of days later he saw her again sitting by Bayside Elementary School reading Winnie Mandela's Part of My Soul Went with Him. A book that Tupac had read before, he walked up to her and was quoting lines from the book. She was amazed that he knew the lines from the book by heart. After they got to know each other, she found out how young he was. She was shocked by how much knowledge he had. She had to get back to her class after a while, since she is a Teacher at the elementary school. She let Tupac stay in her class, she was very interested in this young man. Her name was Leila Steinberg, and became very close with Tupac, or "Pac" as she would call him. They had this strong connection, and could talk with each other for hours.
After a while Tupac wanted Leila to become his manager for his music, but Lelia had never even managed someone before. Tupac was determined to have her as a manager, and that was what she became. She was only 25 years old, was married and had kids, but with Pac's persuasion and the love she had for him. She was happy to be his mentor/manager. Lelia also motivated Tupac to write poetry, since he was already doing it with his raps. He loved writing, so it was fun for him, he got to let all his thoughts and emotions out on paper, in his raps and poetry. Lelia helped Tupac pursue his rap career as well, because she knew some people in the music industry. Helping him meet more people in the music/rap industry, and get some or his songs released for the public to hear. Tupac quickly began to get recognized for his rap songs, and only kept moving forward to reach stardom.