1. 2Pac Brett Barnhill and Steven O’Neill

2. Tupac Amaru Shakur Tupac Amaru Shakur was born June 16 th, 1971 in East Harlem, Manhattan, New York. His birth name is Lesane Parish Crooks (15 across) but his mother, Afeni Shakur, later changed it to Tupac Amaru Shakur. Tupac Amaru means shining serpent (7 down). His father figure, Mutulu, was never really in his life, being sentenced to 60 years in prison for fatal armored car robbery when tupac was just two. In the future the thought of his father tormented him. Whenever he was to ask him mother who his father was, she would tell him she didn’t know. Her later addiction with cocaine estranged her from Tupac later on in his life. His family moved around a lot and Tupac was unable to find a solid group of friends with whom he could fit in. This was the reason he began to write love songs and poetry and decided he wanted to be an actor. He found acting a way of escaping all reality and his tough times with family. He was enrolled in a theatre group in Harlem when he was twelve where he played Travis (4 down) in A Raisin in the Sun. He started rapping and writing lyrics at age fifteen in Baltimore. He and his friend Mouse (11 across) won most of their rap competitions when they were challenged. He had a crew which he named “The Outlaws” (6 across). He later enrolled in the Baltimore School for the Performing Arts, where he went by the name MC New York. Here, he met famous actress Jada Pinkett (9 down). He studied ballet and acting. He loved going to school. He finally felt like he fit in. In the eighties, Tupac teamed up with Humpty Hump and others to create Digital Underground (3 across). In 1992, Tupac’s career picked up. He made his first album, 2Pacalypse Now (2 down). He also starred in the film Juice and played the role of Bishop (8 across).

3. Tupac Amaru Shakur Tupac was also in many other films, such as Poetic Justice, Bullet (1 down), Gang Related and I Wonder if Heaven Got a Ghetto, which was filmed in New Mexico (14 across). In late 1993, Tupac and some of his friends released one album called Thug Life (5 down). Tupac died on Friday (12 down), September 13 th, 1996. He was supposed to take part in the film Baby Boy (10 down), written especially for him by John Singleton but was murdered before it debuted. He now has a clothing line called Makaveli (11 down) branded clothing. He was immortalized as a wax sculpture and placed in Madametussaud (17 across) in Las Vegas.

4. I Cry Sometimes when I'm alone I Cry, Cause I am on my own. The tears I cry are bitter and warm. They flow with life but take no form I Cry because my heart is torn. I find it difficult to carry on. If I had an ear to confiding, I would cry among my treasured friend, but who do you know that stops that long, to help another carry on. The world moves fast and it would rather pass by. Then to stop and see what makes one cry, so painful and sad. And sometimes... I Cry and no one cares about why.

5. The Rose that Grew from Concrete Did you hear about the rose that grew from a crack in the concrete? Proving nature's law is wrong it learned to walk with out having feet. Funny it seems, but by keeping it's dreams, it learned to breathe fresh air. Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared.

6. When Ure Hero Falls when your hero falls from grace all fairy tales r uncovered myths exposed and pain magnified the greatest pain discovered u taught me 2 be strong but im confused 2 c u so weak u said never 2 give up and it hurts 2 c u welcome defeat when ure hero falls so do the stars and so does the perception of tomorrow without my hero there is only me alone 2 deal with my sorrow your heart ceases 2 work and your soul is not happy at all what r u expected 2 do when ure only hero falls

7. Can You See the Pride in the Panther Can You See the Pride In the Panther As he grows in splendor and grace Topling obstacles placed in the way, of the progression of his race. Can You See the Pride In the Panther as she nurtures her young all alone The seed must grow regardless of the fact that it is planted in stone. Can You See the Pride In the Panthers as they unify as one. The flower blooms with brilliance, and outshines the rays of the sun.

8. Liberty Needs Glasses excuse me but lady liberty needs glasses and so does mrs justice by her side both the broads r blind as bats stumbling thru the system justice bumbed into mutulu and trippin on geronimo pratt but stepped right over oliver and his crooked partner ronnie justice stubbed her big toe on mandela and liberty was misquoted by the indians slavery was a learning phase forgotten with out a verdict while justice is on a rampage 4 endangered surviving black males i mean really if anyone really valued life and cared about the masses theyd take em both 2 pen optical and get 2 pair of glasses

9. Jada u r the omega of my heart the foundation of my conception of love when i think of what a black woman should be its u that i first think of u will never fully understand how deeply my heart feels 4 u i worry that we'll grow apart and i'll end up losing u u bring me 2 climax without sex and u do it all with regal grace u r my heart in human form a friend i could never replace

10. Analysis of The Rose Grew from Concrete 1 – He’s talking about himself. He’s overcoming many big obstacles. Like a rose that has a difficult time growing in concrete. It’s unlikely that a rose can grow from a crack in concrete and it was also unlikely for him to escape or overcome the lifestyle he was living. He grew up around racism and both his parents were members of The Black Panthers. He also never really seemed to fit in. Despite all of these factors, he was able to become a great success them. There is also a hidden message, telling us to keep our dreams and never give up. 2 – “Proving nature’s law is wrong it learned to walk without having feet” – This is a metaphor about himself having to overcome nearly impossible obstacles and proving people who doubted him wrong. 3 – “Funny it seems, but by keeping its dreams it learned to breathe fresh air” – His dreams were a breath of fresh air and helped him escape everything around him when he was down.

11. Analysis of The Rose Grew from Concrete (cont.) 4 – “Long live the rose that grew from concrete when no one else ever cared” – In the last line he is expressing his feelings. He’s trying to make people see what he is seeing. This was probably a good and maybe one of his only ways of opening up and relieving stress.

12. Social Class

13. Analysis of I Cry This poem talks about his loneliness and how he has no one to confide in. Moving around a lot as a child left him lonely. This poem is a reflection of his feelings of loneliness. It shows his opinions of the people who surround him and how they are fair weather friends. It also shows how he deals with them having no one around to help him. 1 – “The tears I cry are bitter and warm. They flow with life but take no form I Cry because my heart is torn” – This shows his sadness. He uses his tears as a metaphor for how he is feeling. He feels trapped and all he can do is cry but still, no one seems to care. Everyone carries on with their own lives and doesn’t stop to think about others and their problems. 2 – “If I had an ear to confiding, I would cry among my treasured friends, but who do you know that stops that long, to help another carry on” – This shows that he has no one to help him when he needs help. No one he knows would be willing to leave their lives to help another. They think they’re more important or look down on others instead of treating them as equals.

14. Questions Who do you think the poem When Ure Hero Falls is written about and why do you think Tupac wrote this poem? Who do you think The Rose is in the Poem The Rose Grew from Concrete and why? Do you think writing a poem or song is a good was to deal with you loneliness? Why?

15. Works Cited http://www.afropoets.net/tupacshakur.html http://www.2paclegacy.com/2pachome.asp (click on 2pac) http://www.2paclegacy.com/2pachome.asp http://www.alleyezonme.com/bio/index.phtml