USA: DESPITE HIS MURDER LAST YEAR TUPAC SHAKUR STILL TURNS OUT MATERIAL WITH A NEW FILM AND A NEW DOUBLE ALBUM

Record ID: 387373

  • Title: USA: DESPITE HIS MURDER LAST YEAR TUPAC SHAKUR STILL TURNS OUT MATERIAL WITH A NEW FILM AND A NEW DOUBLE ALBUM
  • Date: 25th November 1997
  • Summary: NEW YORK, NEW YORK, UNITED STATES (SEPTEMBER 27, 1997) (RTV - ACCESS ALL) SOUNDBITE ENGLISH) JAMES BELUSHI SAYING, "THAT'S THE SADDEST THING, THE LOSS OF THIS MAN'S PASSION...I MEAN THANK GOD YOU HAVE ALL THE CDs AND THIS FILM THAT'LL CARRY HIS LIGHT AND HIS SPIRIT FOR YEARS TO COME, BUT AFTER WORKING WITH HIM THIS BOY HAD A LOT TO OFFER. HE WAS POLITICAL, HE WAS SMART, HE HAD A DRIVE OF PASSION THAT UH...I WAS LIKE 'HEY TUPAC I NEED TO TAKE A NAP' BUT HE WAS NON-STOP."
  • Embargoed: 10th December 1997 12:00
  • Keywords:
  • Location: NEW YORK, UNITED STATES/ UNIDENTIFIED lOCATIONS
  • Country: USA
  • Reuters ID: LVA99PEP0H16JGS95ENTM9O4LZZN
  • Story Text: - Despite his murder in Las Vegas over one year ago, rapper and actor Tupac Shakur's memory continues to live on in the form of a new CD and a new film - "Gang Related." Tupac died of gunshot wounds six days after his car was sprayed with bullets in an ambush near the famed Las Vegas strip in September, 1996.

    The 25-year-old was one of the most notorious performers of hardcore "Gangsta" rap. He was known for lyrics laced with violence, sex and profanity describing life in a black ghetto.

    His last album "All Eyez on Me" released in 1996 sold several million copies and is currently at number 175 following 92 weeks in the Billboard album charts.

    Following Tupac's death, his mother Afeni Shakur and Amaru Records formed an alliance with Jive Records and Interscope Records for the release of the new double CD "R U Still Down?" "This project is about my son's vision." said Shakur.

    "Tupac understood about his time limits here and he worked like a demon to make sure that he probably had about 10 years worth of music to put out after he left." Lionel C. Martin, who directed Tupac's "Dear Mama" video, was asked to direct the video for the new album's first single release "I Wonder If Heaven Got A Ghetto".

    "Shooting a music video without an artist is always hard, it's almost impossible," said Martin, "but we're trying to make this thing exciting so that you never lose interest in it." The album consists of 24 primarily unreleased songs recorded by Tupac - professionally known as "2Pac" - between 1991-94 when the rapper was with Interscope Records.

    Jive Records expect the new album to debut within the top 5 of this week's U.S. chart - it sold over 400,000 copies on the first weekend of release.

    Lisa Smith-Putnam, of Amaru Records, said the new album was for Tupac's fans. "We wanted to give the fans something, because we believe that a lot of them are just wanting to hear more Tupac music," she said.

    While Tupac's legacy of musical success continues, he is also making an impression on the movie world with a starring role in "Gang Related" opposite James Belushi.

    Since its October 8th release "Gang Related" has grossed 5.8 million dollars in the United States and critics have generally been in agreement that the rapper did indeed have a promising acting career ahead of him.

    "That's the saddest thing, the loss of this man's passion...I mean thank God you have all the CDs and this film that'll carry his light and his spirit for years to come," said Belushi. "He was political, he was smart, he had a drive of passion that uh...he was non-stop." Tupac garnered rave reviews for his performances in other films such as "Juice"," Poetic Justice", and "Gridlock'd".

    Afeni Shakur believes history will absolve her son. "I know that that was a man who walked this earth, who lived true, who had dignity, who had courage, and who had ethics and who stood for what he believed in; he said what he wanted to say in his lifetime," she said.
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