Watch previously unseen  footage of Tupac Shakur in New York
(Credit: Alamy)

Old School Archives

Watch previously unseen footage of Tupac Shakur in New York

Tupac Shakur was one of the most well-known rappers in the world and, during the 1990s, was the go-to artist if you wanted hardcore and passionate gangsta rap. As the primary artist of Dr Dre and Suge Knight’s Death Row Records, Pac undeniably made massive hits and, before his murder in 1996, was one of the most famous rappers in the world.

It is well-known that Pac had a troubled and unstable childhood before becoming famous and had several different stints in various cities. He moved with his mother from shelter to shelter for a place to live as a youngster in single digits. Many know that (as well as California) the rapper lived in Baltimore. However, a lesser-known fact is that the rapper was born in Harlem, New York.

While living in Baltimore, Shakur spent two years at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School before transferring to the Baltimore School for the Arts, where he studied jazz, poetry, ballet, and acting.

While studying at Baltimore School for the Arts, Shakur had an extremely close relationship with Jada Pinkett-Smith. However, he soon left for California. But the rapper never lost his passion for acting. The rapper, akin to artists such as Nicki Minaj and Azealia Banks, was aspiring to be an actor before he fell into the rap world.

In 1994, when Shakur signed with Death Row, the rapper was called upon to star in a movie alongside Duane Martin, Leon Robinson and Marlon Wayans. Classified as a sports drama written by Barry Cooper, the movie was titled Above The Rim and was a New York-based film. Consequentially, Shakur had to film in New York. However, the fact that he was in New York didn’t phase the young rapper, and he seemed to thrive there.

Filmed in 1994, Tupac was featured on Box Talk TV. Accompanied by his Thug Life collective, Shakur gave a tour of his old Harlem neighbourhood and showed fans the filming locations for Above The Rim and Juice, a 1992 movie he was featured in. You can watch the legendary footage in the video below.