Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography
Staci Robinson
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Tupac Shakur: The Authorized Biography
Staci Robinson
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
Rave
Positive
Mixed
Pan
A reverential and exhaustive telling of Shakur’s story, leaning heavily on the perspective of his immediate family, featuring pages reproduced from the notebooks he kept in his teens and twenties.
Poignant.
The greatest risk of such a book is always hagiography; proximity to a subject and their family and friends can easily become detrimental to honest assessment. While reading, I braced myself whenever the narrative approached one of the highly charged, well-publicized episodes in Tupac’s life.
Still feels relevant, promising to offer a new kind of access to such a storied life and career. Yet readers won’t get an ounce of speculation or new evidence around one of the great unresolved mysteries in modern entertainment history. This comes likely out of respect for Shakur, a natural facet of a work that is being overseen by his estate. The book wants to focus on and celebrate Shakur’s life as it was lived, not revel in the sensationalized theories around his death.
Tupac’s outsized personality, his love of literature...and dedication to Black liberation shine throughout this passionate portrait of a profoundly influential artist..
Riveting.
This authorized biography of Shakur is intimate and personal, but it could use more gravitas..