The Who and the What of the Makaveli by Christine Layug

Do you know the word "makaveli"? Well a lot of the urban communities perfectly know who or what the makaveli is. Actually the "who" and the "what" of the word makaveli is connected with each other. First let's to talk about who makaveli is. Well this is no surprise among the urban community, but the name makaveli was once used by one of the most famous American rapper, Tupac Shakur or plainly 2pac. Tupac Amaru Shakur, also known by his stage names 2Pac, makaveli, or simply Pac, was an American artist renowned for his rapping and hip hop music, as well as his movie roles, poetry, and his social activism. 2pac or makaveli is also recognized in the Guinness Book of Records as the highest selling rap artist. Now you might think on where did Tupac got his stage name as makaveli. As we all know, Tupac was very famous at his time, well Tupac is also famous when it comes to the law. At the time when Tupac was still incarcerated, Tupac read and studied Niccolò Machiavelli and other published works, which inspired his pseudonym "makaveli". Tupac started to use the makaveli name when he was bailed by the CEO of Death Row Records, Marion "Suge" Knight, under which he released the record album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory. And after a year on the Death Row Record, on September 7, 1996, makaveli or 2pac was shot and on September 13, 1996, at 4:03 pm, makaveli or 2pac was pronounced dead due to respiratory failure and cardiopulmonary arrest in connection with multiple gunshot wounds. Shakur or makaveli has one of the largest personal legacies of any music artist in the history of music. The music and messages in his work pervaded the styles of the following generations and his music had great impact all over the nation and world. To preserve Shakur's legacy, his mother founded the Shakur Family Foundation (later re-named the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation or TASF) in 1997. And after seven years, his mother founded the makaveli branded clothing line, to further preserve the legacy of the greatest American rapper in the history of the music industry. For more information about the makaveli branded clothing line, visit Streetzwear at www.streetzwear.com.