Larger Than Life: Tupac Shakur Enters Rock and Roll Hall of Fame

The late rapper and actor Tupac Shakur will be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in April. Tupac recorded his best-known songs for Death Row Records in Los Angeles, but he spent some of his formative years in the Bay Area and continued to claim Oakland after he left the city because, as he put it, “that’s where I got the game at.” Tupac lived in a Marin City public housing complex known as “The Jungle,” attended Tamalpais High School and debuted as a rapper with the Oakland hip-hop group Digital Underground. Before his murder in 1996, Tupac had become one of hip-hop’s most charismatic and controversial figures. His music addressed issues of inequality, police brutality and racism, but also espoused the gangster lifestyle and a personal code of ethics he called “thug life.” In this hour we talk about Tupac’s life and legacy, and his ties to the Bay Area.