Tupac Amaru Shakur (June 16, 1971 -- September 13, 1996), also known as "2Pac", "Makaveli" and "Pac", was an American artist, renowned for his rap music, movie roles, poetry, and his social activism. He is recognized in the Guinness Book of World Records as the best selling hip-hop artist, having sold over 75 million albums worldwide. [2] This includes over 44.5 million sales in the United States alone. Most of Shakur's songs are about growing up around violence and hardship in ghettos, racism, problems in society, and sometimes his feuds with fellow rappers. Shakur is known for the political, economic, and messages of racial equality found in much of his work. He has been ranked by many fans, critics, and industry insiders as the greatest rapper ever.