He was born in East Harlem, New York. Tupac lived in California from age 17. Tupac went to Baltimore school for Arts, where he found it interesting to read Shakespeare's poems which he got very affected by the beauty of rhyming, choosing the word and expression. Later in his music career, this experience in school becomes his personality of his own music style. He was the son of Afeni Shakur, who was a member of the Black Panther party. She had just been released from jail a month before his birth. His family was struggling with poverty. They moved homes often, sometimes they even had to stay in shelters.