Tupac Shakur spent his teen years in the affluent Marin County in California, but despite being surrounded by exceptional wealth, he lived in squalor.
That is, according to a childhood friend who has now spoken to the Daily Mail and shed light on the late rapper’s upbringing.
After leaving Baltimore in 1988, Shakur briefly resided in a small, low-income section of the county – which is just north of San Francisco’s Golden Gate Bridge – called Marin City when he was a teenager.
During that time, he lived in the subsidized housing projects in the hills of Marin City, mere miles away from the ritzy neighborhood of Sausalito – once home to the likes of Otis Redding, Julie Christie and Shel Silverstein – separated only by the 101 Freeway.
But his home in Marin City was far from posh, according to one friend, who told the Daily Mail: ‘Tupac lived in the projects; they were these big concrete apartment buildings that did not have a lot of landscaping around them, they were sad looking.
‘There would be run-down cars outside with broken windows and people smoking on the sidewalk. It didn’t feel safe or welcoming. I felt bad Tupac had to live there.
‘I dropped him off once and he said he lived in one of the units, that it was OK, it wasn’t that bad.
‘But most kids at our school would never drive up there where these projects are because they are dangerous, things happen there. It was a drug dealing den. Our parents told us to not go there.’
After leaving Baltimore in 1988, Shakur (pictured in 1991) briefly resided in Marin City when he was a teenager
During that time, he lived in the subsidized housing projects (pictured) in the hills of Marin City, mere miles away from the ritzy neighborhood of Sausalito
Pictured: the apartment building where Shakur lived
The star (far left) is pictured with friends including Jada Pinkett Smith (far right) in 1988 at the Baltimore School for the Arts just before he moved to Marin County; there are no school photos of him from Mt Tamalpais High School
Yet, they described Shakur as someone who was full of life, despite his environment being starkly different than that of his peers at Mt Tamalpais High School in Mill Valley.
‘He was in high school with all these rich kids whose parents drove BMWs and wore Rolex watches, but he lived in a less affluent area and he didn’t let it get in the way of who he was,’ said the former student, who recalled Shakur as being ‘friendly.’
‘He made fun of it, he gave it levity by calling Marin City the “Ghetto In the Meadow,” because he thought it was absurd that this rich county had a poorer section. He laughed it off, he didn’t make it a big deal. I am sure it ate away at him.
‘He used humor to deal with awkward situations.’
Mt Tamalpais High School has a sprawling campus with a swimming pool, football field and baseball field with $5 million mansions above it and a view of the bay. But miles away in Marin City, Shakur lived with his mother, Afeni, who was a member of the Black Panther Party, and at times was reportedly forced to raise himself due to his mother’s drug addiction.
‘His friends talked about how he had to hustle to make money to support his family which blew us all away. No one did that,’ the friend said.
‘Usually, the kids in Marin County received hefty allowances and new cars. No one had to pay their own rent, far from it,’ they added. ‘He never complained or talked about his mom.’
The source continued: ‘Most of the kids in Marin lived in nice houses with a second home in Monterey or Lake Tahoe. So Tupac having to pay his own rent in Marin City and pay for his mother was very unusual for a Tam student, to say the least.’
Shakur in 1988 at Baltimore School For The Arts
‘Tupac was different from other students because he was outgoing, he would talk to a lot of different cliques, he wasn’t afraid, he had tremendous confidence and a wide range of interests,’ the source said
Shakur only attended the school briefly before pursuing music
The school’s sprawling campus includes a swimming pool, football field and baseball field with $5 million mansions above it and a view of the bay
Shakur went on to become one of the best-selling musical artists
And even though he did not have much money, he did not seem poverty stricken, they noted.
‘He looked put together; he had nice clothes on, they were new and trendy, and, above all, he was well spoken, articulate. You could tell he was well read,’ said the friend. ‘He talked a lot and had smart things to say.’
Though Shakur had to work hard, he always saved time for friends. ‘I would see him at parties, he was popular, he knew how to talk to people,’ they said.
‘At one party he had his shirt off, he was ripped, very muscular. He would rap and sing and recite poetry and talk movies. He was definitely different.’
The friend also described him as: ‘a fun guy, very flirty, very charismatic.’
‘Already as a teenager he had incredible, very magnetic star power that hit you like a lightning bolt,’ they said.
‘Tupac was different from other students because he was outgoing, he would talk to a lot of different cliques, he wasn’t afraid, he had tremendous confidence and a wide range of interests.
‘And, yes, he would always rhyme. He was like a poet and he loved his drama class where he would study Shakespeare.’
Shakur does not have a yearbook photo from Mt Tamalpais and did not graduate from the high school, eventually leaving to start his music career.
While he never wrote about his time in Marin City, he did rap about the influence nearby Oakland had on him.
He is among the best-selling music artists, having sold more than 75 million records worldwide, but his life was cut short at 25 when, in 1996, he was killed in a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas.
