The legendary rapper Tupac Shakur died on 13 September, 1996, following a drive-by shooting in Las Vegas. Aged just 25, he had already become one of the biggest artists in the world and has out-sold every other hip-hop act.

Tackling many of the contentious issues of the day head-on, New York-born Tupac wrote about growing up in ghettos, racism, violence, drugs, politics and the feuds with others in the industry that later took his life.

He sold more than 75 million albums worldwide and the vast amount of material left behind after his death ensured a constant stream of posthumous releases. He is cited as an influence on all the major rap artists of the day and is revered by hip-hop fans.

Tupac Amaru Shakur was born on 16 June, 1971, in East Harlem to Afeni Shakur, an active member of the Black Panther Party who had only escaped a jail sentence one month previously. He was named after an Incan revolutionary.

Violence was around Tupac from an early age, with his stepfather Mutulu Shakur spending four years at large on the FBI’s Ten Most Wanted list and both his godfather, Elmer "Geronimo" Pratt, and godmother and aunt, Assata Shakur, convicted of murder.

In his teens he enrolled in Harlem's famous "127th Street Ensemble" acting troupe and after the family moved to Baltimore he transferred to the Baltimore School for the Arts where he appeared in productions of Shakespeare plays and the Nutcracker. He was also developing his vocal skills at the time, winning many rap competitions. He was popular at school thanks to his sense of humor and ability to mix in with different crowds.

In 1988 the family moved to California. He moved out of the family home because of his mother’s addiction to cocaine and dropped out of school at the age of 17. However, he became an avid reader, taking in American classics such as Catcher in the Rye and Moby Dick and contemporary feminist writers Alice Walker and Robin Morgan.

In 1990, he was hired as a back-up dancer and roadie for up-and-coming rap group Digital Underground and, under the name 2Pac, debuted his rap skills on the 1991 single Same Song on the Tommy Boy label.

Later that year he recorded his debut solo album 2Pacalypse Now on Interscope Records. Though now seen as a landmark record, the album received more criticism than praise due to its controversial lyrics which centred around the social problems of his upbringing such as police brutality, poverty, teenage pregnancy and drug use.

His second album, Strictly 4 My N.I.G.G.A.Z., released in 1993, was produced to a higher standard and generated two hit singles, Keep Ya Head Up and I Get Around.

Tupac recorded four more finished albums before his death, including one with his group Thug Life. He also appeared in several movies and was expected to become a major figure with a number of starring roles lined up.

Throughout his career, Tupac was involved in constant battles with the law, culminating in a sexual abuse trial in 1994. The day before the verdict was due to be announced, he was shot in an apparent robbery attempt, but he suspected Puff Daddy and Notorious B.I.G. of setting him up, sparking the long-running East Coast-West Coast hip hop rivalry.

He served 11 months in prison for three counts of sexual abuse, during which time his album Me Against the World went multi-platinum, making him the only artist to have a number one record while serving a prison sentence. In prison he wrote a screenplay and read books on politics and philosophy, including Niccolo Machiavelli from whom he later adopted the pseudonym Makaveli.

His release from jail came about after Marion "Suge" Knight, CEO of Death Row Records, posted $1.4 million bail in exchange for a three-album record deal.

On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot four times in a drive-by shooting after a Mike Tyson boxing match. The shooting is believed to have resulted from a long-running feud with a rival gang. He was taken to hospital and died six days later.

No charges were ever brought for the murder and it has been subject to much speculation and independent investigation, some of which has pointed the finger at Christopher Wallace, aka Notorious B.I.G., who was himself murdered in a drive-by shooting in 1997.

His ashes were scattered over various important locations in his life and some were even reportedly mixed with cannabis and smoked by his band, the Outlawz. To preserve his legacy, Tupac’s mother founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation in 1997 to "provide training and support for students who aspire to enhance their creative talents".