September 13th The 15th Anniversary Of Tupac Shakur’s Death [VIDEOS]

It was on this day Sept. 13, 1996 that the music world lost one of the greatest rappers to ever live, Tupac Shakur.  If he was still with us, Pac would be 40 years old, but sadly, he was only 25 years old when he was gunned down shortly after a Mike Tyson fight in Vegas.  Still to this day, there are no leads and no arrests in his unsolved murder.

His mother, Afeni Shakur, and his father, Billy Garland, were active members of the Black Panther Party in New York in the late 1960s and early 1970s; he was born just one month after his mother's acquittal on more than 150 charges of "Conspiracy against the United States government and New York landmarks" in the New York Panther 21 court case. Pac's birth name was Lesane Parish Crooks, but it was later changed to  Tupac Amaru Shakur after Túpac Amaru II, a Peruvian revolutionary who led an indigenous uprising against Spain and was subsequently executed.

In the 90's he began his career as a roadie and back-up dancer for Digital Underground.  He was later featured in their song "Same Song", and you know what they say ... the rest was history.  Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling artists in the world.  Rolling Stone named him the 86th Greatest Artist of All Time.  Even the Vatican has noted that Tupac is still one of the most influential artist of all time and even featured his music on their website.

Here's a brief timeline on the events that lead up to his death:

Nov. 30, 1994:

Tupac was mugged and shot five times in New York at Quad Studios.  Pac was said to have been meeting his friends at the time, Puff Daddy and Nortorious B.I.G., who where in a recording studio upstairs.  Allegations where later made that Puffy and Biggy set him up, but they both adamantly denied them.

Oct. 30th, 1995:

Pac was released from prison in the fall of '95 after serving four months in prison.  He was convicted of sexual assault in a New York hotel room.  He would begin recording songs immediately for a new album.  JET reported that his bond was $1.4 million.

Feb. 2, 1996:

Three months later Pac's new label Death Row Records, released "All Eyez On Me".

March 29, 1996:

Tupac and his main rival at the time, Notorious B.I.G. got into a scuffle at the 10th Annual Soul Train Music Awards.  Supposedly, a member of Biggie's entourage pulled a gun on one of Pac's crew and a little scuffle broke out.

June 4, 1996:

Pac's "Hit 'Em Up" drives the wedge between the East Coast/West Coast feud even deeper.

Sept. 7, 1996:

The rap legend was gunned down in Vegas after a Tyson fight at the MGM Grand.  As his entourage left the casino and made its way toward the Vegas Strip, an unknown vehicle pulled alongside Pac's car (driven by then-Death Row CEO Suge Knight) and fired several rounds.  Tupac was hit three or four times and was rushed to the hospital.

Sept. 13, 1996:

Tupac died almost a week later of respiratory failure and cardiac arrest.  Despite several surgeries to try to stop the internal bleeding, Pac succumbed to his injuries.  His mother was flown in from Atlanta and was at his bedside.  No one was ever arrested for the crime.