Afeni Shakur, mother of slain rapper Tupac, released
her biography, "Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary" on February
3.
The 240 page book, which is written with actress
Jasmine Guy, reveals four decades of Shakur’s life.
Guy spent over 10 years with Shakur, recording
her thoughts and conversations, which touch on race, drugs, music, love and
Tupac.
"We spent a lot of time lying to our young
people, hiding and blaming them from what we have done," Shakur told AllHipHop.com
in October. "Where that lead me was to a crack pipe. I am forever grateful
to God that I was on that crack because I made me completely broken so that
I could examine my life."
Guy said that Afeni looked at other writers before
choosing her, but said that most justified her actions and glorified her situation.
Shakur, as a recovering drug-addict, said she couldn’t live in "half-truth,"
hence the honest nature of the book.
Shakur will embark on a tour of the country to
support the release.
Shakur grew up in Lumberton, North Carolina.
Her family moved to New York and as a teenager, Shakur became radicalized and
was a prominent member of the Black Panther Party.
She was arrested in 1969 and charged with a number
of other Black Panthers on bomb planning conspiracy charges.
Shakur spent over 11 months in detention, before
women of all races helped raise $64,000 in cash to bail her out.
"Afeni Shakur: Evolution of a Revolutionary"
is in bookstores across the country.