Tupac Shakur, the rapper whose raw lyrics drew on the rage of a coarse urban existence and seemed a blueprint of his own violent life, died Friday from wounds suffered in a drive-by shooting. He was 25.
Shakur, whose right lung was removed after he was shot Saturday in Las Vegas, was pronounced dead at 4:03 p.m. at the University Medical Center.Known as 2Pac, he was one of the most successful - and scorned - "gangsta" rappers. Fans bought millions of records; others de-nounced him and his lyrics for glorifying violence and drugs and degrading women.
Shakur was hit by four bullets Sept. 7 as he rode near the Las Vegas Strip in a car driven by the head of Death Row Records, Marion "Suge" Knight, who was slightly wounded.
Although there was trouble earlier that night - Shakur and associates were in a fight inside a hotel before the shooting - there have been no arrests.
It was the second time Shakur had been gunned down in less than two years. In November 1994 he was shot five times during an apparent robbery in the lobby of a Manhattan recording studio, and on his latest album he even bragged about it - "Five shots and they still couldn't kill me."
Arrested repeatedly in recent years, he was released last year on bail pending appeal after serving eight months in a New York prison for sex abuse.