Changes: An Oral History of Tupac Shakur

by Sheldon Pearce, Pete Simonelli (Read by), Fred Sanders (Read by), Robin Miles (Read by), Leon Nixon (Read by)

Overview

A New Yorker writer’s intimate, revealing account of Tupac Shakur’s life and legacy, timed to the fiftieth anniversary of his birth and twenty-fifth anniversary of his death.

In the summer of 2020, Tupac Shakur’s single “Changes” became an anthem for the worldwide protests against the murder of George Floyd. The song became so popular, in fact, it was vaulted back onto the iTunes charts more than twenty years after its release—making it clear that Tupac’s music and the way it addresses systemic racism, police brutality, mass incarceration, income inequality, and a failing education system is just as important now as it was back then.

In Changes, published to coincide with the fiftieth anniversary of Tupac’s birth and twenty-fifth anniversary of his death, Sheldon Pearce offers one of the most thoughtful and comprehensive accounts yet of the artist’s life and legacy. Pearce, an editor and writer at The New Yorker, interviews dozens who knew Tupac throughout various phases of his life. While there are plenty of bold-faced names, the book focuses on the individuals who are lesser known and offer fresh stories and rare insight. Among these are the actor who costarred with him in a Harlem production of A Raisin in the Sun when he was twelve years old, the high school drama teacher who recognized and nurtured his talent, the music industry veteran who helped him develop a nonprofit devoted to helping young artists, the Death Row Records executive who has never before spoken on the record, and dozens of others. Meticulously woven together by Pearce, their voices combine to portray Tupac in all his complexity and contradiction.

This remarkable book illustrates not only how he changed during his brief twenty-five years on this planet, but how he forever changed the world.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781797126319
Publisher:	Simon & Schuster Audio
Publication date:	06/08/2021
Product dimensions:	5.80(w) x 5.60(h) x 1.10(d)

About the Author

Sheldon Pearce is the music writer and editor for The New Yorker. Previously, he was a contributing writer at Pitchfork. He has worked for NPR Music, and his writing has appeared in The Guardian, Rolling Stone, The Fader, Spin, Dazed, Complex, Deadspin, and others.

Pete Simonelli is a writer, audiobook narrator, and vocalist for the band Enablers.

Fred Sanders, an actor and Earphones Award–winning narrator, has received critics’ praise for his audio narrations that range from nonfiction, memoir, and fiction to mystery and suspense. He been seen on Broadway in The Buddy Holly Story, in national tours for Driving Miss Daisy and Big River, and on such television shows as Seinfeld, The West Wing, Will and Grace, Numb3rs,Titus, and Malcolm in the Middle. His films include Sea of Love, The Shadow, and the Oscar-nominated short Culture. He is a native New Yorker and Yale graduate.

Robin Miles, named a Golden Voice by AudioFile magazine, has twice won the prestigious Audie Award for Best Narration, an Audie Award for directing, and many Earphones Awards. Her film and television acting credits include The Last Days of Disco, Primary Colors, Law & Order: Criminal Intent, Law & Order, New York Undercover, National Geographic’s Tales from the Wild, All My Children, and One Life to Live. She regularly gives seminars to members of SAG and AFTRA actors’ unions, and in 2005 she started Narration Arts Workshop in New York City, offering audiobook recording classes and coaching. She holds a BA degree in theater studies from Yale University, an MFA in acting from the Yale School of Drama, and a certificate from the British American Drama Academy in England.

Leon Nixon is a professional actor, playwright, and filmmaker. A Los Angeles native, he has performed in short films, web series, and on stage in dramatic and comedic roles. He is also an improviser and part of the group that appears in the Guinness Book of World Records for Longest Continuous Improv Show.

Guy Lockhard is a voice talent and Earphones Award–winning narrator.

Heather Alicia Simms is an AudioFile Earphones Award–winning narrator, finalist for an Audie Award, and an actress. Her filmography includes Broken Flowers, Flutter Kick, Shock Act, Kingscounty, Head of State, Third Watch, and others. She also provided voice acting for the video game Red Dead Revolver.

Cary Hite has performed in several theaters across the country as a cast member in the longest-running African American play in history, The Diary of Black Men. He also appeared in Edward II, Fences, Macbeth, Good Boys, Side Effects May Vary, and the indie feature The City Is Mine. He has voiced several projects for AudibleKids, including Souls Look Back in Wonder, From Slave Ship to Freedom Road, and Papa, Do You Love Me?

Aden Hakimi is a voice-over actor based in Brooklyn. He studied theater performance at Northeastern University in Boston, with adjunct studies at Cambridge University in England and the Gaiety School of Acting in Dublin. For over a decade, he has done voice work for audiobooks, commercials, animation, and corporate videos.

J. D. Jackson is a theater professor, aspiring stage director, and award-winning audiobook narrator. He is a classically trained actor, and his television and film credits include roles on House, ER, Law & Order, Hack, Sherrybaby, Diary of a City Priest, and Lucky Number Slevin. He is the recipient of more than a dozen Earphones Awards for narration and an Odyssey Honor for G. Neri’s Ghetto Cowboy, and he was also named one of AudioFile magazine’s Best Voices of the Year for 2012 and 2013. An adjunct professor at Los Angeles Southwest College, he has an MFA in theater from Temple University.

Coming soon...

Editorial Reviews

05/17/2021

Legendary hip-hop martyr Tupac Shakur is movingly captured as the people’s gangsta in this kaleidoscopic commemoration of his life, New Yorker writer Pearce’s debut. He interviews dozens of Shakur’s childhood friends, teachers, and fellow rappers, as well as journalists and ER doctors to garner reminiscences of the rapper, who was murdered by assailants, still unknown, at the age of 25 in a 1996 Las Vegas drive-by. In this admiring mosaic, Shakur is charismatic, kind (he did a free ad for a Black-owned fashion line), productive (he wrote the hit “Brenda’s Got a Baby” during a cigarette break), energetic (“He was laser focused—multitasking, smoking blunts, typing, and still talking to me A-1,” remembers fashion designer Karl Kani), and willing to walk the walk by actually shooting police (in self-defense, it was ruled) instead of just rapping about it. Shakur’s celebrated passion for social justice is much praised but little evidenced here, and is complicated by accounts the beatdowns he administered, an altercation involving gunplay that killed a child, and his conviction for sexual abuse. (A highlight of the book is a juror’s account of jury-room shenanigans that undermines that verdict’s validity.) There’s much hagiography here—“He had this light around him,” gushes a homeroom classmate—but also genuine insight into Shakur’s musical facility and the quiet, understated “genius” of his acting. Tupac’s multitudes of fans will eat this up. (June)

Publishers Weekly

Illuminates the kaleidoscopic aspects of Shakur’s life...[Pearce] scores remarkable details.”–Alan Light for The New York Times Book Review

“A book that quietly tries to humanize an oft-mythologized figure...makes [Tupac] seem more flesh-and-blood than the countless statues and murals that pay tribute to his brief yet incredibly eventful life.”—Mosi Reeves, The A.V. Club

“Collectively, Pearce and his cast offer a portrait that shades in the traditional Tupac myth with context and complexity.”—Pitchfork

“Tupac’s brief, protean life has taken on allegorical power and New Yorker writer Sheldon Pearce’s oral history clarifies the turning points.” —Dorian Lynskey, The Guardian

“Candidly told through the voices of people with whom Shakur interacted—both closely and less so—the book provides insight into his personality and details the circumstances that influenced and motivated him. In almost cinematic fashion, these accounts create a nuanced portrait of Shakur’s story.”—Tracy Crawford, Library Journal (starred review)

“Compelling...essential Tupac reading.”—Kirkus Reviews

“Riveting...The insights in this absorbing narrative contribute to a deeper understanding of Shakur’s complexity as a person and an artist.”—Allison Escoto, Booklist

“Legendary hip-hop martyr Tupac Shakur is movingly captured as the people’s gangsta in this kaleidoscopic commemoration of his life...Tupac’s multitudes of fans will eat this up.” —Publishers Weekly

From the Publisher

★ 05/21/2021

There is no shortage of documentation about the life and legacy of actor, poet, rapper, and global cultural icon Tupac Shakur. Nevertheless, Pearce's (music writer, The New Yorker) work is timely and noteworthy. Candidly told through the voices of people with whom Shakur interacted—both closely and less so—the book provides insight into his personality and details the circumstances that influenced and motivated him. In almost cinematic fashion, these accounts create a nuanced portrait of Shakur's story. Interviewees also explore the Black Panther Party (the artist's mother, Afeni Shakur, was a member) and discuss Peruvian revolutionary Túpac Amaru II (for whom Shakur was named). Culminating with a poignant discussion of who Shakur might have become had he not been killed, the work leaves its readers, and its interview subjects, to imagine how he might have used his art to comment on issues like police brutality. VERDICT With 2021 marking both the 25th anniversary of Shakur's death and what would have been his 50th birthday, this is a strong addition to public, academic, and research libraries, especially those with hip-hop collections.—Tracy Crawford, New York P.L.

Library Journal

2021-05-24
There’s a Tupac Shakur–sized hole in the middle of this compelling oral history about the revered rapper and actor and his legacy—and that’s by design.

Pearce, a music writer and editor at the New Yorker, wanted to use only new interviews for the project, which means that the words of the late rapper and Juiceactor don’t appear much in a book about him, aside from the occasional footnote. For various other reasons, his family and inner circle don’t say much either. Conspicuously missing are conversations with his Black Panther mother Afeni Shakur or Death Row Records co-founder Suge Knight. Instead, we hear from people who know parts of Shakur’s story, including teachers, friends from early in his career, and reporters and authors. Their insights are more about Shakur the man rather than 2Pac the myth: his quick temper and heartfelt apologies, loyalty and paranoia, and well-documented work ethic. But they pale in comparison to Shakur’s work and the way he has previously described his life and art with his own charismatic delivery. As Pearce writes in the author’s note, “it quickly became a balancing act: Where to provide insight versus where to provide clarity?” The success of that balancing act will depend on the reader. Shakur fans looking for new details about how their hero approached his biggest albums and movie roles won’t find much new here. However, Pearce’s interviews provide interesting background on the East Coast–West Coast rap rivalry and offer more clarity about who may have killed Shakur in Las Vegas in 1996 at age 25—even though no formal charges have ever been filed. Those are the times when this book feels like essential Tupac reading rather than a nice supplement.

Having relative unknowns document Tupac’s meteoric rise and abrupt end is risky, but Pearce demonstrates his impact.

Kirkus Reviews