Keith Darrin Bastfield : Back in the Day : My Life And Times With Tupac Shakur

Author : Keith Darrin Bastfield

Pages : 216pp

Format : Textbook Paperback

Publisher : Perseus Publishing

Pub. Date : September 2003

Sales Rank : 168,404

Review : Synopsis

An engrossing eyewitness account of slain rapper Tupac Shakur's formative years, written by his close friend from high school.

A legend after a bullet killed him at the age of twenty-five, Tupac Shakur was the most riveting rap musician of his day. Far from being the insolent "gangsta" the press put forth, Shakur was fiercely intelligent, fearless, and determined to make a mark. Darrin Bastfield grew up with him in a rough Baltimore neighborhood. In this vivid memoir, Bastfield reveals Tupac Shakur as the teenager he really was: bound for greatness.

In tight, edgy prose, Bastfield recalls seven years of friendship. Shakur, new in town, a skinny thirteen-year-old in shabby clothes, may have looked uncool, but he blew the school away at a talent show, an electrifying performance. It was at the Baltimore School for the Arts, however, where things really started to happen-an encounter with Salt-N-Pepa, the wild night of the 1988 senior prom. Shakur and Bastfield lived through it together, and in this memoir, it all comes alive again.

Brief Article

Bastfield, one of Shakur's childhood friends, recalls the young man's aspirations, back when they attended high school together in Baltimore. In his vivid recollections, Bastfield talks about the young Tupac's artistic dreams, before he became a celebrity: "... based on my knowing him to be a deeply thoughtful artist whose puzzle had always been far too complicated for the average person to decipher."

Book Description

A star during his lifetime, a legend after a bullet killed him at the age of twenty-five, Tupac Shakur was the most influential rap musician of his day�and the most misunderstood. Far from being the insolent �gangsta� that the press put forth, Tupac was a committed and fearless visionary determined to make a difference not only on the music scene but in the black community at large. Darrin Bastfield grew up with Tupac in a rough Baltimore neighborhood, rapped with him, fought with him, and performed by his side. Now in this vivid, highly personal memoir featuring never-before-seen photos of the rap artist, Darrin shows the world what Tupac Shakur was really like as a teenager destined for greatness.

In tight, edgy prose, Darrin follows Tupac through the seven years of their friendship. In Roland Park Middle School in the mid-1980s, rap was a kind of underground movement, and the kids with real talent always found each other. Tupac�new in town, a skinny thirteen-year old with shabby clothes and lopsided hair�may have looked uncool, but it soon became clear that he had the gift. When Tupac teamed up with Mouse, king of the beatbox, they blew the school away in their performance as the Eastside Crew. It was the first in a series of increasingly electrifying performances.

When Tupac went to the Baltimore School for the Arts, then it really started to happen. A new group called Born Busy, unforgettable performances at the Beaux Arts Balls, an eye-opening backstage encounter with Salt-N-Pepa, their tight friendship with John, known among black kids as �the cool white boy,� a series of love affairs with adoring girls, the wild nights of the 1988 senior prom�Tupac and Darrin lived though it all together, and in this memoir Darrin makes it all come alive again.

From the start, Darrin knew Tupac was a marked man, singled out by his charismatic gift. So it came as no surprise that Tupac made it big when rap went mainstream. What stunned Darrin was the violent turn Tupac�s life took once he relocated to L.A.�and how swiftly that violence engulfed and destroyed him. Vibrant, gritty, alive with the tension and spontaneity of rap music, this memoir of Tupac�s teenage years is a haunting portrait of one of the most important artists of our day.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

Prologue

Introduction

1 His Name Is What?! 1

2 Roland Park 15

3 First Shows 26

4 Breaking the Ice 40

5 Spring Fever 45

6 3955 Greenmount Avenue 53

7 A Revolutionary 63

8 Building Friendships 69

9 Birth of Born Busy 84

10 On His Own: First Apartment 90

11 Bedroom Studio 95

12 The Twenty-Man Battle 99

13 To Be a Shakespearean Actor 107

14 Busboys vs. Dishwashers 123

15 Prom Night 130

16 Off to the Bronx 135

17 The Show: Our Dream of a Break 151

18 He Made It 164

Epilogue