Inside a Thug's Heart
Author : Angela Ardis, Tupac Shakur
Paperback : 208 pages
Format : Hardcover
Publisher : Kensington Publishing Corporation
Pub. Date : May 2004
Sales Rank : 36,952
Synopsis : Rikers Island is the centerpiece of the New York City Department of Corrections, a sprawling prison city of concrete and steel with housing for more than 16,000 inmates. Early in 1995, it was also the temporary home of legendary rapper and actor Tupac Shakur, incarcerated for a crime he swore he did not commit. And it was there that Angela Ardis, acting on a late-night wager among her friends and coworkers, sent a letter, along with a photo and her phone number. To her utter delight and amazement, Angela's phone rang a short while later. Tupac Shakur was on the line. Over the next several months, Angela and Tupac shared a near-daily exchange of letters, poems and phone calls, and their relationship quickly grew into something neither of them could quite define, a kinship of souls that touched each in unexpected ways. Those original poems and letters, many of them written after Tupac's transfer from Rikers to Dannemora State Prison, are presented here, along with the increasingly passionate and personal phone calls that touched on every subject imaginable. Far from the media spotlight, Tupac was by turns playful, sensual and serious, offering sharp observations on prison, music and the uncertainties of life. His letters to Angela reflect how he felt about being shot five times and left for dead one terrible night in New York in 1994, and his heartfelt verse encapsulates his dreams for the future -- a future that would be so tragically cut short just over eighteen months after their correspondence began. Tupac Shakur was shot on September 7th, 1996 and died a week later from his injuries. His murder remains unsolved, an ending as enigmatic as his life. But while Tupac may be gone, his words live on here, giving every fan a rare glimpse inside the mind and unbroken spirit of a passionate and unpredictable musical icon.
Table of Contents
Chapter 1. The Bet 1
Chapter 2. The Call 11
Chapter 3. The First Letter Exchange 21
Chapter 4. Tupac Reaches Out 29
Chapter 5. Our Letters Cross 47
Chapter 6. Misunderstood 58
Chapter 7. A Request 72
Chapter 8. Getting Personal (and Shocked) 90
Chapter 9. Trying to Get to the Bottom of It 113
Chapter 10. An Invitation 126
Chapter 11. Thug Mansion 132
Chapter 12. Getting Really Personal 138
Chapter 13. Getting Heavier 155
Chapter 14. Anticipation 178
Chapter 15. He Truly Needed a Hug 190
Chapter 16. I Send an Invitation 202
Chapter 17. Another Shocking Discovery 212
Chapter 18. The Trip 222
Chapter 19. The Visit 226
Chapter 20. Release 236
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