2pac is the stage name of the American rap legend, Tupac Shakur, who was born in 1971 in New York City and killed in 1996, at the age of 25. He became famous in 1988 and has released four albums during his career. Six more albums were introduced after his death.
There was only one official logo, used by the famous rapper while he was alive. Tupac Shakur was shot in his car in 1996, but he left a huge legacy in the world’s music history and was one of the people, giving rise to the hip hop culture.
Though the career of Tupac started earlier, his first official logo was designed in 1995, just one year before his tragic death. It was a black inscription in a custom serif front with uneven contours, where the digit “2” was replacing the first two letters of the musician’s name.
The digit was enlarged in comparison to the letters and looked stable and brutal. The wordmark was very well balanced and evokes a sense of strength and maybe even dangerous, showing the power of the word and the passion for music.
Of course, this logo is the first to come to mind when you think of 2pac, but another one was created in 1998 to be placed on the posthumous albums and other materials.
The second, posthumous, logo for Tupac was designed in 1998 and consisted of a wordmark, written with only letters. There are actually two different versions — one is clean and sleek with elongated curved tails of “T”, “C” and “P”, where the letter “T” bars are extended to the end of the nameplate, creating some kind of a frame.
The second, more conceptual, and street-style version, is executed in a graffiti typeface, with sharper and more laconic lines, which evoke a sense of energy and power.
Both versions use a black and white color combination, just like the original official logo of the legendary hip hop musician, celebrating his legacy and his contribution to the music industry.