Outpace Shaker Biography Outpace Shaker Veronica Hernandez 1 1/26/2012 Outpace Shaker demonstrates the power of words weather It was through the rap game that made him a musical icon or the poems that he wrote in his private moments. Born in Brooklyn, NY later moved to California where he grew a huge fan base because of his career In rapping and also worked as an actor. During his career he became entangled in a dispute against East Coast and West Coast rappers, he was known to insult enemies. He was killed in a drive-by shooting while in a vehicle with Death Row president Segue Knight.
Life as Outpace To begin, Outpace Shaker, born Leganes Paris Crooks, was born June 16th, 1971 in Brooklyn, NY. Being the son of a Black Panther activist, Shaker moved around a lot as a child. HIS parents had separated before he was born, and his mother moved him and his sister around the country for much of their childhood. Mutual Shaker, Tuba’s stepfather, is sentenced to 60 years in prison for his connection with a 1981 armored-car robbery. Frequently, the family was at the poverty level. In his song “Changes” he states “I’m tired of bell’ poor and even worse I’m black.
My stomach ruts, so I’m looking’ for a purse to snatch” and In “Dear Mama” where he says “l shed tears with my baby sister over the years we was poorer than the other little kids” Shaker managed to get accepted to the prestigious Baltimore School of the Arts as a teenager where he studied acting and ballet. While living in Baltimore, he discovered rap and began performing. Before he could graduate, his family moved to the West Coast to Marin City, CA, in the late sass’s when he was 17 years old. Over the next few years, he lived life on the streets and initiated his hustling.
Shaker drifted into the nag life, gathering a criminal record with eight arrests by the beginning of his twenties. He demonstrates his early troubles In “Dear Mama” where he says “Suspended from school; scared to go home, I was a fool with the big boys, breaking all the rules” He then met Shock-G, the leader of Oakland, California-based hip-hop group Digital underground. He was hired as a back ground dancer. As he toured with the group, he worked on his own material. OPAC In 1991, Shaker arose as a solo artist using the name “OPAC” with his debut album apocalypse Now.
The track “Bread’s Got a Baby*’ reached as high as number three OFF Head Up”, his second album Strictly 4 My N. L. G. G. A. Z platinum, selling more than a million copies. His songs were about growing up, life’s struggles, living in the ghetto and gangs. The single “Dear Mama” demonstrated that he was capable of sensitivity as well as violence. He recorded twelve landmark albums; nine of them went either platinum or gold. Fans, critics, and insiders ranked him as one of the greatest rappers of all time. In spite of Shaker’s career artist he was also an actor. He stared in six motion pictures.
Shaker makes his movie debut in the Earnest Dickerson film Juice” In 1992. In 1993 appeared in John Singleton’s release “Poetic Justice” with Janet Jackson. This stretched his popularity further into the mainstream. Controversy Although Outpace was a major superstar he still had the drama of everyday life. Outpace became the target of law suits and had many run ins with the law. He seemed to be living up to his aggressive gangster rap persona with a number of arrests for violent offenses in the sass. He also fell victim to violence as he was mugged and shot five times in a recording studio in Manhattan.
He grew suspicious that the “Notorious B. I. G”. , “Puffy” Combs, Andre Harebell, and his own close friend Randy “Stretch” Walker coordinating the shooting because during the time he spent recovering he didn’t receive one phone call or visit explaining why he was ambushed. Neither of them took the time to visit or write him during his deepest time of need. Slowly people started to forget about Outpace even his own fan base. Meanwhile Biggie Smalls capitalized on this and was slowly becoming the next Hip-Hop Rap King. Outpace was plotting his revenge from prison once he heard the hit “Who Shot Yea! ” a song written by the Late Biggie Smalls.
This ignited the East Coast and West Coast Hip Hop rivalry. Outpace wasn’t going to let any of this stop him from becoming the greatest. He change his new found mentality and there was no way he would permit these cowards the pleasure of dethroning him and stealing his crown. This war wasn’t going to be fought with fist, guns, knives but with words. He knew he needed soldiers, this was the foundation of “Outlaws” Outlaws Wafer “Kodiak” Full would always visit Outpace in prison. A few times during visits to Outpace, Kodiak spoke about a homeboy he knew from his hometown in Montclair, NJ. He was known to rap and was very much respected.
Once Caudal heard of Tuba’s plan to start a new rap crew he referred the one and only Bruce Washington a. K. A. Hussein Fatal. They met with Shaker at Clinton Correctional Facility, where he flowed a few verses and was asked on the spot to be featured on his next album. Dramatically, Kodiak, and Bruce would soon meet with Outpace in Los Angles to begin collaborating on Pace ‘s album called “All Eyes on Me. ” Making a Comeback . After recovering from his injuries from the ambush shooting, Shaker was sentenced o four and a half years in prison from a sexual assault case that happened prior to the shooting.
After only serving eight months Death Row President Segue Knight arranged parole and posted a 1. 4 million dollar bond. By the end of the year, OPAC was out of prison and working on his debut for Death Row. Shaker returned to music with the album “All Eyes on Me” in 1996. He came back with full force. This album brought his popularity to a new peak topping both the pop and R&B charts and quickly receiving multi-platinum status. This appeared to be a golden time for Outpace. Films “Gridlocked” and “Gang Related”. Which unfortunately he would not live to see the results of the last two films.
Death off Legend On the night of September 7th, 1996 Outpace was shot while sitting in the passenger seat of Segue Knights car. Thirteen shots were fired. One bullet striking his hip, another in his right hand, and one to his chest. Knight suffers a minor wound to his head. The two were leaving the Mike Tyson vs.. Bruce Seldom fight at the MGM Grand in Lass Vegas. Shaker was admitted to University of Nevada Medical Center where he died six days later at the due to his injuries after being placed into a medically induced coma.
The cause of death was listed as respiratory failure and cardiac arrest. The killer was never caught and the case was never solved but it has been suggested that Knight’s ties to the mob and to gangs were the reason. Another theory is that the Notorious B. I. G. Organized the shooting as vengeance for papa’s comments that he slept with Baggie’s wife, Faith Evans in the song “Hit ‘Me Up”, as he was known to insult his enemies on his tracks. Outpace Legacy Thousands of mourners appeared at the hospital after hearing news of his death, and the entire entertainment industry mourned his passing.
Although Outpace died at he young age of twenty five, his talent was unbounded a raw forced that was commanded attention and respect. His death was tragic a violent homage to the power of his voice. (Pocket Books, Novo 1, 1999) Even in his death he remains a popular culture figure. The Shaker Estate and Leila Steinberg publish the Poem book “The Rose That Grew From Concrete”. The book contains of 71 poems written by Outpace from 1989 to 1991, before Outpace got into music. ( (C) pack. De 1997 – 2004). On December 21, 1999, Muar Records releases the OPAC & Outlaws album “Still I Rise” which features 15 unreleased songs by Outpace & The Outlaws.