Never-before-seen 2Pac mugshots from his 1993 sexual assault arrest have surfaced online, and they offer a close-up of a massive scar on the side of his face.
The photos were unearthed by DJ Skandalous who pointed out that the scar was simply makeup for the movie Above the Rim which the late rapper was filming at the time.
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“Unbelievable photos! It’s 2024 and I am still seeing new 2Pac photos for the first time. These particular photos was from when 2Pac was arrested on November 19th 1993,” Skandalous wrote on Instagram. “The scar on 2Pac’s face is only makeup as he was filming for the movie ‘Above The Rim’ during this time.”
He also claimed the mugshots are proof that ‘Pac was suffering from alopecia in his final years, resulting in him losing his hair — echoing previous claims made by the rapper’s close friend Jada Pinkett Smith.
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“Also interesting to see that you can tell that 2Pac is also missing parts of his hair in the back of his head,” the caption continued.
“Many people kept saying Pac shaved his head due to a receding hairline but this is more proof of Alopecia which became prevalent after the police brutality he suffered from the jaywalking incident.”
2Pac: Unseen mugshots from 1993 sexual assault arrest show huge scar on Tupac’s face pic.twitter.com/QPZet2jtcY
— HipHopDX (@HipHopDX) April 10, 2024
2Pac’s arrest stemmed from accusations he and his entourage raped a female fan inside a New York hotel in November 1993.
The rapper, who was 22 at the time, maintained his innocence but was ultimately found guilty of first-degree sexual abuse.
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He was sentenced to one and a half to four and a half years in prison, but was released just eight months later in October 1995 on a $1.4 million bail pending an appeal of his conviction.
It was around this time that ‘Pac joined Death Row Records and began ramping up his ultimately fatal feud with Biggie and Bad Boy Records.
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In an interview with The Art of Dialogue earlier this month, close 2Pac associate and fellow rapper Treach pinpointed his 1993 arrest as the moment that he stopped making positive music.
The Naughty By Nature MC explained how ‘Pac being “taunted” over the sexual assault case led to a darker, more aggressive shift in his musical persona.
Recalling the treatment the All Eyez On Me rapper received while filming Above the Rim, Treach said: “The majority of the people out there was loving ‘Pac but you got your taunters and your haters and your trolls. A lot of the ones that were taunting him were females ’cause it was a sexual assault case.
“And he was like, ‘Man, I would never think my own people would come for me when I rep the thugs, I speak for the women. I always had their back. Man, I’m never doing no fucking…’”
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Treach said the experience made 2Pac distance himself from uplifting, socially conscious songs like “Keep Ya Head Up” and “Brenda’s Got a Baby” and focus on more “thug”-oriented records such as “California Love” and his infamous Biggie diss song “Hit ‘Em Up.”
“That was the new ‘Pac,” he added. “Muthafuckas had got him fed the fuck up.”
