Awards, Nominations and Rankings

Tupac Shakur never won a Grammy. That makes what happened after his death stand out all the more clearly: induction into the Library of Congress, a star on the Walk of Fame, and entry into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame as well as the Grammy Hall of Fame. Almost all major honors came only posthumously, some decades later. This page organizes the most important awards by type, awarding body, and date.

Seven Nominations, No Win

Tupac appeared on the Recording Academy’s nomination lists seven times, one of them for a film project. During his lifetime, he experienced only one ceremony: at the 38th Grammys on February 28, 1996, he sat as a guest in the hall in Los Angeles. Me Against the World competed for Best Rap Album, Dear Mama in the category of Best Rap Solo Performance.

The remaining nominations followed after his death on September 13, 1996:

The count of “seven nominations” comes from Grammy data analyzed by the news agency AP in November 2023. Some lists give the release year instead of the ceremony year; this archive lists the year of the ceremony.

Four Institutions Honor His Life’s Work

The honors for his body of work came late, but then followed in quick succession.

Library of Congress, 2010. On June 23, 2010, the Library of Congress inducted Dear Mama into the National Recording Registry-as one of 25 recordings of that year’s class. According to Rolling Stone, it was only the third rap recording in the registry, after The Message by Grandmaster Flash and the Furious Five and Fear of a Black Planet by Public Enemy. The library praised the track as an homage to Tupac’s mother and to all mothers struggling against addiction and poverty. Afeni Shakur said she was “honored” that it was this particular song.

Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, 2017. Tupac was nominated on October 18, 2016, confirmed on December 20, 2016, and inducted at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn on April 7, 2017-right in his first year of eligibility. Snoop Dogg gave the induction speech. According to Billboard, Tupac was the sixth rap act in the Hall of Fame.

Hollywood Walk of Fame, 2023. On June 7, 2023, the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce unveiled his star in the music category at 6212 Hollywood Boulevard. His half-sister Sekyiwa Shakur accepted it. The Chamber had already selected Tupac back in 2013; the unveiling took ten years. More on this in the news report of June 7, 2023.

Grammy Hall of Fame, 2026. On February 11, 2026, the Recording Academy announced that All Eyez on Me was among the fourteen recordings of the year’s class. At the gala on May 8, 2026, at the Beverly Hilton, E.D.I. Mean of the Outlawz accepted the honor. It is late recognition from an institution that never gave him an award in his lifetime.

A Fan-Voted Award After Death and Film Nominations

The only major music award Tupac received was a fan-voted one: at the 24th American Music Awards on January 27, 1997, he was voted Favorite Artist, Rap/Hip-Hop posthumously, four months after his death. The Los Angeles Times reported on it. Other awards, such as at the Soul Train Music Awards in 1996 (Me Against the World) and 1997 (All Eyez on Me), are listed on Wikipedia; the archive does not have a primary source from the awarding body for those.

Tupac was also honored as the subject of films: Tupac: Resurrection was nominated for the Oscar for Best Documentary Feature (announced January 25, 2005). The FX series Dear Mama received two Creative Arts Emmy nominations in July 2023, but won neither.

No. 4 on Billboard: Tupac in the Hip-Hop Canon

Lists are matters of opinion, yet they show where Tupac stands in the canon. For their list of the 50 greatest rappers for hip-hop’s 50th anniversary (February 2023), Billboard and Vibe combined metrics such as chart success and certifications with influence, longevity, lyrics, and flow. Tupac landed at No. 4 behind Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar, and Nas; Eminem followed at No. 5.

Rolling Stone includes Tupac on its list of the 100 greatest artists (2004/05, updated in 2011), and All Eyez on Me ranks at No. 436 on its 2020 list of the 500 greatest albums.

Further Reading

There is a dedicated page for sales and certifications, which feed into some of these lists: Sales and Certifications. Tupac’s German gold records are covered on Tupac and Germany, with short answers in the FAQ. Anyone wanting to know how today’s rappers reference Tupac can find that under Influence on Other Artists.