News of June 16, 2020
Billboard's Hot 100 Tally on Tupac's 49th Birthday
For his 49th birthday, Billboard took stock: 21 Hot 100 hits, five No. 1 albums, and two thirds of all chart successes only after September 13, 1996.
On June 16, 2020, Tupac would have turned 49. Billboard marked the occasion with a retrospective on his chart success: he notched 21 entries on the Hot 100, nine of which reached the Top 40. Things kicked off in 1993 with his debut with I Get Around (peak position No. 11).
Two Weeks at the Top with K-Ci & JoJo
His only number-one hit remained the double A-side How Do U Want It / California Love with K-Ci & JoJo, which spent two weeks at the top in July 1996. Ranking second on the list is Dear Mama / Old School: the single became his first top-ten hit in April 1995 (No. 9) and earned him a Grammy nomination for Best Rap Solo Performance.
14 of 21 Hits Reached the Charts Posthumously
Two thirds of his entries, 14 of 21, entered the charts after his death on September 13, 1996. Most recently, he appeared in 2009 as a guest on Keyshia Cole’s Playa Cardz Right. For albums, Billboard lists five number-one placements on the Billboard 200. Leading the way in 1995 was Me Against the World, which spent four weeks at the top.