News of October 17, 2025
Jeff Pearlman's Tupac Biography "Only God Can Judge Me"
Trauma in Baltimore and the child behind “Brenda's Got a Baby”: Jeff Pearlman's biography of Tupac Shakur focuses on contradictions rather than glorification.
For his book, Jeff Pearlman, by his own account, spoke with classmates, musical companions, and former Death Row employees. Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg, however, reportedly did not speak with him. In October 2025, the biography Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur by the US author was published.
Contradictions Rather Than Glorification
On October 17, Rolling Stone published an excerpt about Tupac’s early years in Baltimore, dealing with the traumatic circumstances within the family. The book became known primarily through individual discoveries such as the search for the child behind “Brenda’s Got a Baby”. Reviews emphasize that Pearlman does not aim to glorify Tupac, but to portray him as contradictory.
The claims from excerpts and interviews remain statements by the author and his sources; they have not been independently verified. An overview of other works on Tupac is provided on the Books page.