In 1995 Tupac Shakur began serving a one and a half year sentence at the Clinton Correctional Facility after being convicted in a sexual assault case. His album, Me Against the World was released one month into the his sentence and debuted at number one on the Billboard charts. During his stay, Shakur studied the works of Italian philosopher Niccolò Machiavelli, which would have a profound impact on his artistic development, inspiring the artist's pseudonym Makavelli. After serving nine months of his sentence, Shakur was released from the Clinton Correctional Facility on October 12, 1995. The present Polaroid's were shot in the prison visiting area showing Shakur with his close friend, Desiree Smith. One photograph, taken eleven days before his release, is inscribed "Pure Joy".
Listen to the title track from Me Against the World.
