Did Tupac Shakur have alopecia?

The last few weeks have seen the first developments in the cold case of Tupac Shakur’s murder in years. But evidently, it is not the only unresolved mystery about the American rapper’s life that needed an answer as Jada Pinkett Smith, in her ongoing bid to promote her upcoming memoir Worthy, has revealed that Shakur too had alopecia for years like her.

The autoimmune disorder, about which The Matrix star has been striving to raise awareness, became a topic of massive discussion after Chris Rock openly mocked her baldness at the 2022 Oscars, prompting Will Smith to ascend the stage and slap the host to the shock of everyone. While we have had another, rather uneventful, Oscar ceremony after that, the incident is yet to lose steam, especially since Pinkett Smith has made some bombshell revelations lately, including how she has been separated from Will Smith since 2016, had been asked out by Chris Rock, and actually thought Will slapping Rock was some elaborate skit.

In a recent interview with People, Pinkett Smith turned her attention to Tupac Shakur, whom she was friends with since high school, and revealed that just like her, he also suffered from alopecia. For him, it started in 1991 after he was arrested for jaywalking in North California, but he never talked about it and hid the secret due to societal pressures.

“I don’t think Pac ever talked about his alopecia, but he also looked really good with a bald head. But that was during a time and during an era that you wouldn’t — he just wouldn’t talk about it.”

According to Pinkett Smith, Shakur’s “alopecia patterns were far more extreme than mine.”

But Jada Pinkett Smith’s claims aside, did Tupac Shakur really suffer from alopecia?

While many consider that Shakur chose to shave his head because it became his signature hairstyle, it has been shared by director Allen Hughes, who along with his brother directed the rapper’s initial three solo videos, that the late singer did suffer from alopecia, which started after the above-mentioned incident in 1991 — something that was also mentioned in the FX docuseries, Dear Mama: The Saga of Afeni and Tupac Shakur.

“I think it was critical to put that in there, and I knew about it at the time. I won’t say we discussed it, but it came up because he was suing them. I remember when he shaved his head because of alopecia. We were staying in West Hollywood the night before we were getting ready to shoot his first music video, and there was a knock at my door around 11 p.m. I open the door and someone rushes in, laughing, and tackles me onto the bed, just giggling. 

I pushed that person off of me, and it was Tupac, who had shaved his head for the first time. It didn’t look right at first, and he was insecure about it. I knew we had to put that in there because, and this is one of the things that breaks my heart, it’s one of those haunting, cyclical things.”

As shared by Jada Pinkett Smith, her sole agenda for discussing Shakur and her life with the disorder is to raise awareness about alopecia areata and make sure that people who suffer from the condition don’t live in shame anymore.