Billy Garland (Ex Black Panther)
Encyclopedia
William "Billy" Garland is an employee of the Jersey City Incinerator Authority and former Black Panther
. He is better known for being the biological father of rapper Tupac Shakur
.
(also affiliated with the party).
' in 1992. He later visited Shakur in Bellevue Hospital when he was shot in 1994. Garland claimed that The Notorious B.I.G. approached him at the hospital while visiting Shakur, and he believed that he wasn't involved in the shooting. As Tupac awoke from coma he looked up seeing his father and believed he was in Heaven because he said there was him staring back at him. Also he saw Shakur in Rikers island
and there are images of him and his father hugging and smiling during their visit.
After Tupac's death, Afeni and William Garland sent his blood to Long Beach Genetics. A laboratory test of Shakur's DNA assigned a probability of 99.97% to Afeni and William's parentage.
A contentious lawsuit filed by William Garland, seeking 50 percent of Tupac's estate. Afeni Shakur angrily charged that Garland was a gold-digger who ignored his son for 18 years; Garland blamed her nomadic lifestyle for making it impossible to find Tupac. "I'm the only person in here who lost somebody," Ms. Shakur snapped in early August 1997. "He don't even know my son's birthday." Garland's lawyer, Leonard Birdsong, rips Ms. Shakur as "an egomaniac" upset by publicity for Tupac's father. He also mentions her past crack addiction and alcohol problems; Tupac had said those woes forced him to leave his mother's house at age 17. Fischbein dismisses Garland as "a deadbeat dad" who gave his son "$500 and a bag of peanuts over the course of his life." Birdsong indignantly charges Fischbein with "rewriting history to vilify my client." Garland only filed suit after Ms. Shakur twice submitted legal papers saying Tupac's father was dead, Garland says. This parental struggle could give birth to another lawsuit. If he wins, Garland wants to be named the estate's co-executor.
William Garland was cut out of his son's estate after a judge decided that his contributions to the rapper's upbringing were "minuscule." Garland, a trucker living in New Jersey, wanted half of Shakur's multimillion-dollar estate, but his mother, Afeni, claimed that he was absent for the majority of Tupac's upbringing. Testimony revealed that Garland had actually only seen Tupac for fifteen of his twenty-five years, and that his actual contributions to young Tupac's welfare included about $820, a bag of peanuts, and a ticket to the film Rollerball
. His lawyer, Michael Reinis, is hoping to appeal, saying that the decision was based upon a law that came into effect twenty years after Shakur's birth.
Four days after Shakur's death, Garland told Rolling Stone
in an interview that he wanted people to focus on the rapper's accomplishments.
"My son is dead, and he don't deserve to be talked about like some common criminal. He wasn't perfect, but he did do some great things in a little bit of time".
Black panther
A black panther is typically a melanistic color variant of any of several species of larger cat. Wild black panthers in Latin America are black jaguars , in Asia and Africa they are black leopards , and in North America they may be black jaguars or possibly black cougars A black panther is...
. He is better known for being the biological father of rapper Tupac Shakur
Tupac Shakur
Tupac Amaru Shakur , known by his stage names 2Pac and Makaveli, was an American rapper and actor. Shakur has sold over 75 million albums worldwide as of 2007, making him one of the best-selling music artists in the world...
.
Personal life
He was an activist belonging to the Black Panther Party, and maintained a very brief relationship with Afeni ShakurAfeni Shakur
Afeni Shakur Davis is an African American music businesswoman, philanthropist, former political activist and ex-Black Panther. She is the mother of the late Tupac Shakur...
(also affiliated with the party).
Reuniting with Tupac and cut out of inheritance
He was the father of Tupac Shakur. Shakur was told by his mother that his father was dead, and Billy didn't see Shakur again until he starred in the movie 'JuiceJuice (film)
Juice is a 1992 American crime drama film that stars rapper Tupac Shakur and Omar Epps. Additional cast members include Jermaine "Huggy" Hopkins, Khalil Kain, Samuel L. Jackson, and features cameo appearances by Queen Latifah, EPMD, Special Ed, Ed Lover, Doctor Dré, Flex Alexander, Fab Five...
' in 1992. He later visited Shakur in Bellevue Hospital when he was shot in 1994. Garland claimed that The Notorious B.I.G. approached him at the hospital while visiting Shakur, and he believed that he wasn't involved in the shooting. As Tupac awoke from coma he looked up seeing his father and believed he was in Heaven because he said there was him staring back at him. Also he saw Shakur in Rikers island
Rikers Island
Rikers Island is New York City's main jail complex, as well as the name of the island on which it sits, in the East River between Queens and the mainland Bronx, adjacent to the runways of LaGuardia Airport. The island itself is part of the borough of the Bronx, though it is included as part of...
and there are images of him and his father hugging and smiling during their visit.
After Tupac's death, Afeni and William Garland sent his blood to Long Beach Genetics. A laboratory test of Shakur's DNA assigned a probability of 99.97% to Afeni and William's parentage.
A contentious lawsuit filed by William Garland, seeking 50 percent of Tupac's estate. Afeni Shakur angrily charged that Garland was a gold-digger who ignored his son for 18 years; Garland blamed her nomadic lifestyle for making it impossible to find Tupac. "I'm the only person in here who lost somebody," Ms. Shakur snapped in early August 1997. "He don't even know my son's birthday." Garland's lawyer, Leonard Birdsong, rips Ms. Shakur as "an egomaniac" upset by publicity for Tupac's father. He also mentions her past crack addiction and alcohol problems; Tupac had said those woes forced him to leave his mother's house at age 17. Fischbein dismisses Garland as "a deadbeat dad" who gave his son "$500 and a bag of peanuts over the course of his life." Birdsong indignantly charges Fischbein with "rewriting history to vilify my client." Garland only filed suit after Ms. Shakur twice submitted legal papers saying Tupac's father was dead, Garland says. This parental struggle could give birth to another lawsuit. If he wins, Garland wants to be named the estate's co-executor.
William Garland was cut out of his son's estate after a judge decided that his contributions to the rapper's upbringing were "minuscule." Garland, a trucker living in New Jersey, wanted half of Shakur's multimillion-dollar estate, but his mother, Afeni, claimed that he was absent for the majority of Tupac's upbringing. Testimony revealed that Garland had actually only seen Tupac for fifteen of his twenty-five years, and that his actual contributions to young Tupac's welfare included about $820, a bag of peanuts, and a ticket to the film Rollerball
Rollerball (1975 film)
Rollerball is a 1975 American dystopian fiction film directed by Norman Jewison from a screenplay by William Harrison, who adapted his own short story "Roller Ball Murder", which first appeared in 1973 in Esquire magazine.-The Game:...
. His lawyer, Michael Reinis, is hoping to appeal, saying that the decision was based upon a law that came into effect twenty years after Shakur's birth.
Four days after Shakur's death, Garland told Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
in an interview that he wanted people to focus on the rapper's accomplishments.
"My son is dead, and he don't deserve to be talked about like some common criminal. He wasn't perfect, but he did do some great things in a little bit of time".