Tupac has a few biographies, but none in this depth

[Tupac, from E1] Dynasty of the 1980s," was even adapted into an Emmy-nominated HBO series, "Winning Time: The Rise of the Lakers Dynasty.

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Yet when Pearlman told his agent in the summer of 2022 about an idea he had for a book chronicling the turbulent life, euphoric rise and tragic death of hip-hop deity Tupac Shakur, he was met with bewilderment. "He said, 'But you are a white guy who writes about sports,'" Pearlman said of the initial discussion.

"Only God Can Judge Me: The Many Lives of Tupac Shakur" (Mariner Books/HarperCollins Publishers) sticks out of Pearlman's literary portfolio like Kendrick Lamar at a Drake fan meet-and-greet. His previous work detailed the highs, lows and triumphs of such sporting icons as the 1986 World Series-winning, wild bunch New York Mets; disgraced MLB pitcher Roger Clemens; dynastic '90s Super Bowl champs the Dallas Cowboys; Chicago Bears running back great Walter Payton; NFL gunslinger Brett Favre; and two-sport phenom Bo Jackson.

Yet the charismatic Tupac Amaru Shakur, a gifted emcee, actor and social activist - who was killed at the too-soon age of 25 in a Las Vegas drive-by shooting on Sept. 7, 1996 - was as much an eloquent voice of a generation as he was the self-destructive face of gangster rap. The same celebrated Shakur who rapped about women's empowerment on his hopeful song "Keep Ya Head Up" also did a seven-month stint at Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York in 1995, after being charged and convicted of sexual abuse, stemming from a 1993 incident.

Shakur's turbulent yet impactful short life was light-years from Pearlman's sleepy, rural Mahopac, N.Y., roots. "It's admittedly weird that I'm the one writing a Tupac biography," Pearlman says. "I tell people, 'Look, I just want to acknowledge the obvious here. I'm not of hip-hop.' But I found Tupac fascinating. I listened more to his second album, 'Strictly 4 My,' because I liked 'I Get Around.' [Beyond that], I've never written about hip-hop at any great length, but I don't feel like the subject of Tupac had ever been done the way I wanted to do it."