Tupac Amur Shakur (aka 2Pac) was raised in the city of Baltimore, the largest city in Maryland. Located next to Patapsco River, which flows into the Chesapeake Bay, made this a desirable place to settle. As is it well known, if there is water, there is life, so it’s no surprise that the largest cities in the U.S. (LA, Manhattan, San Francisco, St. Louis etc.) are all next to water.

On this day July 30th, in 1729, the settlement of Baltimore, Maryland is founded. It was named after Lord Baltimore, the first proprietary governor of the Province of Maryland. Baltimore was a Catholic, and his city became known for being a refuge for Catholics in the New World filled with Protestants or Puritans (who were a branch of Protestantism.)

As of 2010 Baltimore city proper had around 620,000 population – a full third less than its population in 1950. Its Metropolitan area has over 2.7 million. Baltimore has acquired a reputation for its crime (which 2Pac reflected in his songs) and for years had a crime rate well above the national average; however, in recent years the rate has gone down significantly. Its baseball team is the Orioles, which Cal Ripken Jr., one of the greatest players in modern baseball, played for his entire 21 season career.