In 1986 when Tupac was around 15 years old, he and his family moved from New York to Baltimore which is about 192 miles south-west (3 hours and 17 minutes by car). Once they were relocated, Tupac began his sophomore year at Paul Laurence Dunbar High School before he transferred to the Baltimore School of The Arts.

At the Baltimore School of The Arts Tupac studied acting, poetry, jazz, and ballet. In the school play of The Nutcracker, he played the role of Mouse King. The Mouse King is an evil character who leads an army of mice who secretly live in the Stahlbaums house (the main characters). Once the Mouse King is defeated, the spell on The Nutcracker is broken.