Hip-Hop Reacts to Afeni Shakur’s Death
On May 2, the world lost the woman who birthed one of hip-hop's most prominent icons, the mother of Tupac, Afeni Shakur. According to TMZ, she is said to have died late Monday night of possibly a heart attack. Nearly 20 years after her son was fatally gunned down in Las Vegas, Afeni can finally be with him again. She was 69 years old.
The Marin County Sherif's Department responded to Shakur's California home at around 9:30pm. She was said to be experiencing cardiac arrest and was transported to the hospital, where she was pronounced dead just before 10:30pm. Afeni recently green-lit a biopic on Tupac's life after over two decades. They just finished filming the Benny Boom-directed movie which began production in December. New-comer Demetrius Shipp will take on the role of Tupac.
Following Pac's Death, Afeni founded and maintained the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation. She was also a philanthropist. In the 1970s, she was an active member of the Black Panther Party and once went on trial after being accused of orchestrating several bombings. The cause of her death is still under investigation.
Read XXL's 2003 cover story, Afeni Shakur, Survivor, here. Check out what hip-hop had to say about Afeni's passing above.