To commemorate the life and loss of Tupac Amaru Shakur, actress and mogul Jada Pinkett Smith took to Instagram, on the West Coast rapper’s 50th birthday to share a never-before-seen poem written for her.
Tupac would have turned 50 on the 16th of June this year, the highly acclaimed rapper was murdered in a drive-by shooting on September 13, 1996, said to be linked to police and Death Row Records corruption.
The Madagascar actress, Jada Pinkett Smith, shared a close friendship, first meeting in the 1980s remaining friends with the rapper for many years before he sadly passed.
To commemorate the All Eyes On Me rapper’s 50th birthday, Smith took to Instagram to share a never-before-seen poem written by ‘Pac’ (as she lovingly refers to him) for her with her 10 million followers.
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CQJjmooHTjI/?utm_source=ig_web_copy_link
In the post she shared, Smith explains how Shakur wrote her many poems prior to this. She suspects that this was a the original concept for his song ‘Lost Soulz’ as it also shares a name with the title of the poem.
It was originally written whilst Shakur was serving time in Rikers Island New York for eight months after over sexual assault charges.
The caption of the post, “As we prepare to celebrate his legacy … let’s remember him for that which we loved most … his way with words.”
The poem itself is a beautiful tableau of a man and an artist, made to suffer by the world around him. One of the lines of the poem reads “I have witnessed all that is pure in me // Be changed by the evil men can do.
His memory has and will live on through his words, long after his death. People will continue to share heartfelt memories and messages.
Many people have come out in response to Smiths post to also share their thoughts, memories and commemorations. Her mum Adrienne Norris wrote, ‘This is beautiful! I believe he would have been a powerful influence in this “state of emergency”. RIP,’
These words are no more urgent than ever, hopefully Shakurs message inspire genertions to come to fight for what they believe in.
