Sept. 13 marks the 19th anniversary of Tupac Shakur’s death. In his memory, Kendrick Lamar has penned a poignant letter that’s being featured on 2pac.com.
Inside Kendrick Lamar’s Tupac Tribute ‘Mortal Man’: ‘I Think They Would Have Been Good Friends’
Explore
See latest videos, charts and news
See latest videos, charts and news
The official 2Pac Facebook page confirmed that the tribute, which is signed “K.L.,” comes from Lamar.
“I was 8 yrs old when I first saw you. I couldn’t describe how I felt at that moment. So many different emotions. Full of excitement. Full of joy and eagerness,” Lamar writes. “20 yrs later I understand exactly what that feeling was. INSPIRED. The people that you touched on that small intersection changed lives forever. I told myself I wanted to be a voice for man one day. Whoever knew I was speaking out loud for u to listen. Thank you.”
“Mortal Man” — the closing track on Lamar’s To Pimp a Butterfly, the album that topped the Billboard 200 upon its release in March 2015 — features a fictional posthumous conversation between the two rappers. On the track, Lamar “discusses” legacy, success and the current hip-hop generation with Shakur, using pieces from a 1994 interview with the late rapper.
In an interview with MTV around the time of the album’s release, Lamar said that the album’s original title was actually Tu Pimp a Caterpillar — which had a Tupac Shakur connection. He explained that “the abbreviation was Tupac, Tu.P.A.C.”