Tupac Shakur would have turned 44 on June 16, 2015. While many people acknowledge him on social media with photos and tweet-quotes of his inspired lyrics and heightened life-knowledge, fellow LA native and singer, Jhené Aiko goes out of her way to celebrate Pac’s birthday every single year. This year, she debuted several photos and an interview to commemorate her favorite artist on MTV.com.
“I feel like I have to give his legacy some type of present,” Jhené told MTV’s Rob Markman. “It started off, one time I did a video shoot where they spread his ashes. And it was a coincidence that I was there that day, we were all like, “Wait a minute, this is Tupac’s birthday and we’re here on the same beach.”
She added, “It’s been several years since then and every year I want to do something. I wrote a letter one year, I put it on my Tumblr… This year it was just an idea that me and my team had and I’m passionate about Tupac.”
Aiko also revealed Tupac gave her hope when she was young, pregnant and hopeless. The first time she heard her favorite Tupac song, Keep Your Head Up, she broke down and cried. Now that she’s an artist, she covers the song at her shows noting that it inspired her to keep going.
To see the full photo spread and to read more about how Jhené understands Tupac’s dualities, click here.
Happy Birthday Tupac! What’s your favorite memory of Tupac? Tell us on Twitter.