Tupac Shakur 1971-1996... A 10 year memoriam
(By Pittsey, StreetHop.com Member Staff)

Some people are haunted by the moment John F Kennedy was shot in Dallas in 1963. Others remember the shock of John Lennon's 1980 killing in New York. For the hip-hop generation, though, there is only one iconic figure, Tupac Shakur, and one iconic moment, when he was gunned down in Las Vegas at the height of his notoriety and commercial success 10 years ago today.

Tupac was our Kennedy, our Lennon; our Elvis. If you were a Tupac fan in 1996 then you will remember with vivid clarity where you were and what you were doing when you first heard he was shot. Like me, you were probably also certain he’d pull through and unleash a verbal music assisted onslaught on those that had shot him. And for six days it appeared events were going according to plan.

Until three minutes past 4 PM on Friday September 13th that is. That was the moment Tupac was pronounced dead by Dr James Lovett at the University Medical Center. It came as shock to his fans and many just couldn’t let go. Tupac had been shot before; he had survived five shots including two to the head. Tupac was bullet proof. We came to the only logical conclusion; Tupac had faked his own death.

While subsequent events have silenced even the most hardened alive theorists the memory of Tupac still lives just as vividly as it did those 10 years ago. So today, on the 10th anniversary of his passing we spend the day mourning his death and celebrating his life.

Other dead celebrities are celebrated as nostalgia acts for what they once represented; Shakur remains a vital presence in today's rap world. Perhaps that's due to the volume of material he left behind. With yet another release coming our direction in November.

I finish this dedication with a quote from the immortal Tupac Shakur - “A coward dies a thousand deaths; A soldier dies but once.”