Though Tupac Shakur was born in New York and spent most of his mainstream career in Los Angeles, the late-great MC had roots in the Bay Area, having begun his career as part of the Oakland-based rap group Digital Underground. So, 27 years after he was tragically murdered, the City of Oakland has decided to honor his contributions to their music community.
Videos by American Songwriter
On Friday (November 3), a street sign for “Tupac Shakur Way” was unveiled in Oakland on MacArthur Boulevard, where Shakur resided when he lived in the city in the early 1990s. Several fellow Bay Area hip-hop icons were present at the ceremony, such as Too Short, E-40, and MC Hammer.
Perhaps the most notable attendee, though, was Tupac’s half-sister Sekyiwa Shakur, who gave a heartfelt statement regarding street violence while standing on the newly-christened Tupac Shakur Way.
“On these streets, you can’t mention my brother’s name if you are still taking a Black man’s life,” she said. “It’s a moment that I know my brother would be proud of. Establishing love and peace in the Oakland community especially mattered to him. Being able to represent safety to his people mattered to him.”
[RELATED: Video Surfaces of Tupac’s Murder Suspect Being Arrested]
On top of this, MC Hammer praised Pac, suggesting that he was “hands down, the greatest rapper ever, there’s not even a question of that.” E-40 shared a similar sentiment.
“He spoke up for our people, for our culture,” E-40 said. “He is the greatest rapper to ever did it, man. He did so much in so little time.”
Also in attendance was Oakland City Council member Carroll Fife, who spoke highly of the legendary “Hail Mary” rapper.
“He claimed Oakland. He said Oakland gave him his game,” Fife said. “The same things that made who Tupac was, what he was fighting for and trying to lift up through his music is what we are fighting for today.”
In September, a suspect, Duane “Keffe D” Davis, was arrested and charged with the murder of Shakur. He has pleaded not guilty. Davis’ trial in Las Vegas has yet to begin.
(Photo by Krusberg/Getty Images)
