The legendary 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.
In an interview with MTV, Jhené told MTV's Rob Markman, "I would say like a few years ago. It's been a few years, but every birthday of his I always want to do something. I feel like I have to give his legacy some type of present. 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." So after that, 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. It's a special day because to me he was such a special person, so this year it was just an idea that me and my team had and I'm passionate about Tupac so it was something and I was like, "Yeah." It was just random, it just happened on the spot; it was a really good idea for his birthday.
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. Tupac's legacy is kept alive in the hearts of those who revere him and his music.
