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Stars Celebrate Shakur's Birthday

18th June 2011

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Tupac Shakur - Stars including Rick Ross and Erykah Badu turned out to mark what would have been TuPac Shakur's 40th birthday with a glitzy concert in Georgia.

The rap legend, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996, would have reached the milestone on Thursday (16Jun11) and a host of famous faces turned out to honour the occasion and raise money for the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation at a show in Stone Mountain, Georgia.

My first reaction to Tupac was he's not a rapper, he's not an actor, he's a saviour of sorts. But he came at a time when people weren't looking for a saviour, they were looking for someone who looked like them.

Performers included jazz musician Roy Ayers, rappers Bun B and Warren G, as well Badu and Ross, who gave an emotional speech about the slain star during his time on stage.

He told the crowd, "For a lot of lil' dudes in a single parent home (like me) with my mother, TuPac played father for a lot of dudes like me. TuPac was the first one that showed me how to be fully committed. I (wanted to emulate) his hard work, his ethic, his family... When we talk about his record sales, let's not forget the role he played to all the little black boys around the world."

While Badu said, "My first reaction to TuPac was he's not a rapper, he's not an actor, he's a saviour of sorts. But he came at a time when people weren't looking for a saviour, they were looking for someone who looked like them."

The concert was hosted by funnyman Mike Epps and at the end of the night, a $10,000 (?6,250) cheque was presented to Shakur's mother, Afeni Shakur, for the charity, according to Allhiphop.com.

Another star celebrating Shakur's birthday was Justin Bieber, producing a video tribute Justin Bieber marked what would have been TuPac Shakur's 40th birthday on Thursday (16Jun11) by posting a video tribute to the late star online.

The teenage pop sensation went online to honour the slain rapper, who was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996, by posting footage from a 2009 interview which showed him talking about his love for the hip-hop legend.

Bieber re-posted a message from his bodyguard Kenny Hamilton, who wrote on Twitter.com, "TuPac would?ve been 40 yrs (sic) old today?Happy Birthday Pac! Miss ya bro! Still got your pictures on my wall in the room I grew up in!?

The pop star added a link to a film which showed him talking about Shakur and singing along to his hits, writing, "It's 2Pac's bday (sic)!... You know I'm a 2Pac fan... 2Pac4Life."