Paying tribute to one of his heroes, Tupac Shakur, on the 19th anniversary of his death, Kendrick Lamar has published a heartfelt open letter on the official 2pac website, saying how big an impact the hip-hop legend had on him as a young boy.
It reads:
I was 8 yrs old when I first saw you. I couldn’t describe how I felt at that moment. So many emotions. Full of excitement. Full of joy and eagerness. 20 yrs later I understand exactly what that feeling was.
INSPIRED.
The people that you touched on that small intersection changed lives forever. I told myself I wanted to be a voice for man one day. Whoever knew I was speaking out loud for u to listen.
Thank you.
K.L.
The impact Shakur made on Lamar’s career is clearly etched into his latest record, To Pimp A Butterfly. The record closes with a fictional conversation with Tupac. He also recently revealed that that the album was originally called Tu Pimp a Catterpillar (which, when abbreviated, is TuPAC).
