The legacy of Tupac Shakur will be further immortalized in a city he once lived – after the Oakland City Council on Tuesday unanimously voted to rename a section of a street in honor of the deceased legendary rapper.
According to the Los Angeles Times, the street that will soon be renamed the “Tupac Shakur Way” is located at the section of MacArthur Boulevard between the avenues of Grand and Van Buren, where the All Eyez on Me rapper previously lived.
District 3 Councilmember, Carroll Fife, launched the campaign to rename the street in the late rapper and actor’s honor. “When [hip-hop] first started people didn’t think it was a valid art form,” Fife said at the meeting. “Now it’s taken hold all across the world. Tupac Amaru Shakur is a name that is known all across the world for not only his political influence but his influence on music.”
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Born in Harlem, New York, on June 16, 1971, Tupac rose to stardom after he moved to California in the 1980s. While residing in the Bay Area between the late 1980s and the early 1990s, Tupac initially became the roadie and backup dancer for Digital Underground – a rap group that was based in Oakland, the Los Angeles Times reported; and later branched out as a solo artist.
The rapper was shot multiple times in Las Vegas, Nevada, on September 7, 1996, and died a few days later on September 13, 1996. On the occasion to mark what would have been his 52nd birthday, Fife said the city intends to honor him with a plaque on June 16.
This isn’t the first time Tupac has been honored by the city of Oakland, in 2016, the city declared his birthday as Tupac Shakur Day to honor him for his work in the community. Former Mayor, Libby Schaaf, stated in the proclamation that the California Love rapper “cherished his time in Oakland as his home, stating that he got his ‘Game’ [there].”
“Tupac once said: ‘I give all my love to Oakland, if I’ma claim somewhere I’ma claim Oakland.’”
Known for kicking knowledge about the plight of Blacks in the United States and being philosophical when he chose to be, Tupac continues to be regarded as one of the most prolific rappers of all time.
“Tupac Shakur’s legacy will continue through his contributions in art and social outreach, through his family and fans, touching countless lives of children and elders over the years while alive and after his death, taken too young by gun violence,” the street-naming resolution stated.
