The mother of hip hop legend Tupac has died at age 69.
Afeni Shakur is said to have suffered cardiac arrest and was taken to a local hospital in California where she died on Monday evening.
According to New York Daily News, Shakur was a black rights activist who was heavily involved with the Black Panthers – a group affiliated to Malcolm X.
Shakur was arrested in 1969 on conspiracy to bomb multiple busy city landmarks. Two years later she was acquitted of all charges and released from jail. Tupac was born a month after she was released from jail.
“I was pregnant in jail and I thought that I was going to have a baby and that it would never be with me but I was acquitted a month and three days before Tupac was born and I was really happy, because I had a son,” said Shakur in a Tupac song.
Tupac, the successful and hugely talented hip hop legend, honoured his mother in one of his greatest hits – Dear Mama.
In the song he wrote wrote:
You always was a black queen, mama
I finally understand
for a woman it ain’t easy tryin to raise a man
You always was committed
A poor single mother on welfare, tell me how ya did it
There’s no way I can pay you back
But the plan is to show you that I understand
You are appreciated
Tupac died in 1996 and his mother took over his estate which netted in an estimated R13 million in royalties each year. Shakur headed and implemented arts programmes in memory of Tupac and was also the executive producer of a movie, All Eyez On Me on her son’s life which is set for release in November.
Tributes have been pouring in for Shakur on social media.