Yesterday, the world was hit with sad news as word spread that Afeni Shakur, civil rights activist and the famous mother of legendary rapper Tupac Shakur, died Monday night at the age of 69. Since then, fans across the globe have been sharing their sorrow online over Shakur’s death. Now, Jada Pinkett Smith, who was a close friend to Tupac, has opened up about her feelings on Shakur’s death.
As previously reported, Shakur suffered a cardiac arrest on Monday night at her home in Sausalito, California. She was taken to a nearby hospital but was pronounced dead at 10:30 p.m.
As many fans know, Shakur knew Pinkett Smith because the actress and Pac attended the same performing arts high school in Baltimore and became best friends. The two eventually rose to fame in the industry around the same time and remained close friends until Pac’s tragic murder in 1996.
After finding out about Shakur’s passing, Pinkett Smith went on Facebook and penned a heartfelt letter about her memories of Shakur.
“Today I woke up to the news that Afeni had passed. My first thought was of Sekyiwa and the entire clan that loved Afeni. Then I remembered that I was in NY to attend a Mother’s Day event named after a song written about Afeni, Dear Mama. My heart tightened and then all kinds of memories flooded in,” Pinkett Smith wrote.
“I quickly remembered how calm Afeni was especially during any crisis. She always had a way of making me believe all would be well. But my fondest memories of Afeni was spending time with her at Jasmine Guy’s house as Jasmine was writing Afeni’s book. Tupac had passed, and now I was a businesswoman, wife, and a mother and we could talk real and I mean really real.”
Pinkett Smith then explained how Shakur and her son were alike in how powerful, compassionate and influential that they were.
“I got to see where Pac got his passion, his ideals for equality and justice but most of all his depth of thinking. Afeni was a giant in her own right. Today she is reunited with her son and Sekyiwa has two majestic angels to look after her. One for each shoulder. Rest in peace Afeni, and give Pac a hug and a kiss from me,” Pinkett-Smith wrote.
Our condolences go out to the friends and family of Afeni Shakur. Rest in peace.
