01x05 - Until the End of Time

[bunniefuu]

[emcee] As author of a new book,
we today are honored that

Ms. Shakur chose
Clark Atlanta University

to share her spirit.

If you will, please join me
in welcoming

one affectionately known as
"Dear Mama," Afeni Shakur.

[cheering and applause]

[Afeni] A book, any book,
is a sacred item.

So me, I worship
the written word.

- You know? But...
-[loud applause]

First, let me tell you
that I am not

the author of this book.

Very important to note,

Jasmine Guy wrote this book.

[Jasmine]
She was a brilliant woman.

I love this woman.

I love her son.

There was an intellectual
curiosity that they shared.

And a sense of
how to tell a story.

[Afeni] In 1995,

Jasmine Guy intended
to write a book about my life.

[Jasmine] And this is all
the stuff, you know,

the ugly kind of truth.

All the ups, downs, abandonment,

abuse, drugs, the trauma.

[Afeni] I didn't want
to talk about nothing.

It's just the way I was.

[Jasmine]
Just because you adapt

and push through something,

doesn't mean your body did.

Doesn't mean your spirit did.

[Afeni]
It didn't come willingly.

If I don't like the way things
are going,

I will run away and leave.

And Tupac confronted me
on that.

He taught me to not
run away anymore.

And-- and that's him.

He never, ever, ever
was going to bend his knee

for five seconds.

[Allen] So at the time that
Pac was 25,

and he's scared of Suge,

he's trying to
get off the label,

But he's not saying anything,
he's not vocal--

No, no, no, no. Scared...

- to get off what label?
Death Row?
- [Allen] Yeah.

No, no, no, no, no, no.
Let me say this.

Two weeks before
we went to Vegas,

Pac was on the phone,

foaming out of his mouth,

veins were busting out his
neck, his head--

Threatened to blow up
Death Row studio.

And he was fussing about
his music.

He wanted his masters.

[Jamal]
Tupac was done with Death Row.

You know, he had fired
Kenner, the lawyer.

He was really on his way out.

[Jamala] He had
fulfilled his obligation.

And that wasn't his plan
to be there that long.

[Tupac] No doubt.

[Jamala] He had a plan.

[Tupac]
♪ To live and die in L.A.

[Jamala] Tupac had
a whole life mapped out.

And he was very happy.

♪ To live and die in L.A.

♪ Where everyday we
Try to fatten our pockets ♪

♪ Us n*gg*s
Hustle for the cash ♪

♪ So it's hard to knock it

♪ Everybody got they own thing
Currency chasin' ♪

♪ Worldwide through the
Hard times, worrying faces ♪

♪ Shed tears as we bury
n*gg*s close to heart ♪

♪ Who was a friend
Now a ghost in the dark ♪

♪ Cold-hearted 'bout it
n*gga got smoked by a fiend ♪

♪ Tryin' to floss on him, blind
To a broken man's dream ♪

♪ A hard lesson, court cases
Keep me guessin' ♪

♪ Plea bargain ain't an
Option now, so I'm stressin' ♪

♪ Cost me more to be free
Than a life in the pen ♪

♪ Makin' money off of
Cuss words, writin' again ♪

♪ Learn how to think ahead
So I fight with my pen ♪

♪ Late night down sunset
Likin' the scene ♪

♪ What's the worst they
Can do to a n*gga? ♪

♪ Got me lost in Hell, to live
And die in L.A. on bail ♪

[Glo]
Tupac asked me to move

from Decatur, Georgia,
to California.

He wouldn't eat nobody else's
fried chicken.

He say, I'll get you a house.

Hell, yeah.

[Tupac]
♪ To live and die in L.A.

[Glo] He was our hope
for a better life,

a different life.

[Tupac]
♪ To live and die in L.A.

He told us to bring his g*ns.

We packed up every p*stol,
every r*fle,

and we now set off to L.A.

[Tupac]
♪ To live and die in L.A.

[Jamal]
During that same period,

Suge was doing what he
could do to lure Tupac back in.

[chorus]
♪ To live and die in L.A.

Even up to that last day of
the ride up to Las Vegas,

where Pac didn't
really want to go.

And he's just
guilt-tripping him.

- [Suge] "Mike's playing
your song."
-[announcer] Mike Tyson!

[Jamala] It was the fight night.

So Pac is--
"Aight, f*ck him."

On our way to Vegas,

Sunflower seeds, magazines,

cigarettes, blunts, Sunkist.
You know?

Checked in
at the Luxor hotel.

That's when Pac decided that
he didn't want me

and Kidada to hang out.

We kept saying,
"This is like Robberween."

You don't want to be out here.

At this point,
Pac was always like,

everywhere he goes, he need to
put his bulletproof vest on.

Pac had just bought
all his jewelry,

his dope Makavelli ring,
and the necklace.

But Suge was like, "No,
you don't need all that.

You don't need all that.

Come on, we're just gonna
go to the fight."

Suge would keep saying,

"Pac, are you behind me?"

and Pac would be like,

"m*therf*cker,
yeah, I'm behind you."

[chuckles]
Yeah.

[Glo] The next morning,
my husband and I,

we're driving through Texas.

The radio come on,
and it say,

"Rapper Tupac Shakur shot
in Vegas."

[reporter] While riding along
the Strip in Las Vegas.

Shakur is reported in critical
condition this morning,

in a Las Vegas hospital.

Oh, God.

[Allen] You guys good?

[Mike] I want you to make me
look what I am.

Don't make me look right.

Make me look what I am.

[Allen] Um, but I'm first
gonna ask you, like,

like, whatever the f*ck I ask,

I'm a little goofy, Mike,
so bear with me.

Go for it. Join the club.

[Allen] I'm into the parallels
between you and Tupac.

He's referred to you
as his older brother,

and I feel like you're
the only one that can speak.

to someone being from
where he's from, coming from

the bottom, fame, fortune--

going through all that stuff
you had to go through.

Am I sweatin' like a pimp
with one hoe over here?

- [Allen] I'm gonna say
to Boot to pat down.
- [laughter]

Can I get a pat-down?

You know, when it gets closer
to the fight,

if the energy is still humming,
I'mma start perspiring,

I start losing weight, I start--
I don't know.

- It just happened.
- [Allen] Just off the mindset.

Yeah, it happens naturally.

Like I could be-- I could be
like having a bad day...

having bad days.
And it just start-- boom!

Everything's coming to set.
Boom!

You know what
you have to do.

My mind is working,
the elements are working.

Everything is right.

You know, I'm a gutter kid.

I was just a chubby fat kid,
that was-- got disrespected.

I had pigeons.
I was raising pigeons.

One day, um, these bullies
came to take my pigeons.

I said, "Please,
can I have my birds back?"

And this one guy,
was like, "No, you fat b*tch."

And he popped the neck off,

hit me with the head,
poured the blood on me,

hit me with the bird,

then someone said,
"Fight him back."

So, I beat the sh*t out of him.

And when I hit the guy
and I dropped him,

I started skipping.
Everybody started clapping.

And I got-- Oh!

I got addicted to fighting.

[laughs]

Everybody started clapping.
I got addicted to fighting.

I fought every day.

Fighting, biting ears,
and fighting in the...

the legs on--
That was-- that was--

Ah, I loved it. It got me high.

It got my...

I was, um...

It got me erected.

My d*ck got hard.

Violence got my d*ck hard. Yeah.

[Allen] You got off on it.

I didn't get off.
I didn't come.

But it got my d*ck hard.

[ L'estasi dell'oro
by Ennio Morricone plays]

[Allen] Wow.

[Mike]
That's how much violence

was a part of my life.

You know, um...

I'm a different kind of guy
maybe, than Tupac,

you know, because I-- [stammers]

I don't feel good saying this.

You know, um, that place,
the prison--

I--I-- for some reason,

I thrive in places like that.

I was dark.

Tupac was really a good kid.

He had cause
and reasons to fight.

He was just a beautiful person.

I'm just-- I'm just selfish.

We just wanna get
a lot of money.

The only thing we want,
we only want jewelry,

we want nice clothes,
and want to get high.

If browns is in the house,
we sticking up everything.

We're taking everything.

We might even k*ll you.

Isn't that true, George?

[announcer] It's showtime!

[Jamal]
The atmosphere is charged up.

[Mike] It's chaos like
you can never believe.

And... How do I say this?

[bell dings]

I'm the baddest m*therf*cker

in that element.

[commentator] That's it!
It's over in the first round.

[triumphant music playing]

[Jamal] Mike Tyson destroyed his
opponent in less than a round.

[Mike] I stopped the guy
in one minute.

Right after I get out the ring,
I hug Tupac.

I tell him, "I'm gonna
see you tonight, n*gga."

I'm gonna be at 662,
I tell him. Boom!

[screams]

Give me some!

I told you all we back!

[Mike] After the fight,
Tupac is still in that mode.

Hey, hey, hey!

♪ When Tyson get in the ring

♪ He knock m*therf*ckers out!

♪ Well, that's what
2pac gon' do ♪

[Jamal]
He was still charged up.

Because the fight didn't
satisfy that

gladiator-spectator spirit.

I told you, everybody that
go to jail come out,

they got good luck!

[Mike]
That's very addictive.

[Tupac] ♪ When n*gg*s come
Against me ♪

♪ I'ma knock
They punk a*s out! ♪

[Mike] If he didn't have anybody
to fight,

he'll find
somebody to fight.

[Jamal]
And then, Pac sees this guy

and someone says,

"Isn't that Orlando Anderson?

The Crip that stole our boy's

Death Row medallion
the other day?"

Pac says, "He did what?

I'm gonna go jump
on this dude."

[Jamala]
Every time I saw it, I cringed.

Every time I saw that video,
I cringed.

I was looking at something
that was not real.

You are not a g*ng member.

How did you get here?

How did you get here?

What was you trying
to prove to who?

How did you go
from believing this thing

to believing that?

How did you get the f*ck there?

Got caught up.

[g*nshots]

[glass clattering]

[sirens blare]

[Jamala] Aw, man.

I remember when we got the call
that Pac got shot.

And-- and I froze.
I stuck. Like, what?

Like, because we had just
went through this in New York.

[reporter] For the
second time in two years,

a prominent rap artist has
been shot and badly wounded.

Tupac Shakur
is in critical condition

in a Las Vegas hospital tonight,

Shakur was shot
four times in the chest.

[Jamala]
I don't know the details

of how the incident went,

but I remember after the fight,

Pac come in the room.

He like, "I just knocked
this n*gga out,"

and he took off
the buttoned-up orange shirt

and threw on a jersey

and then went back downstairs,

telling me and Kidada,
"Y'all stay in the room."

So we really
pissed off about it

because we didn't
understand that

these West Coast people

take this g*ng sh*t
real serious.

I don't even think
Pac understood it.

[Jamal] You know,
one of the worst things
that you could do

on the street is slap somebody

or stomp somebody.

That's a act

of pure humiliation.

You don't do it.
And I think that

Orlando Anderson
is mobbed up

and they went on the hunt.

And there was enough
Crips there and enough eyes

where they were
able to get lucky

and see Tupac at that light.

That last photo...

of him in that car...

That just breaks my heart.

Because I wonder if he knew.

[reporter]
The rap star came to Las Vegas

to see a Tyson-Seldon fight
on Saturday.

Afterwards, he was going out
to the 662 club
with some friends,

when a g*nman pulled up
alongside in a Cadillac

and opened fire.

Shakur took four b*ll*ts...

And that was that.

And then let's say,
an hour later,

me and Kidada,
we in the cab

going to the hospital.

I'm hoping that when I see Pac,

that this is like
a New York sh**ting.

that he's coherent,

that he's walking around
the room, right?

He's-- he's Pac, you know?

But when we got to the room,

this is when I knew
that this was serious.

[machines beeping, hissing]

It was totally different.

He was connected to all these
tubes up his nose

and his mouth,
arms, everything.

The machine is going off.

[machines beeping]

He is severely injured internally.

He has multiple g*nsh*t wounds
to the chest.

He is not sitting up
and he is not talking.

[Jamala] At that point,
I wanted to make sure

that Kidada was all right

'cause it was just
me and her there.

She's f*cked up.

Me, I'm f*cked up.

But I'm like the next of kin.

At the hospital.

So we called my Aunt Feni.

[voice breaks] And I'm like,
"Pac's gonna have a hard time.

If he's gonna make it,

he's gonna have to fight
real, real hard.

[phone line rings]

[Afeni] I found out about it

when I was in Atlanta.

I took the first plane

that I could get.

But that period, from the time
you get the news,

when you're trying
to get to your loved one,

is an incredibly long,
horrible period of time.

And I think my mind wanted
to just go into shutdown.

And not accept it.

I was in a fog...

that I didn't understand.

I understood nothing.

[Jamala]
The next day, once everyone
came to the hospital,

it became a whole new hysteria.

My mom came and I was relieved.

[Glo] I didn't think it
would be so many people,

so that was disconcerting
for me.

He was in
a medically-induced coma.

He lost a lung
and his ring finger
was shot off.

The first thing that goes
through me when I see him,

I can remember this,

is that I thought of my mother

when she was on life support.

I had to give the consent,
take her off life support.

But then I'm listening
to what people are saying,

that he'll be-- You know,
people have done this before,

he'll be fine.

We're in a constant
prayer vigil.

- We are...
- [man speaks indistinctly]

praying that God
will spare his life.

[Snoop] Yup, Jesse Jackson

and his mama
was in the hallway.

His mama let me in there.

We didn't talk
the last day and a half

before he got shot.

So imagine how I felt
when I go to the hospital

and we ain't right.

Afeni pulled me to the side

and said some encouraging
words for us.

"Get your spirit right, n*gga.
He used to seeing you up."

Don't go in there
like a puppy dog
go in there like Snoop Dogg.

And I went there like,
"What's up, n*gga?"

And I know he couldn't hear me,
but my spirit was talking
to him...

"Wassup, my n*gga?
What's happening?"

I was talking to his spirit.

"I want to apologize, n*gga,

for making you mad

the other day."

That's a different kind
of feeling, man,

when it's one of
your friends...

[reporter] We are here at
the University Medical Center

in Las Vegas,
where Tupac Shakur

has remained
in critical condition

for over a week.

Doctors felt this is
a crucial weekend,

determining whether
he would survive.

[Dale] He remains
in critical condition.

I've been told this evening
that he is scheduled

for some additional surgery,
which is not unusual

when you have injuries
that are this severe.

[Afeni] The doctor
put him on dialysis

just in case his kidney failed.

[machines beeping]

But every time they put him
on the machine,

his heart would stop.

[Glo] And they said,
"We resuscitated him
three times,"

and she heard that finally.
"What did you say?"

[Afeni]
Tupac had stopped breathing.

And every time
they revived him,

he just went back.

And I really felt
it was important

for Tupac,
who fought so hard

to have a free spirit,

to be allowed to be free.

You know?
And so I rejoiced.

With him.

And with the release
of his spirit,

I rejoiced then
and I rejoice now.

When I'm not crying.

[Tupac]
Mama, I really do love you.

I appreciate everything
you've done for me.

I've done a lot of the things
that I wanted to do.

I've led a good life.

I'm not happy here.

If I die tonight, I'm happy.

[Afeni]
I asked him to let him go.

[Tupac]
World's best mom.

[Afeni]
Well, now, here we are.

The light of our life.

The star in our galaxy...

is now dead.

I said,
"Um, could I go see him?"

And Feni said, "Go ahead."

I go in and they got
a big boom box in the room

playing his music.

[ Vincent by Don McLean plays]

I saw my nephew
laying on the table

with the sheet up to his neck.

And the machines are all off.

I know he's dead.

And I was looking at him
and I'm touching him

and I'm kissing him.

I kissed him at his head.

I kissed his hands.

I kissed his feet.

And I'm saying to him,
"You just fly."

♪ Starry starry night

♪ Paint your palette
Blue and gray ♪

♪ Look out on a summer's day

[Glo] Just fly.

♪ With eyes that know ♪

♪ The darkness in my soul

♪ Shadows on the hills

♪ Sketch the trees
And the daffodils ♪

♪ Catch the breeze
And the winter chills ♪

♪ In colors on
The snowy, linen land ♪

[reporter] It's happening.
The coroner's truck drove up.

♪ Now I understand

♪ What you tried
To say to me ♪

♪ And how you suffered
For your sanity ♪

♪ And how you tried
To set them free ♪

♪ They would not listen
They did not know how ♪

♪ Perhaps they'll listen now

[Glo] My nephew.
My sister's only son.

With all of the controversy,

Tupac was our family's
shining star.

It was difficult for us
to leave that place that day

with Feni
pulling us and saying,

"We're not crying here
with all these people,

and we're not making
no announcements."

♪ But I could have told you
Vincent ♪

♪ This world was never meant ♪

♪ For one as beautiful as you

[Glo]
We were uprooted completely.

And Feni is now
out of the public eye.

She's now the mother
grieving over her son--

imagine-- who has been m*rder*d.

Every day of her life,

she has to live with that.

And now that he's m*rder*d,
he's just not--

because it's a lot--

My sister
spoke a lot about this.

A lot of Black women.

A lot of women lost their children

to g*n violence.

She's not the only one.

You know?
But her son was famous.

And it was all public.

[intro stinger playing]

Hi, I'm Tabitha Soren
with an MTV news brief.

Thursday morning's Tupac Shakur
Memorial Service in Los Angeles

has been canceled by
the m*rder*d rapper's label,
Death Row Records,

which says it could not find
a venue big enough

to hold all the fans
and well-wishers

who wanted to attend.

[reporter] His devoted fans,

who believed his rap litany

mirrored their lives,
are mourning.

[Allen]
Where were you in your
career when Tupac died?

- Nowhere, absolutely nowhere.
- [Allen laughs]

When I heard that Tupac died,
I was cooking in a restaurant,

and tickets were piling up

and sh*t, "I'm like,
I don't care. Fire me."

Like, you know,
I'm saying, like, that,

man, that was devastating.

It's just like, oh, my God.

Tupac was the first rapper to me

that could make you cry.

Like, like,
I felt him that much.

And you know me
not knowing my dad

and sh*t was going on with
my mom and the whole sh*t,

like, it was just like,
"Oh, my God, that's me."

You know?

He was like,
one year older than me.

You know, he was only
25 years old.

And we was like,
"What the f*ck?"

Manhood.

They say a man
ain't a man till he 27.

You still a baby at 25.

Knowing him through growth
and time and healing,

and becoming a grown
and a wiser man,

all these relationships
that he had

with people that wasn't right
was going to get right

because his spirit
was always right.

And now here's a w*r that
nobody can stop.

[Jamala]
People started calling
my aunt's house,

- all through the day,
through the night.
- [phone rings]

Calls from all
the East Coast callers.

"Is Tupac really dead?"

Calls from the West Coast.

"We're going to get
the m*therf*ckers

that k*lled your son, yo."

And what happened with Biggie
is just like, "Oh, my God."

[reporter 1] In Los Angeles,

police tonight
are investigating

the gangland-style m*rder

of gangster rap music star

Biggie Smalls.

[reporter 2] B.I.G.'s West Coast

rival Tupac Shakur was k*lled

in a similar hail of b*ll*ts

six months ago in Las Vegas.

[reporter 3] Police
are investigating rumors

that a feud between rappers
on the East Coast

and West Coast
led to these shootings.

[Snoop] So that was all
the misunderstanding
that never had understanding.

The company's going
down the hill.
Everybody's in disarray.

We gotta be strong enough
for each other to know that
that's what they really want.

They don't want us together.
When we were
structuring together,

they tore down
the Panther Party,

then they brainwashed us
to not love each other.

Then we create
the Crips and the Bloods

and then they got us fighting
each other

and break us down.

When we're fighting each other,

they let it live.

[reporter]
Rap artists and producers

called for an end
to the rivalry

and the violence.

[Snoop] A lot of people
like to say that rap,

you know, is a--
is a negative.

It's this and that.

But from me to you,

rap saves lives.

So we had to understand that

we only better
when we move as one,

and we learn to understand
each other.

And there ain't nothing
you could really do

but just try to keep doing
what we doing.

Everyone else
was also calling my aunt

to appear on a talk show.

What I would like to share
with your viewers

is that I am very, very upset
that we are dying

at the rate that we're dying at

because we can't handle
our anger towards each other.

[Jamala]
They want to do an interview.

Whatever it is that
makes us buy things,

you know,
has created a false illusion

of-- of a rift between artists

and between human beings.

I don't want people to think
that there isn't reality.

People are running around,

"We don't like people from the
East Coast,

and we don't like people
from West Coast."

I don't think that's true.

[Jamala] And it's all
up in the magazines,

so we didn't have time
to grieve.

We didn't have time to mourn.

It really became work.

I am hustling every day

with someone
or with some entity.

And then there's money.

We thought we were gonna
stay in Tupac's home...

in L.A.

until Afeni Shakur

found out that he
didn't own that house.

And he didn't own
any of the things

that he thought he owned.

And she immediately said,

"We're getting out of here."

And that's when
the packing began

and she got a houseboat
in Sausalito.

She needed that for herself,

you know, 'cause
everything takes time.

[Afeni] So here's a really good
thing about this place

is right over there
in one of those houseboats,

That's where
Otis Redding wrote

[singing] ♪ Sitting on the
Dock of the Bay ♪

[laughs]

I like to think
it was actually this pier

that he was sitting on
and-- and, um, writing it.

I stayed here for,
like, three months,

and then I came back
and I stayed for

another three months.

And then one of the times
I was here,

that houseboat was for sale.

I was like, "I need this."
[laughs]

I am in a healing process.
And guess what?

That's what
this place is for me.

That's what the people are
around me

is like, part of my healing,
and I'm also now--

I've begun therapy.

You know, which is really
a huge step for me, you know?

But, um... I wish that
my son was here

and that he could go
and lie down in my bed,

and come out of my room,

and say, "Ma, what'd you cook?"

I miss his being.
He was my son.

And I miss him as my baby.

My boy, who I loved,
respected, appreciated.

He was my friend.
He called me up

in the middle of the night

after he done had a hot date

and tell me who he had
a hot date with,

what he did, and how excited.

And I said Tupac,
"Why do you think--"

I miss that.
I miss my son.

[Shock G] Wow.

Tupac Shakur.

We all miss Pac.

Jesus Christ,
I miss him.

I'm so... spoiled by Pac

that I stopped making music.

Who could-- Who do you
put beats under now?

After Pac died,
there was pain and sorrow,

but there was also-- [exhales]

There was a relief.

There was an exhale
that happened.

And there was a calm
that came.

All of his pain,

all the voices in his head,
finally silenced.

There was a small funeral

that Afeni had
on Malibu Beach.

30 to 50 friends and family.

We brought drums
and we had fires burning.

But we threw
all the gifts in the ocean.

Chicken wings and the Hennessy
and his favorite pictures.

Jewelry, books.

The water was freezing.

But Afeni walked in,
deep out there,

to dump the urn.

Afeni said it best.

"Don't cry for my baby.

He was a strong fighter.

And he burned a white flag.

It burned all night."

And Pac lived
an intense, potent,

deadly 25 years.

When something burns
really hot...

[imitates sizzling]

It's gone.

Tupac died
to get his message across.

I believe that.

He was a pre-thinker.

He had a Plan E,
much less a Plan B.

He was always plotting,
"If I died this way,

put this out."

♪ Father
Forgive us for livin' ♪

♪ While all my homies
Stuck in prison ♪

♪ Barely breathin', believin'

♪ That the world is a prison

♪ It's like a ghetto

♪ We can never leave

♪ A broken rose givin' bloom

♪ Through the cracks

♪ Of the concrete

♪ So many other things

♪ For us to see

♪ Things to be
Our history ♪

♪ So full of tragedy
And misery ♪

♪ To all my homies
Never made it home ♪

♪ The dead peers
I shed tattooed tears for ♪

♪ When I'm alone

♪ Picture us inside
A ghetto heaven ♪

♪ A place to rest
Findin' peace ♪

♪ Through this land of stress

♪ In my chest I feel
Pain come in sudden storms ♪

♪ Life full of rain in this
Game, watch for lead thorns ♪

♪ Our unborn never got to grow
Never got to see what's next ♪

♪ In this world full of
Countless threats ♪

♪ I beg God, to make a way for
Our ghetto kids to breathe ♪

♪ Show us sign
Make us all believe ♪

♪ 'Cause I ain't mad at cha

For the homeboys
that passed away,
I ain't mad.

All the homeboys
locked in jail,

all the people that lost
a loved one this year.

Man, you know,
Pac was so on another level,

like he was always somebody
that had a plan, had a idea.

Had a mission, had a goal.
And so he kind of,

in his own weird way,
prepared us for.

[Tupac] We look at death
from the selfish side,

like, you know, that guy died.
Oh, it's so sad.

Why is it sad? He's away
from all of this bad stuff

that's here on Earth.

He's, I mean, at the worst,

he's just somewhere quiet
and no, nothing.

At best, he's an angel
or he's at the next existence,

or he's a spirit somewhere,
you know.

What is so bad about that?

It's only bad for the people
who he left

because you guys are mad.

That's like some crab-
in-the-bucket type stuff.

- [interviewer chuckles]
- I mean,

[chuckles] it's this harsh--
harsh analogy,

- but that's what it's like, though.
- [interviewer] Mm-hmm.

[Afeni] Tupac did talk about
himself not being here.

You know, he really did
look at life and death.

And that is a very odd thing
for a young person.

But for some reason,
people believe

that we are not born to die.
We actually are.

Every one of us
gets here with two dates,

the entry date
and the exit date.

And every human being

has to make peace
with that truth.

Tupac made peace with it
earlier than I would have liked.

But he, as it turns out,
did the right thing.

You know? Because
he did make peace with it.

And an artist is,
generally speaking,

a long time ahead of
the audience,

you know. So...

♪ I kiss my mama goodbye

♪ Wipe the tears
From her lonely eyes ♪

♪ Said I'll return but I gotta
Fight the fate's arrived ♪

♪ Don't shed a tear 'cause
mama I ain't happy here ♪

♪ I'm through trial,
No more smiles ♪

♪ For a couple years ♪

♪ They got me goin' mad

♪ I'm knockin' busters
On they backs ♪

♪ In my cell, thinkin', "Hell ♪

♪ I know one day
I'll be back" ♪

♪ I ain't mad at cha

[Snoop] Well, he just was like
a special m*therf*cker.

I remember before
he passed away,

'96.

I had gotten into an argument
with my wife.

She was my girlfriend
at the time.

We-- we was on a plane again.

And it was me and all
the Death Row n*gg*s and Tupac.

Everybody was like,
"Man, f*ck that b*tch.

n*gga, you Snoop Doggy Dogg.
n*gga, you can get any b*tch
you want, man."

Tupac was like, "Man, f*ck
what they talking about, n*gga.

She love you, n*gga.
And you love her, n*gga.

You need to
make her your wife."

[Tupac rapping]
♪ Congratulations
On the weddin' ♪

♪ I hope your wife know
She got a playa for life ♪

♪ And that's no bullshittin'

Now that I'm thinking about
all the sh*t that I've done

since he's been gone,

he puts it in the air,

then it becomes a reality.

[E.D.I. Mean]
Nice life, kids.

He might have saw that for us.

I don't think he saw himself
growing old

and being a grandfather.

And all the sh*t that I am now.
He wasn't gonna bend.

♪ And I can't even trip 'cause
I'm just laughin' at cha ♪

♪ You tryin' hard to maintain
Then go 'head ♪

♪ 'Cause I ain't mad at cha

[Leila]
He never saw himself
living to enjoy his work,

and he always said,
"My work will happen

when I'm not here anymore.

I am leaving a body of work."

I always wanted to
make a book out of my life,

like a fairy tale.

Raised by the Black Panthers
and struck out.

[Leila] Tupac saw himself
delivering his script,

and he lived that script,

leaving it for us.

[Afeni] Tupac left about
400 songs.

We spent the first
five years in court

fighting for the rights,

and what we've been
able to do with that

is purchase a 56-acre farm.

[Dante]
That's sweet Feni farm, baby.

We on Fe farm.

She always wanted land.

[Tupac] ♪ n*gg*s need a spot
Where we can kick it ♪

♪ A spot where we belong
That's just for us ♪

[Afeni] God made humans

so that we would
never be perfect.

Tupac was
an intelligent human being,

but one of Tupac's problems
in the beginning

was that he didn't have
a place to scream and holler.

[Tupac rapping] ♪ A place
To spend my quiet nights
Time to unwind ♪

♪ So much pressure
In this life of mine
I cry at times ♪

♪ I once contemplated suicide
And would've tried ♪

♪ But when I held that .9
All I could see was
My mama's eyes ♪

[Afeni]
And I wish he could stand

in the middle of the farm

and throw things.
And it would be okay.

But if you don't have acres
to throw it at, it's not okay.

[Tupac rapping]
♪ Picture me inside
The misery of poverty ♪

♪ No man alive has ever
Witnessed struggles
I survived ♪

♪ Praying hard for
Better Dayz
Promise to hold on ♪

♪ Me and my dogs ain't have
A choice but to roll on ♪

♪ We finally found
A spot to kick it ♪

♪ Where we can drink liquor
And no one bickers ♪

♪ Over trick sh*t

[Afeni] So we're
now preparing to open

the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center

in Stone Mountain, Georgia,

because one of the things
that he planned to do

all over the country
was to build

what he called
at the time "thug mansions."

[Tupac rapping]
♪ And in my mind's eye
I see this place ♪

♪ The players go in fast

♪ I got a spot for us all
So we can ball ♪

♪ At Thugz Mansion

[Afeni] Thug Mansion
was all about space,

opportunity and resources

geared to young people
who were trapped

in a violent environment
that they did not invent.

[Tupac rapping] ♪ I need a house
That's full of love ♪

♪ When I need to escape
The deadly places ♪

♪ Slingin' drugs
In Thugz Mansion ♪

[Afeni] We are hoping that our
next Tupac

who's gonna take their family
out of economic oblivion,

is in this audience.

And that we will be able
to help you do that.

[applause]

[Jasmine] This was the Afeni
of the movement.

She really rose
to the occasion

of taking care of
the business of her son.

[Mos Def singing]
♪ The seed that must grow
Regardless ♪

[Glo] She worked from
the moment he died

to elevate him in a way
that wasn't able to be done

when he was alive.

She was w*r ready.

[Snoop]
Everybody said, "She crazy.

She hard to work with."

No, she ain't,
she a smart Black woman

that know that her
son sh*t need

to be in her possession.

I'll just fight
till there's no more breath.

And I feel like the spirit
of Tupac has only grown

because people
got a chance to study him

through his mother.

[man]
Tupac left you a message.

And the message was
to keep your head up.

[Mos Def singing]
♪ Can you see the pride
Of the Panther? ♪

[Eminem]
After he passed, man,

he had 10 more albums.

I wrote Afeni a note
and drew a picture.

She understood
I was such a huge Tupac fan.

And she's like,
the sweetest lady ever, man.

She was just like,
"Do what you feel."

And gave me all his acapellas.

That was one of the funnest
times of my life.

[Afeni] As long as you keep
Tupac's vision, his music,

and his memory alive,
his spirit will not die.

[cheering]

[Dre] 2012, Coachella.

The wind stopped,
the audience got quiet--

and we're talking about
90,000 m*therf*ckers.

And when Tupac came up out
of the ground,

"What the f*ck is up,
Coachella?"

[cheering]

And the crowd went crazy.

90,000 m*therf*ckers.

Oh, man. The soldiers,

- the children soldiers.
- [Allen] In Africa?

[Mike]
When they're goin' to w*r,
they listen to Tupac's music.

Blows my mind.
And I just think,
he probably is

the most famous rapper in
the world, I don't care
how much money you got.

f*ck your billion dollars.

At the end of the day,
it's immortality.

[E.D.I. Mean]
Tupac left an indelible print

where people
from all over the world

that are oppressed, beaten, terrorized,

see him as
their patron saint.

[Snoop] And while many
remember him

as some thugged-out
superhero,

Tupac knew he was
only human.

To be human is to be
many things at once,

strong and vulnerable,

hardheaded and intellectual,

courageous and afraid,

loving, and vengeful, revolutionary.

And, oh, yeah, don't get it
f*cked up. Gangster.

Welcome to the
Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.

- Thug life!
- [cheering]

You know you gonna
live forever.

'Cause legends always do.

They can't take this away
from you, homie.

[Mos Def] ♪ Can you see
the pride in the Panther ♪

♪ As he glows
In splendor and grace? ♪

♪ Toppling the obstacles
Placed ♪

♪ In the way of
The progression of his race ♪

[Afeni] I believe still,
in the depths of my heart,

you can k*ll a revolutionary,

- but you cannot k*ll
a revolution.
- [crowd cheering]

Keep loving, keep creating.

Keeping making music.

Keep dancing!

Keep living! Loud!

Peace! We outta here!

[Mos Def singing]
♪ Can you see
the pride in the Panther ♪

♪ As she nurtures her young
All alone? ♪

♪ The seed must grow
Regardless ♪

♪ Of the fact that it's been
Planted in stone ♪

[Glo] Awesome.

♪ Can't you see the pride
n the panthers ♪

[Glo] Awesome.

♪ As they unify, as one?

[Glo] Awesome.

♪ The flower blooms
With brilliance ♪

♪ And outshines all
The rays of the sun ♪

[Glo] Awesome.

♪ Shines bright
Like rays of the sun ♪

[Glo] That's how I feel
talking about my sister,

and my nephew.

Yes, I only had one.
One sister and one nephew.

But, boy, did I hit the jackpot.

You know what I mean?
'Cause look at me.

They couldn't be here.

They had to go,

so we can tell the story.

Ain't that something?
So we can tell the story.

'Cause Afeni
wanted the story told.

Everybody knew that.

[Ray Luv]
Afeni always had big wings,

and she covered her people.

I remember a time that we went
and did a benefit in Richmond,

and my whole job
was to protect Afeni.

And she's-- takes off
soon as she gets out the car.

She walks right past me,
security, the police.

She's just freely walking,
and I'm like,

"I'm trying to protect you."

And she laughed.
She said, "You can't protect me.

I'm protecting you."

They said that Tupac in the car
with Suge

when they was getting shot at,

Tupac dove over Suge
and covered him.

There's a story about Mutulu
when he was 13.

Somebody shot up
a church and he dove

on top of old ladies
and covered them.

This is who these people are.

They-- they don't know
anything else.

They don't do
anything else but that.

The last year of Afeni's life,

I got to spend
a lot of time with her.

We were on
the houseboat in Sausalito,

hanging out, having a good day.

Fe wasn't feeling well.

Then I went to go get
medicine for her.

And when
I got back to the house,

she, um, was unconscious.

And so I put her on the floor
and began CPR...

while we waited for
the ambulance to come.

Um...

[softly] Yeah, I think
that's about all I can do
right now.

[Glo]
She passed away May 2nd.

She had a heart attack
at 69 years old.

I had no sign.
None of us did.

[Allen] Did she find
a peace of mind
in that 20 years?

My sister never
had peace of mind.

My sister never felt
that she had done it right.

My sister was in pain
till the day she died.

Now, you're going to
get a tear or two,

but you asked me,
and here it go.

My sister
never had peace of mind.

My sister never felt like
she had done the best she could.

My sister had tremendous guilt

about some of the decisions
that she had made in her life.

But that's just human,
and the fact that she existed

and that she lived
and she did what she did

and she had that boy.

And she did what
she had to do for him.

She tried to do it for us,
too, just like he did.

The smartest woman that I knew,

the most compassionate
and all of that...

For that.

I want my sister recognized
for the most powerful,

beautiful person that she was.

I want this to be her gift.

- From me sitting here...
- [tapping chest]

that she left her sister
to tell her story.

And that her sister--
I pray, did a hell of a job

talking about my baby sister.

My one and only. Okay, cut.

I can't take no more 'cause
I'll start crying for real

- and I'm choking up.
- [Allen] You got me crying.

Yeah, I don't like that.

I don't like-- I don't like
crying in the public.

[laughter]

[Afeni] I thank y'all for
being patient with me here.

I'm gonna read
a little bit from the book.

My favorite chapter,
which is the end.

"The five women of
Sweet Honey in the Rock

were alive with fire.

An expl*si*n of
beauty and soul.

Each woman is so different,

but their power
transcends the Atlantic."

Afeni knows every word,
every inflection.

Bernice Johnson-Reagon
delivers.

[singing]
♪ We who believe in freedom
Cannot rest ♪

[Glo] Afeni sings right along.

♪ We who believe in freedom

♪ Cannot rest until it comes

"In my ear to my left,
I hear Afeni sing.

She raises her hands
towards Sweet Honey and sings

through her pain
and her trials."

♪ Cannot rest ♪

[Glo] She sings through
the death of her son

♪ Until the k*lling
of Black men ♪

♪ Black mothers' son

♪ Is as important
As the k*lling of white men ♪

♪ White mothers' son ♪

♪ We who believe in freedom
Cannot rest ♪

[Glo] She sings through
her Panther years.

[Afeni singing]
♪ That which touches me most
Is that I had a chance ♪

♪ To work with people

♪ Passing on to others

♪ That which
Was passed on to me ♪

[Glo] Through the healing
of her daughter's spirit.

[Afeni singing]
♪ To me, young people
Come first ♪

♪ They have the courage
Where we fail ♪

[Glo]
Through realizing the dream of
Tupac Amaru Shakur

Performing Arts Center,

where little children like
young Tupac

can go for artistic nourishment.

[Afeni singing]
♪ Is when the reins
Are in the hands of the young ♪

♪ Who dare to run
Against the storm ♪

♪ We who believe in freedom

[Glo] The chorus swells
and I close my eyes.

Afeni's voice
is the only voice I hear.

[Afeni singing]
♪ We who believe in freedom

♪ Cannot rest

♪ Until it comes

"She possesses the next verse

as if it were written
just for her.

It is her testimony."

[singing] ♪ I am a woman
Who speaks in a voice ♪

♪ And I must be heard

♪ At times I can be
Quite difficult ♪

♪ I bow to no man's word

"This is Afeni.

This song is written for her."

[singing]
♪ We who believe in freedom

♪ Cannot rest

[Glo] As Afeni's story
is written for me.

♪ We who believe in freedom ♪

♪ Cannot rest
Until it comes ♪

You're welcome.

- [cheering and applauding]
- [ Until the End of Time
by 2pac plays]

♪ Hey, hmm, better days

♪ Hmm, hmm, hmm, yeah

♪ Perhaps I was addicted
To the dark side ♪

♪ Somewhere inside my childhood
Witnessed my heart die ♪

♪ And even though we both came
From the same places ♪

♪ The money and the fame made
Us all change places ♪

♪ How could it be? Through the
Misery that came to pass ♪

♪ The hard times
Make a true friend ♪

♪ Afraid to ask for currency

♪ But you could run to me when
You need and I'll never leave ♪

♪ Honestly, someone to believe
In, as you can see ♪

♪ It's a small thing to a true
What could I do? ♪

♪ Real homies
Help you get through ♪

♪ And come to knew he'd do
The same thang if he could ♪

♪ 'Cause in the hood, true
Homies make you feel good ♪

♪ And half the times
We be actin' up call the cops ♪

♪ Bringin' a cease to the peace
That was on my block ♪

♪ It never stops, when my mama
Ask me will I change? ♪

♪ I tell her, "Yeah, but it's
Clear I'll always be the same ♪

♪ 'Til the end of time

♪ Take these broken wings

♪ I need your hands to come
And heal me once again ♪

- ♪ So I can fly
- ♪ Until the end of time

♪ 'Til the end of time

♪ Take these broken wings

The first one I'm gonna do

is called,
Us k*lling Us Equals Genocide.

It's about youth k*lling youth.

[singer] ♪ Yeah, hmm
Better days ♪

♪ Listen, everybody
'Cause you're all involved ♪

♪ There's a problem
In the nation
That must be solved ♪

♪ What's my attitude
With that ♪

♪ To this I swear
As long as I didn't get shot ♪

♪ I just didn't care
Let me tell you
About Roger ♪

♪ 'Cause he was smart

♪ Wanted to be a doctor
An operator on hearts ♪

♪ Got, gots to go
To a real good college ♪

♪ He didn't want to get high
He wanted to get knowledge ♪

♪ Now Roger was at home
One fateful night ♪

♪ Cause right next door
To Roger was a g*ng
On violence ♪

♪ Knew the girl
That lived there
So he was concerned ♪

♪ Stepped out to see
What happened
But never returned ♪

♪ Why he was shot six times
He never revealed ♪

♪ That poor Black man
His hopes and his dreams ♪

♪ Let me tell you about Romy
He was mad as bad ♪

♪ He got strength with Rocky
With Philly effect ♪

♪ Knew what, begin to rock that
He does with the what ♪

♪ Like I said he was affected
Now he wanted to fight ♪

♪ I done told him to calm down
And play it cool ♪

♪ Romy paid no mind
Wanted to act a fool ♪

♪ Reinventing of the word
That's like of what I said ♪

♪ First Roger was k*lled
Now Romy is dead ♪

♪ Stop the k*lling, start
Telling better things to do ♪

♪ Listen close to the message
I'm beating for you ♪

♪ Because the Black population
Is becoming endangered ♪

♪ So before you
Pull the trigger
Stop and think ♪

♪ Because you could
k*ll from acting
With the dark of the night ♪

♪ But you can never forget the
Day you thought it was right ♪

♪ Now we mourn this stuff
Together, we must unite ♪

♪ 'Cause that's the deadly
Enemy that we must fight ♪

♪ We gotta deal
With the problem
Without a bust ♪

♪ Please stop the k*lling
Now support, now stop now ♪

♪ Fellas stay in school
And cop the gold ♪

♪ Get the ruckus of hands
And the know after know ♪

♪ Young lady you a repping
And that you know ♪

♪ But when your man wants to
Make love, you birth control ♪

♪ But you people get
The message in my rhyme ♪

♪ Remember us k*lling us
Equals genocide ♪

[cheering, applauding]