still i rise...

Today the 10 year anniversary of my brothers death. As cliché as it sounds, it seems like yesterday he was making fun of my Texas accent. He loved to do that :-)

Did you know that Pac LOVED pomegranates?

Did you know that one of his favorite songs of ALL time was Redemption Song by Bob Marley?

Pac was 9 when I was born. He was so excited that he wrote poetry for my naming ceremony. When I was around, he loved to tell people how I was glued to his hip for that first year. Apparently when I started crawling, I would get up every morning, take off my diaper and sit right on his head. As if thats what youre suppose to do in the morning. Like brushing your teeth.

This is the Pac I know.

I dont know the intimate details of his rap career, or the details of his crazy legal situations. I just know my big brother. We didnt grow up in the same house, nor do we share the same mother, but he is my brother. Make no mistake about that. And dont you dare question it.

Our little brother Chinua has Down Syndrome. Just in case you dont know, that makes him extra special. Extra connected to people on the inside. Although they didnt see each other often, when they did, they always laughed. That deep throaty laugh that comes from a place of pure joy. It is a special connection that is theirs only. Right after Pac died, and to this day, Chin will sometimes wake up in the morning and say Pac is funny!.

They speak even now.

Sharing these random facts/ thoughts/insights about my brother makes my heart smile. There is so much love for him all over this universe. His music has touched so many people and in so many different ways. I always thought that fame was such an ugly repercussion of who he was. He was really just telling the things of his life. His art was a lot like his therapy. Our family history is by no means normal. His reality was the FBI breaking into his house looking for our dad. His reality was wrapping his baby sister in a bullet proof vest she wouldnt get hit by stray bullets. His reality was chaos. Pac had a lot to be angry about and he could have been that crazy muthatfucker and go out do some crazy shit, but he decided to channel all (well most) of that energy into his music. And thats what he did. People wonder how my step-mom is still able to put out records. Well, hes been writing since he was at least 9 years old, and where most artists might go to the studio and lay down 2 or 3 tracks in a night, Pac would go in and lay down 6 or 7. He lived at the studio. He was non-stop. Again, his way of dealing with all the things of his past and present. His way of sharing/getting out all the things that he needed to say. Its funny but I bet I could give you a story behind almost every on of his songs. Even the controversial Wonder why they call U bitch?

As for the rest of us Shakur children? 10 years have past. And still we rise.

I work at Current TV. Kinda funny since Al Gore is our Chairman and his wife Tipper had a personal vendetta against Pac via censorship in the mid 80s. Yes, we've all talked.

Mopreme is still rapping and has recently been to India to work on a world music record. Hes going to Vegas today to pay respects.

Sekyiwa is working on many things, one being the female version of Makaveli Branded.

Chinua is still in Texas cute as ever.

Ayize works in the East Bay as a counselor for a college prep school.

There are 6 of us. Almost all of you who are Pac fans probably haven't even heard of most of us. But there we are.

So enough of my ramblings. I really wanted to just thank everyone for their continuous love and support for our family. You are as much a part of Pac as we are.

Who was Tupac Amaru Shakur? Only you know that. Hes been called a teacher. A poet. A son. A friend. A companion. A lover.

For me, big brother.

Who was he to you? What was your favorite album? Favorite song? Would love for you to reply...

peace and blessing...love and light.


ps:

Lyrics excert from "Life Goes On". Played at our family memorial when he died:

"Bury me smilin'
with G's in my pocket
have a party at my funeral
let every rapper rock it
let tha hoes that I usta know
from way before
kiss me from my head to my toe
give me a paper and a pen
so I can write about my life of sin
a couple bottles of Gin
incase I don't get in
tell all my people i'm a Ridah
nobody cries when we die
we outlaws
let me ride
until I get free
I live my life in tha fast lane
got police chasen me
to my niggas from old blocks
from old crews
niggas that guided me through
back in tha old school
pour out some liquor
have a toast for tha homies
see we both gotta die
but ya chose to go before me
and brothas miss ya while your gone
you left your nigga on his own
how long we mourn
life goes on..."

i love this video b/c I get to see my two bro's together again!