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By Vhahangwele Nemakonde

Digital Deputy News Editor


Why some people believe Tupac is still alive

It has been almost two decades after his death but some people still believe rapper, Tupac Shakur, is still alive.


Just when people try to move on from the death of the beloved rapper, someone always comes forward with a tale of how they saw Tupac somewhere. The rapper was shot and killed in September of 1996. He was 25.

Here are five reasons why some people think Tupac might still be alive:

  1. We did not receive closure as the murder was unresolved

It has been almost two decades since Tupac’s death but the murder has not been resolved. Many theories regarding what actually happened on that fateful September night have gone around since his death.

Others claim label owner and businessman Marion “Suge” Knight ordered the hit on Shakur after finding out the rapper had plans to leave Knight’s Death Row Records. Others have suggested the murder may have been gang-related.

In a recent report by the Mirror, David Myers, a retired police officer who is in a critical medical condition in hospital, claims he was paid $1.5 million (R20. 812 950.00) to help the rapper fake his own death. The ex-officer reportedly said he wanted the world to know the truth before he dies. The man further claims Knight played a big part in helping it happen.

And then there’s also the 7-Day Theory.

2. There is no grave

Unlike a lot of deceased superstars, Tupac was never burried in a grave. He was cremated and his ashes scattered shortly after he was killed which makes matters worse for superfans.

A popular urban legend suggests Tupac’s proteges, The Outlawz, mixed some of the ashes with marijuana and smoked them. But, were those his real ashes? Why was he cremated so soon? What were they hiding?

Perhaps had there been a burial and grave, people would now believe he is dead.

3. He keeps releasing music

Between 1997 and 2006, five posthumous Tupac albums were released. That is as many albums as  he released while he was still alive.

And some of the “new” songs – which had to have been written and recorded before 1996 – were so relevant to the times that people swore they must have been recorded years after his death.

Early this year, there were reports that previously unreleased recordings by Tupac Shakur would come out as new releases. This after several Tupac albums’ release since his death. The report further quotes Jeff Jampol, who owns JAM Inc., as saying he had dug through “unreleased music, released music, remixes, original demos, writings, scripts, plans, video treatments [and] poems”.

He must have written a lot when he was still alive, so they say.

4. He didn’t reach his full potential

Death is not easy to accept, especially when it’s the death of a young person whose ideas had the potential to change the world. By the time Tupac died, his music had touched many across the world.

In the 25 years he lived, Tupac accomplished phenomenal things. He had made inroads in his acting career and was said to have had a script completed in jail. There was still a lot he could have done. Who knows maybe he would be running in the 2016 US Elections.

His death was also untimely, it left fans across the world asking, “What if?”.

5. There has never been a greater rap artist

There will never be an artist as universally relatable as Pac was. Although not the most dexterous rapper, Tupac made music with a social impact.

The message in his music is as relevant today as it was when he penned the lyrics.

Contemporary rappers  make tons of money and may even outsell Tupac, but you will never find any of their faces simultaneously emblazoned on a Liberian rebel soldier’s T-shirt, a Soweto teen’s wall and a Houghton youngster’s iPhone screen.

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