Afeni Shakur-Davis, mother of the late rapper Tupac Shakur.
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Deputies from the Marin County Sheriff’s Department responded to a suspected cardiac arrest situation at Afeni’s home at 9:34 p.m before transporting her to the hospital where she was pronounced dead less than an hour later.
Born Alice Faye Williams in 1947, she changed her name to Afeni Shakur when she joined the Black Panther movement in the 1960s.
In 1969, Afeni and other Black Panther members were arrested and convicted with conspiracy to bomb multiple, busy city landmarks.
After her son’s death, Davis founded the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation and later helped create the 2014 Broadway musical “Holler If Ya Hear Me”, which featured Tupac’s music.
Afeni filed for divorce from her husband of 12 years, Gust Davis in March. Benny Boom is directing the film, which stars Demetrius Shipp, Jr.as Tupac and Danai Gurira as his mother.
She named him Tupac Amaru, after the last Incan emperor, who led a rebellion and refused to surrender to Spanish conquistadors.
After Tupac was shot numerous times in a drive-by shooting while he was leaving a 1996 boxing event in Las Vegas. Shakur also oversaw her son’s estate, including his voluminous posthumous releases.
“I say it every time, that Tupac left us the blueprints to follow”, said Afeni Shakur in 2006. Despite the drug use, she was still coherent enough to realize that Tupac would become a product of the streets if she didn’t make different choices. The exact cause of death is under investigation. Calling her- or whoever you love and appreciate- and tell them they’re appreciated.
Dina LaPolt, a California attorney who handled Tupac Shakur’s estate for almost 10 years, fought back tears as she described Shakur, who inspired the lawyer to open up her own frim in 2001.
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Shakur Davis had recently served as executive producer for All Eyez On Me, the upcoming Tupac Shakur biopic that borrows its title from his chart-topping double album.
