September 13, 1996

Nine years, homies. It's been nine years. To this day, I can't help but get torn up inside whenever I hear one of his songs play on the radio - Me Against the World was the soundtrack of my life, man, no joke. I'll wait until it's been ten years to give testimony on how my life was affected by the life and times of one Tupac Amaru Shakur. Until then, we still must remember the man, remember the lessons he taught us in life and in death. Growing up as a youth here in the streets of Los Angeles, Shakur was one of the most powerful influences on my life, for better or worse. His death on September 13, 1996 changed my life forever. I've since grown into a man from the time he was shot and killed; I've since seen him for the impossible and incorrigible antihero he really was. But no matter the perception I hold now - even the disillusionment - I'm still able to look back fondly on the years I idolized him. After all, he did help to build me into who I am today, in more ways than you might believe or understand. Rest in peace, 'Pac.