Tupac was probably the first person that made me want to go to the west coast. California should have paid 2Pac millions of dollars for how hard he promoted Cali and the lifestyle. From California Love, To Live and Die in L.A., and How Do You Want It he glorified West Coast living for black people.

Tupac's music is timeless for so many reasons. More than just his lyrics, you can feel his passion in his words.

Listen to some of his old speeches and it's hard to believe how young he was while he accomplished all that he did.

Tupac acted like he was invincible... and honestly, I thought he was. When I heard the news of him being shot, I was like, "Wow... again?". But then when it was announced that he died, I remember the feeling of reality hitting me about life. There is no cheating life... there is no cheating death. It will come to all of us. How we act while on this earth matters and has a full-circle impact on us and the people around us.

After Biggie was murdered, I think the whole Hip Hop community needed to take a step back to see what was happening, and how things got so out of control. The American culture is so deep. The black culture inside of American culture, has taken such little resources and flipped that shit ten thousand different ways. The Hip Hop culture learned SO MUCH from Tupac Shakur. He was not a perfect man, but who is? His complexity, passion, and creativity as an artist and as a human will forever be remembered and cherished.

I'm grateful for people who inspire and motivate me, like Tupac.