Tupac's 40th Birthday Celebration: How late will they mourn he?
Which Tupac would've enjoyed his 40th birthday celebration more? Hmmm...
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On what would've been Tupac's 40th birthday, fans, artists and family gathered to celebrate his life and legacy at the Atlanta Symphony Orchestra. This is the first time a Pac celebration has been held there, but the fancy-shmancy decor of the ASO didn't stop attendees from keeping it all the way real — from the handful of Pac look-a-likes to the Tupac-tatted, middle-aged, white mother who came from Chicago with her family to take part in the event.
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Although the show was scheduled to start at 8 p.m., host Mike Epps didn't get there until 10 p.m. But things went fairly smoothly from there. Here's a rundown of the good and the unfortunate events of the night.
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THE GOOD
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Tupac's mother and sister, Afeni and Sekyiwa "Set" Shakur, present Mike Epps with a limited edition plaque of Tupac's records, which blinged brightly from the stage. Epps was naturally touched and proceeded to "give all the glory to the Lord" — although just an hour later, while trying to lead the audience in a random rendition of "God is good all the time, and all the time God is good," he realized that he "fucked it up" before doubling over in laughter.
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Mike Epps presents the Tupac Shakur Foundation with a $10,000 check: "It would've been more, but the tax man is on my ass," he said.
The Outlawz's member Idi Amin gives an impromptu lecture on Geronimo Pratt's importance to the community. Of course, most of the audience seemed to have no clue about who the recently deceased Black Panther leader was — despite the fact that Pac rapped about him in the song "White Man's World" — but they listened intently anyway as Idi waxed poetic on his life and legacy.
Jasmine Guy's appearance on stage after a slew of rappers late in the evening. It was obvious performance slots got mixed up in the lateness and confusion and Jasmine admitted that she thought she was going on after Roy Ayers, who performed at the top of the show, but she nevertheless stilled the riled up audience with her powerful reading from her book Evolution of a Revolutionary, about Afeni Shakur. Then, she launched into an acapella version of a Sweet Honey in the Rock song with three other women dressed in white. The performance brought the entire show back into the proper perspective.
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Warren G appearing out of nowhere for a pretty cool tribute to Nate Dogg. Mount up.
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Erykah Badu wearing a huge light beige poncho that read "The Revolution Will Not Be Televised," and a long, straight wig that hung to her knees. Her clothes are almost as entertaining as she is.
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THE UNFORTUNATE
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Rick Ross performing "Tupac Back" with Meek Mill and Pill (who coincidentally was dressed like a Reservoir Dog). Rick Ross has been a regular supporter of the event, so you can't knock his tenacity, but that song, well, sucks. At the end, Ross got all misty eyed: "I was in a single parent home and Tupac played father for a lot of dudes; not only was he the greatest rapper, but he was a hard worker." This would've been super touching if the song weren't so damn awful.
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Rappers performing songs that weren't really representative of Pac.