Tupac Shakur was one of the most prolific writers in hip hop history. For many fans across the globe, he was the living embodiment of West Coast gangster rap.
A new museum in downtown LA seeks to demystify the man behind the art while celebrating the legacy of a superstar whose life was cut short.
In an interview for "LA Times Today," staff writer Kenan Draughorne told host Lisa McRee about the museum and the legal battle over who should own its contents.
“Tupac was one of the most prolific rappers of the 90s. His mother was a Black Panther, so that kind of informed a lot of his world views in the beginning,” Draughorne said. “He put a lot of that into his music. Very passionate storyteller, very vivid lyricist. Even after his death in 1996, people from my generation still go back to Tupac. People who were alive back then, they’ll still champion him as one of the best artists of all time. I think probably once every year or so, we get a new list of the best of rappers, and Tupac is always somewhere in that top 10. He’s very highly held as one of the most original rappers we’ve ever had.”
Tupac’s death in 1996 did not end his career.
“There were posthumous albums. Even though he died, they still are able to put [recorded music] out for the fans. His poetry book ‘The Rose That Grew From Concrete’ came out a few years after he died,” Draughorne explained. “This poetry hadn’t really been released when he was alive, so that was kind of a way that people got to see another side of Tupac. There was a movie, a biopic that was made about him that came out in 2012. And then, of course, at Coachella, not too long ago, Dr. Dre and Snoop Dogg brought out the Tupac hologram, which was probably one of the most memorable moments of such a legendary music festival. And now, the museum.”
Draughorne talked about the new museum and what fans can see on display.
“The idea for the museum has actually been in the works for quite a while. [Tupac’s] mother wanted to make a museum to let fans know the other sides of Tupac behind just the music,” Draughorne said. “But she passed away in 2016, so the rest of the estate has kind of gone ahead, preserving the artifacts, curating everything, trying to tell the complete story of Tupac. It has been probably eight years in the making, but it’s finally here in its own custom home in downtown Los Angeles.”
The creation of the museum has not been without controversy. Tupac’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, is suing the estate. Draughorne explained why.
“Basically, Tupac didn’t leave a will when he died, so all of his possessions went over to his mother, Afeni, who then had a will made up,” Draughorne explained. “But after Afeni passed, Sekyiwa was supposed to get the vast majority of not only her mother’s belongings but also Tupac’s belongings. She is saying that the trustee, Tom Whalley, hasn’t turned over the items that Tupac owns. She’s saying that he hasn’t really given her a proper accounting, so she doesn’t really know how much money is coming in and how much he should be getting. There’s been a dispute for some time, but they filed the lawsuit in January, a few weeks before the museum opened. A lot of those contents are the subjects of lawsuit."
It is not uncommon for an artist’s estate to grow even after their death.
“There’s a lot of popularity in back catalog, especially right now,” Draughorne explained. “I wrote in the piece that 70% of all music was being listened to now is music that was not released in the past 18 months. So, there’s a lot of value there. There’s always an attachment that fans will have when their favorite artist is passed. They want to try to hold on to the memories they have left. In terms of the frequency of these kinds of lawsuits, it is pretty common. A lot of artists are more creative than logistic-based, so they might not have a clear will when they pass. In this case, specifically, there’s a line in there that says Sekyiwa is supposed to get all the property that’s not being held for investment. From the estate side, they’re saying all of his valued belongings have investment value. They’re using that as a reason why. So, even when there is a clear will, there can still be disputes.”
The parties are currently in negotiations. Draughorne said the dispute should not affect the opening of the pop-up Tupac museum.
“I don’t think it will impact the museum itself. It’s already here,” Draughorne said. “This has been ongoing throughout the creation of the museum. I think the museum, which is going to be here until May, is still going to be up and running. Fans can still see the letters, the clothes, all of that. In terms of a timeline, I’m not entirely sure how it’s going to be resolved. They could just settle it out of court. They could let the whole process play out. [One of the lawyers] said that they are currently in the process of kind of trying to divide up the estate and trying to see what is going to be held. On Sekyiwa’s side of course, they said that they’re kind of frustrated ... Afeni died in 2016 and this is still ongoing. So there’s some frustration there, but I’m assuming that now that the lawsuit has been filed, it’ll probably be sped up a little bit. Hopefully, sooner rather than later, they can come back to a peaceful understanding.”
The “Wake Me When I’m Free” Tupac Shakur exhibit is now open at L.A. Live.
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