Oakland Declares June 16 Annual "Tupac Shakur Day"

Just in time for Tupac’s 45th birthday on June 16, 2016, news broke: The city of Oakland, California, will observe the day each year going forward as “Tupac Shakur Day”. Hip-hop activist LeRoy McCarthy confirmed this to the website Okayplayer; according to his own account, he helped draft the text of the resolution. The office of Mayor Libby Schaaf also confirmed the commemorative day, as Vibe writes.

Where Tupac Learned His “Game”

Tupac was born in Harlem, New York, in 1971 and later lived in Baltimore as well as in Marin City, California. In Oakland, his career started with the group Digital Underground (Digital Underground). The city’s proclamation states that he valued his time there as his home and learned his “Game”. Tupac is quoted with the words that if he belonged anywhere, it was Oakland: “If I’ma claim somewhere I’ma claim Oakland.”

The Commemorative Day Was Not the Only Honor

Vibe linked the report to the death of Afeni Shakur in May. Among the other honors in the city is the street renaming in Oakland.