Afeni Shakur Davis, the mother of late rapper Tupac Shakur, died on Monday night at age 69. The Marin County Sheriff’s office confirmed the news Tuesday morning.
Shakur Davis died at her northern California home on Monday night after the Sheriff’s office responded to a report of a possible cardiac arrest around 9:34 p.m. She was taken to a local hospital and died just before 10:30 p.m. The Sheriff’s Coroners Office will lead the investigation to determine the exact cause & manner of Afeni Shakur’s death.
Shakur, born Alice Faye Williams, changed her name when she moved to New York City and joined the Black Panther movement. In April 1969, she and a number of other Black Panther members were arrested and charged with several counts of conspiracy to bomb police stations and busy city landmarks. She was pregnant during her trial and gave birth to Tupac Amaru Shakur on June 16, 1971, a month after she was acquitted.
She’s the subject of Tupac’s 1995 song “Dear Mama,” in which the singer chronicles his childhood struggles and respect for his mother. “There’s no way I can pay you back/But the plan is to show you that I understand/You are appreciated,” he rapped.
After Tupac was killed in a drive-by shooting in 1996, Afeni became an executor of his estate, which reportedly earns about $900,000 each year. She founded Amaru Entertainment to release Tupac’s posthumous albums and the Tupac Amaru Foundation for the Arts charity, which promotes youth involvement in the arts.
