Jada Pinkett Smith is remembering her dear friend Tupac Shakur for what would’ve been his 50th birthday on June 16 with one of his poems that has never seen the light of day — until now.
Smith posted a video just shy of midnight on Tuesday (June 15) that revealed a handwritten poem on a piece of notebook paper by the prolific wordsmith, who was killed in a still-unsolved drive-by shooting on Sept. 13, 1996. The title, “Lost Soulz,” she says is not to be confused with his song by the same name, which was featured on the Billboard 200 No. 2 Gang Related – The Soundtrack for the 1997 crime film. But she believes it’s the “original concept” that he wrote while locked up at Rikers Island.
“As we prepare to celebrate his legacy … let’s remember him for that which we loved most … his way with words,” she captioned the IGTV clip. “Here are a few you may have never heard before Happy ‘you goin’n to be 50 at midnight’ Birthday Pac! I got next.”
After saying, “I don’t think he would have minded that I shared this with you guys,” Smith proceeds to recite the poem.
Tupac’s prized possessions, as well as The Notorious B.I.G.‘s, headlined Sotheby’s first-ever hip-hop auction last September. It included 22 love letters the “California Love” artist penned to his high school sweetheart, which includes mentions of Smith. “Jada told me she can see how much I love you…,” he wrote to Kathy Loy.
Read Tupac’s “Lost Soulz” poem below.
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