I wrote this poem to honor, first, Tupac Shakur, on the passing of his life.
I was there in Las Vegas the day he died, and it is a day I shall never forget, as it remains
one of the saddest periods of my entire time on this earth. I had written three cover stories
on Tupac for VIBE magazine, he had asked me to be Alex Haley to his Malcolm X.
Little did I know, but perhaps he knew—

I was literally in my hotel room watching HBO, watching Spike Lee’s “Malcolm X”
movie, ironically; and just at that very moment when Malcolm, as played by Denzel Washington, was heading to the Audubon Ballroom in New York City to meet his fate, I got a call from a fellow journalist saying “Tupac is dead. We have to go to the hospital.” I did not cry in that moment, but I would be in shock for a very long time. That
is why this poem about Tupac Shakur.

But as the poetry came to me I kept hearing The Notorious B.I.G.’s voice as well,
which is why it is entitled “Tupac and Biggie.” Because Biggie’s death shocked me too.

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