To his supporters, activist Dr. Mutulu Shakur is a political prisoner forced into an Atlanta-based penitentiary for crimes he didn’t commit. Since his capture and arrest on February 12, 1986, he’s been vehemently fighting for his freedom – nearly 20 years. In 1987, he was sentenced to 60 years in jail for an alleged conspiracy against the government. At the time, the federal government charged that Dr. Shakur aided in eight incidents where a “clandestine paramilitary unit” attempted to relieve U.S. Banks of their funds. He firmly maintains his innocence in all the crimes he was accused of.

Through his trials, Dr. Shakur maintains an immeasurably intense love for his son Tupac. While not his biological pops, ‘Pac always maintained, in song (see “Papa’z Song”), that the elder Shakur was the one he viewed as his father figure. Tupac Shakur’s life is re-examined after 10 long years in this classic interview.

AllHipHop.com: What’s up, Dr. Shakur? It’s good to hear from you.

Mutulu Shakur: Hello, Brother, It’s good to hear from you also.

AllHipHop.com: There are many questions about 2Pac that were unanswered regarding his life and death. Many of his fans wanna know the deal. We’re hoping you can fill in the blanks to the best of your ability.

Mutulu Shakur: I’ll try.

AllHipHop.com: Were going to start off by asking you who is Mutulu Shakur?

Mutulu Shakur: I am a New African Freedom Fighter, Political Prisoner, Healer, Father, Brother, and Son.

AllHipHop.com: Can you tell us what Pac meant to you?

Mutulu Shakur: He was my son, my friend, my comrade & my inspiration.

AllHipHop.com: If Pac was alive today at 32, what do you think he would be like?

Mutulu Shakur: He would be a voice for truth and courage. AllHipHop.com: What do you think you meant to Tupac, and what do you think he learned from you?

Mutulu Shakur: He would’ve had to answer that. I think he gained most from my counseling and as well as other positivist I gave him.

AllHipHop.com: Who were role models in Pac’s life that he looked up to?

Mutulu Shakur: I think if you listen to his lyrics and read his poems, than you will have some idea of who he respected as role models in his life. He kept them all in his heart.

AllHipHop.com: Why do you think Black leaders like C.Dolores Tucker & the Reverend Calvin Butts verbally attacked Pac?

Mutulu Shakur: Because they function as the voice of the Right Wing that never really had the interest of our people. I guess their objective was for personal motives.

AllHipHop.com: Can you tell us how it affected both Pac and yourself when your family was on the run from the F.B.I.?

Mutulu Shakur: From the very beginning of Tupac’s life, our family has been a target of the Cointelpro. Members of our family were hunted, prosecuted, and murdered just because we struggled for our peoples’ human rights. It’s something he had to adjust to.

AllHipHop.com: On your website (www.daretostruggle.com) you posted that you hold the Cointelpro responsible for Pac’s death. Can you break down who the Cointelpro is & their motives for possibly harming Pac?

Mutulu Shakur: On our Dare To Struggle CD we break down the Cointelpro and it’s relationship to Hip-Hop culture. Your readers should get the C.D. The Cointelpro is low intensity warfare headed by a division of the FBI waged against Political objectors. It’s intended goal was and is to prevent the rise of a Black Messiah.

AllHipHop.com: I guess that could definitely be a possible motive because Pac really had a gift of touching the masses, he was kind of hip-hop’s messiah.

Mutulu Shakur: That’s why our people, especially young Black people believe in the spirit of Tupac. The Cointelpro’s intent was and still is to keep Tupac’s message disrupted.

AllHipHop.com: At this very moment both 2Pac and Biggies deaths are unsolved and remain a mystery. Why do you think the Feds and authorities never truly sought justice for these brothers?

Mutulu Shakur: If all your readers would examine most assassinations of leaders, you will find that their murders are still unsolved. In many cases they know who the alleged assassin is rather they capture him or not. They still chose to leave such murders unresolved. In the case of Biggie and Tupac, to solve their murders would be exposing their own tactics of divide & conquer within the Hip-Hop culture and on Black people in general. Their goal is to keep the present and next generation blinded and divided. Our youth need to be uniting.

AllHipHop.com: I agree. Many cats embrace “THUG-LIFE” as if it’s universal ghetto Law. Since you’re one of few generals that Pac took orders from, could you give us your definition of “THUG-LIFE” and also tell us what you think it meant to Tupac?

Mutulu Shakur: The word “THUG-LIFE” came from the word Thuggie. The British colonized India and it was a group with in India who resisted the British and they were known as the “Thuggies”. They had a similiar tactic like the Mau Mau’s in Kenya. The British used the word Thugs to refer to any group of Outlaws defying oppression. Since Tupac was confronted by exploitation and oppression he accepted the principle and evolved his meaning of it amongst the same lines. We built the code THUG-LIFE to respond to street life here in America.

AllHipHop.com: According to Pac in an interview his acronym for THUG-LIFE was: The Hate U Gave – Little Infants F’s Everybody. It’s no secret that the media portrayed Pac in a negative image. Pac was known to give back to the community. Can you touch on this?

Mutulu Shakur: Truth be told, Tupac was very generous. He gave to people from the heart not for recognition or kudos. He gave because he could empathize with their conditions. He’s been there too and could relate to their suffering.

AllHipHop.com: So many artist adopted Pac’s “Rider Theme” as if it were their own. You personally told me to study the Native American Warriors Sitting Bull and Crazy Horse. I also peeped more on the Panthers. I then realized where 2Pac got it from. I found that the term “Rider” came from the Indian Chiefs as well as the Black Panthers. I am correct?

Mutulu Shakur: Yes. You should also go back and study the history of the Seminoles.

AllHipHop.com: How do you feel about the gangsta side of Pac? Can you give us your take about his run-in with the 2 Atlanta cops? Was Pac gangsta by nature or gangsta because society made him that way?

Mutulu Shakur: Look, I taught my children to protect themselves at all times. It’s not a matter of him being gangster. It’s a matter of him defending himself and fighting back. This goes for any Black male who’s been beat, or arrested while Riding Black. It’s just a matter of what would be your individual response if faced with the same situation. Police murder our youth just for driving in there cars.

AllHipHop.com: Could you explain Pac’s obsession with death? He embraced it & became one with it. Why?

Mutulu Shakur: He was blessed to see a full vision of his life at an early age. With the best of his ability he fought to deal with the inevitable. He fought & eventually came to terms with it and made the best of his mission here. You might call it obsession, but it was his destiny and he did it better than most. Part of his blessing was that he was given a gift to see the future & with every ounce of his will and talent he warmed his peers. So the good die young.

AllHipHop.com: Considering Pac studied the original Machiavelli who faked his own death has many of his fans believing he’s coming back. On Pac’s “Better Dayz” album he blatantly said: “Expect me na like you expect Jesus to comeback? Expect me na, I’m comin!” Many folks take this literally. What’s your take?

Mutulu Shakur: Most young people probably understand Jesus better today than what they did when he was alive. Now the prophecies of Tupac is understood. The destruction on his character by the Media didn’t work. Now he’s resurrected even in death because of the legacy he left behind.

[For more information, on Dr. Shakur go to www.mutulushakur.com.]

After Tupac Shakur’s untimely death ten years ago today, his family fought for the control of his unreleased work and presented it to the world – in the process, selling millions of records, creating a successful clothing line, and producing an Oscar-nominated film. While Afeni Shakur was the engine that powered the franchise and is still going strong to this day, another Shakur, Tupac’s sister is another cog in the machine.

Known as just “Set” to family and friends, ‘Pac’s younger sister Sekyiwa – born two years after Pac to Afeni and Dr. Mutulu Shakur – knew Tupac and his idiosyncrasies long before his ascend to the top, and as his sibling, can offer a sobering perspective. Attending high school in New York, she watched from afar as ‘Pac took used Hip-Hop as a platform to address social ills and give an unapologetic, eye-opening look into the lives of young Black men in America.

Herself still battling issues that arise from being a descendant of a revolutionary Black woman in America, Set Shakur is coming into her own with a motivational book and a clothing line in the works. For the tenth anniversary of her beloved brother’s death, however, she took AllHipHop on a journey through her childhood growing up with ‘Pac to the present, offering up some interesting words along the way.

AllHipHop.com: For starters, please tell us about your clothing line.

Sekyiwa Shakur: Right now it’s called Madamevelli; it’s a high fashion line coming out next fall.

AllHipHop.com: Is this an outgrowth of Makaveli Branded?

Sekyiwa Shakur: Not at all. I’m considering changing the name, because people always compare it. I went to a Magic Show to support Makaveli Branded and to be with my family. I cut up five different outfits and made outfits out of them, and I was in the booth, and while I was in there, a buyer came in and saw what I had on and said, “That’s what I want on my racks.” And that’s what gave me inspiration to do the clothing line. It started with Makaveli Branded, but then I wanted creative control. I am considering changing it.

AllHipHop.com: Why not something like “Set Shakur”?

Sekyiwa Shakur: I kind of like my privacy. Because [as seen with] my brother, his real name was his stage name, he couldn’t escape into a private world. I didn’t want my identity out there.

AllHipHop.com: Is this something you’ve always wanted to do?

Sekyiwa Shakur: For about three years, I’ve been working on it.

AllHipHop.com: I read your column over at AOL Black Voices Web site, where you describe how beauty and fashion helps you deal with bipolar disorder and depression. Can you explain?

Sekyiwa Shakur: Okay, I’m so proud of that story. Since it’s AllHipHop, I’m going to give it my all.

Growing up, dark-skinned, Black, with short hair, in a revolutionary family with a name like Shakur … you deal with American issues with beauty, the girls with the pigtails. We’re always the outcasts of the neighborhood, always “the ugly girl with the short hair” – the African. Then I started feeling a little better about myself, and The Color Purple comes out and now I look like Celie [the character played by Whoopi Goldberg]. My beauty was always who I am, and I took it from my mother, did my hair [naturally]. When I was like 16 or 17, I won a beauty pageant in high school, something like the Black Nubian Queen. Six months after that, I got pregnant and I was a fat baby mama, living the life of a fat baby mama. When you have a beautiful person like Tupac as your brother, it’s a cruel mirror to look at, you know what I mean? He didn’t have the problems. I had the two of them [Khadafi and Tupac] … once they died … I wanted to put myself back to where they saw me. I had just let myself go.

AllHipHop.com: For those of us that don’t know, can you explain your relationship with Tupac?

Sekyiwa Shakur: We were our mother’s only children, and we grew up in poverty. Needless to say, it was a family connection, it was us two and mommy; we needed to survive out here. Besides that, in high school, in teenage years, we had the typical brother-sister relationship. Then my mother went into drug recovery, and ‘Pac started his career. He went to California to tour with the Digital Underground, and I went to New York to go to high school. We were separated for three years, and after that separation, our lives were changed. We weren’t in each other’s daily lives, my mother was sober, Poetic Justice came out, our relationship had changed – but I was still the baby sister. He was always the man of the house. He’d never take advice, if he was doing an album or something, he’d tell me to get out of the room.

AllHipHop.com: Did you ever sit back and go, “I can’t believe ‘Pac’s career is blowing up like this?”

Sekyiwa Shakur: He always was the guy, the person in the family that was the lead; he was always the bossy kid. He was always the idol.

AllHipHop.com: In family circles?

Sekyiwa Shakur: Yeah. So while I was in high school, I was in New York, he was on Yo! MTV Raps. We used to order his videos. And when Me Against the World came out, every car had the CD, and that was like “Whoa.”

AllHipHop.com: On VH1’s Hip-Hop Honors, when Nas came out with the bandana and Tupac’s face on his shirt, the cameras captured you in a very emotional state. What were you experiencing at that moment?

Sekyiwa Shakur: I probably shouldn’t say this, but I was so upset because Nas didn’t know the words, that’s what I was thinking about. Nas went and said that he and ‘Pac were cool before Pac died, but when he actually had to do [a tribute song], he had to read the words from the teleprompter and he was messing up.

AllHipHop.com: What’s the current status of Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for Arts?

Sekyiwa Shakur: My mother put her all in opening the TASCA. Kids have to pay nothing to be a part of it, the only thing you need is to want to be there. Hopefully – not hopefully, it will be – to our generation what the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Monument was to his generation. It’s that beautiful. My mom has invested like two million dollars in this. We’re looking to have a museum, an art gallery, classes. We have a peace garden, a pond, we want to have an artist residency. One thing I didn’t include is that we’ve been doing it for eight years, every year we have an accredited director or choreographer, somebody that will add to their resume and bio that they’ve been here.

AllHipHop.com: Interesting. I like how you compared it to Dr. King’s memorial…

Sekyiwa Shakur: I respect Coretta Scott King for everything she’s done, but my mother bought the property. We don’t want to accept federal funding, so we really wanted to do this independently.

AllHipHop.com: If we were to compare what your family is doing and what the Wallace family is doing as far as legal recourse, how would you explain the different tactics?

Sekyiwa Shakur: Well, spiritually, my mother is one of the people that say [lawsuits] won’t bring ‘Pac back. Secondly, my mother has honestly sold more albums than Tupac did while he was alive. She hasn’t had time to mourn, she hasn’t taken a day off, she’s never taken a trip, she hasn’t spent time crying. Also, not speaking for my family, but for me — why do we have to? How can one of the biggest influences on our generation die, and no one is looking for who killed him?

The person who we assume killed Tupac – Orlando Anderson, within a year after Tupac died. So that’s one thing. The next thing is, when there was an investigation, the investigative reporter [Chuck Philips] from the [L.A. Times] did a full-length investigation; he was investigating for about four or five years. When that came out, we supported him. While he was investigating, he kept us aware of what was going on – when he found something out, he would call us and let us know. And when [the two-part article] came out, nobody cared, they brushed it under the mat.

AllHipHop.com: What did you think of that investigation, particularly the implication of the Crips and Biggie?

Sekyiwa Shakur: I believe there was one of three things that could’ve happened. Just as his sister, all three things make sense, and p##### me off, and I would’ve want revenge if I was a guy. That is the lead…that is the path that was found to be true or found to seem true. The L.A. Times is not The Amsterdam News, it’s The L.A. Times, it’s an accredited newspaper, it’s not VIBE or The Source, it doesn’t go along to…it doesn’t stem from gossip.

AllHipHop.com: How do you incorporate ‘Pac’s legacy and what he stood for into your motivational speaking?

Sekyiwa Shakur: A woman coming up revolutionary, in poverty, without active parents – we go through problems. We have to do what we have to do. We have to take it in our own hands.

AllHipHop.com: You are also at work on a book, right?

Sekyiwa Shakur: I’ve been in therapy. Me and my psychiatrist got close, and we decided to write a book about labels attached to women. For example, my mom is labeled a “strong Black woman,” but she’s not necessary a strong woman — that’s who she had to be. She’s actually a baby girl, humble, she is the house. At the core, she’s a little girl.

AllHipHop.com: Tupac alluded to that on a song.

Sekyiwa Shakur: Even the label we put on ourselves we don’t have to live in. We need to able to realize that’s what we have had to be. There’s a lot of pressure in being a strong black woman — I don’t want to be a strong Black woman, I’d rather be a dumb blonde, because at least people will help you with s**t.

AllHipHop.com: That’s funny and true at the same time. So what kind of support have you had from your husband Greg. There’s a lot of luster to your family, how’s he handling that?

Sekyiwa Shakur: He’s a hard worker. He’s stable, definitely brings stability.

AllHipHop.com: What possessions of Tupac’s do you still have?

Sekyiwa Shakur: When he died, everybody was reaching for stuff. One of his friends called, and said, “Can I have his car?” Suge wanted his Makaveli medallion. Everybody was reaching for things, and they were doing it in such a disrespectful way. Soon as I got to California and saw one of his jackets, I wrapped my arms around it. I still have that coat. I have one of his Rolex bracelets, and I had it promised to give to one of my children. In reality, it’s all mine anyway. All I want is a piece of my brother – his belongings won’t bring him back to me.

AllHipHop.com: Who in Pac’s circle has been there for you?

Sekyiwa Shakur: We are a family, the entire circle. All of the Outlawz: Kadafi a godbrother, Kastro our first cousin, and EDI of the Outlawz and I have two children together, and we’ve raised them together. Napoleon is not a part of the Outlawz, but we keep in touch. Besides him, we all live within a mile of each other [near Atlanta]. Shock G and my mom are still close.

AllHipHop.com: What about other folks that ‘Pac knew?

Sekyiwa Shakur: Yo-Yo is like a big sister of mine. Jasmine Guy, she’s a part of the foundation. Regina King is a close friend, and so is Keyshia Cole.

AllHipHop.com: If ‘Pac lived today, he would’ve been 35. What would he be involved in?

Sekyiwa Shakur: Katrina. I think ‘Pac would’ve got himself blackballed again because he’d be outraged at how Black people are being treated. Since he died, a lot of death that happened: Columbine happened, 9/11 happened, the tsunami happened, so much death has happened in this world, and so many big things have happened in this world that you just don’t…I really hope and wish that people had other things to do…maybe this is for the fanatics that still cry when they see us, and still send crazy letters, and stuff like that. Like, there’s still other things in this world to be concerned about, and to pull your heart into. He might be appreciated, and he was a fantastic man, and he deserves all the respect he can get, but there’s other things to worry about and put your time into right now.

AllHipHop.com: Would he still be making records today or doing something else?

Sekyiwa Shakur: He’d be doing a bunch of things because he was so vain. I think in his spare time, he would be working on an album, or it might have been just singles.

In 1996, Rick Ross’ role in Hip-Hop was simply a fan. Living in Miami, no doubt pushing to the limit, Ross felt understood when listening to the struggles of Tupac Shakur on All Eyez on Me and Makaveli. “The Boss,” as Ross calls himself, was emotionally affected upon the loss of rap’s most colorful character.

A decade later, Rick Ross is among the brightest new stars in the game. However, some could argue that the rapper’s success is achievable only in the wake of luminaries such as Shakur. Tupac’s “Dear Mr. President” has become Ross’ “White House,” and the very connotation of “hustling” may’ve been lost in translation. Others may find the Carol City Cartel leader to have a natural progression from the Outlawz’ frontman. In a personal look at a fallen icon, Rick Ross shares his deep appreciation of Tupac, as well an analysis of the similarities and differences in the times, and the artists Hip-Hop has crowned. In the end, even Rick Ross agrees that Makaveli was the boss of all bosses.

AllHipHop.com: I know you were 18 or 19 years-old when it happened, but can you remember what your life was like when Tupac died, and your reaction to the news?

Rick Ross: I just came back from outta town, meetin’ a couple of my homeboys. We stopped in a gas station. When I walked in the gas station, the lady who was takin’ the money behind the cash register, she had tears runnin’ down her face. Automatically, I’m thinkin’, “Damn. We done walked into the middle of a robbery.” So I look around, and said, “Baby, what’s goin’ on?” She said that Tupac had just died. [pause] That whole day was just on pause for the rest of the day. We just went and rolled up with all of my homies, we got this lil’ park that we roll to if somebody we know passed. We’ll just blow and s**t. I went to the park, and everybody was already there like Tupac was one of our homies. We just set up and smoked weed and drank for hours.

AllHipHop.com: What was ‘Pac’s reach like in Miami? How did Southern Florida identify with him?

Rick Ross: ‘Pac ran the game, man! At the climax, it was Tupac and Notorious B.I.G. Tupac was always on the top of the game, man – just his aggressiveness and [his rhyming] about the struggle. Plus, his background and all that, it’s like you watched him grow. Down in Miami, everybody was ridin’ for ‘Pac.

AllHipHop.com: The term “hustle” or “hustler” has changed a lot in the last decade. With the Outlawz, Tupac had a great record in “Hell 4 A Hustler.” How do you think the term, the lifestyle, and the connotation have changed over the decade?

Rick Ross: Um…I ain’t gonna say it really changed, ‘cause it’s always gonna represent the same thing. It’s just that the people who have used it has changed over time. Tupac, he really represented the essence of the struggle, the heart of the hustle. To watch him be incarcerated and sign a deal on a small piece of paper, and come out and explode just to meet his requirements and move on, small things like that, that’s what I took from him. The work ethic: in two weeks, he recorded [All Eyez On Me], in seven days, he recorded Makaveli. To me, those are true definitions of a hustler, being capable.

AllHipHop.com: Do you have a favorite Tupac song, something that speaks personally to you?

Rick Ross: I love so much of his music, but when I listen to the Makaveli song, it’s weird, but "Just LIke Daddy". It’s like he did that personally for Rick Ross.

AllHipHop.com: Wow. In what sense?

Rick Ross: Just the whole vibe. When the song comes on, it’s like it’s player s**t, but the way he gets down, it’s authentic. He don’t overdo it, saturate it, or sugar-coat it. His music was just so realistic.

AllHipHop.com: When Tupac died, it didn’t seem that many people in mainstream Hip-Hop stood by his clique, The Outlawz. As you’ve built your Carol City Cartel, how would you feel if you were locked up or put in that position? Is there anything to learn from the way Hip-Hop treats its groups?

Rick Ross: Most definitely, man. Everywhere you go, you just realize that this is entertainment, but it’s real life. I know it’s hard for some people to understand that, but this is real life. When things like that happen, it just really shows you. Like Jay-Z said, “Where’s the love?” When you hear people ask those questions again and again, it let me know, being the n***a I am, it’s a vicious game. It’s chess, not checkers. I gotta be prepared for that. It’s part of my work ethic. It’s not only being hardworking and being committed to your music, but in this business, to all black entrepreneurs, I recommend you become a master thinker. You gotta prepare for those situations.

AllHipHop.com: Some critics were very hard on your album, particularly about the lyricism. Throughout his life, and after, critics also argue that Tupac was a rapper, not an MC —

Rick Ross: I don’t agree with them! I don’t agree with them, ‘cause being an MC is being able to deliver a message. And nobody could deliver a message better than Tupac. He had songs where he was just being so lyrical. [Rick Ross rhymes from Tupac’s "If I Die 2night"] “ Picturin’ pitiful punk n***as coppin’ pleas / Puffin’ weed as I position myself to clock G’s.” Every verse in that song started with different words of the same letter. He showed you right there that he was the best. That’s what The Boss here for!

AllHipHop.com: Certainly, Tupac rhymed with artists like C-Bo, Daz, Rappin’ 4-Tay and others who overtly rhymed about selling dope. But still, I was listening to “Changes” recently. In it, there’s that dialogue Tupac recreates, where he says, “I made a G today / But you made it in a sleazy way / Sellin’ crack to the kids / I gotta get paid / Well hey, that’s the way it is.” I could never figure out if ‘Pac is belittling the dealer or siding with society. As somebody who walks the line, what do you think?

Rick Ross: Nah. That’s what made him cool. What he did was, he put the pros and the cons in your face. So when you hustlin’ and you glorifyin’ it, just remember that ain’t the right thing to do; there’s a better way – that’s what he’s saying in the song. But the last thing he says is [basically,] it’s all about survival. He always put it right there for you.

AllHipHop.com: You worked with Daz and other people who knew ‘Pac. Have you ever learned anything interesting on him from these people?

Rick Ross: Yeah man, as soon as I got a chance to work with Daz, when he came into the studio I was workin’ in, he heard a few cuts of a Tupac mix CD I’m workin’ on, using some of his beats. Daz came in, and I was just askin’ him about ‘Pac. Once again, he touched on how ‘Pac would come to the studio with two hours to do three records. It just opened my mind up so much more; it made me expect so much more of myself. The quality of the music – his music still sounds the greatest to me.

AllHipHop.com: Rap-A-Lot Records just put out 2Face, a collaboration with Scarface and old ‘Pac vocals. Scarface has publicly removed himself from the release. As a fan, how have you felt on the posthumous releases since Makaveli?

Rick Ross: Um…there was a couple of ‘em I really wouldn’t agree with. To me, it’s simple: if I wasn’t a part of his program before he passed, I wouldn’t agree to do it. For other business reasons, other people do other things. To me, holding up the integrity of my brother, of my homeboy is more important than business or capitalizing off sales, but that’s just Rick Ross.

AllHipHop.com: No money involved, but if you could collaborate with Tupac on one of his or one of your songs, what would it be, and why?

Rick Ross: I might go back to the “Ambitionz az a Ridah.” That was one of my favorite ‘Pac cuts. The production was crazy. When he put his thing down, he most def let you know he was legendary.

AllHipHop.com: It was a hell of a way to open album, and I noticed you didn’t mess around opening up Port of Miami either…

Rick Ross: Yeah, I had to do it like that. I been waitin’ a long time for it. Came out, debuted Number One on Billboard charts, and my squad, Carol City Cartel, comin’ next. I’m just finna keep making good music, man.

AllHipHop.com: On your record, you’ve got “Hit U From the Back.” Tupac helped make love and sex records mainstream again with “Temptations,” “How Do U Want It,” and “Whatz Ya Phone #.” Do you think you learned anything from him on that?

Rick Ross: He showed you it was cool to reach out and address your female fans. Being a street dude, he gave you the blueprint on how to just be free and speak your mind – puttin’ it down how you put it down to music. When he did the “Whatz Ya Phone #,” he was like having the phone-sex with the chick – it was different, it was real. He kinda showed you you could do your thing like that.

AllHipHop.com: We haven’t seen you beef or battle. But as listener, what did you learn from the way ‘Pac handled his issues with people on the mic?

Rick Ross: On the mic, I loved it. I loved it! ‘Cause, growin’ up, I felt those same frustrations, and I still do to this day. I relate to his pain; I relate to his struggle. I understand when he was facin’ all the hate. Sometimes, you gotta lash out. I support dog.

AllHipHop.com: On Still I Rise, Tupac opened with “Letter to the President” – very politically charged. There’s not a huge correlation, but on your album, you’ve got “The White House.” Do you think that looking at these two records and what they’re saying shows us anything about how Hip-Hop has changed in the last decade, and what will it take to bring back people like ‘Pac?

Rick Ross: You really just gotta support artists and watch ‘em grow. ‘Pac, man, those are some real big shoes to fill because he was really educated in the background, and he really understood politics. He was more up on the f**kery than a lot of the dudes. But in my songs, I touch ‘em in a different way. I touch them differently, but I most def be havin’ issues like that on my mind. My next album is gonna touch on a lot more different things.