BY: PI
| The Tupac Amaru Shakur Birthday Celebration The Legacy of Tupac Amaru Shakur goes on in a major way through his dedicated memorial. The Tupac Shakur Center For The Arts located at 5616 Memorial Dr. Stone Mountain, Ga. was built with pride, ambition, and drive. Ms. Afeni Shakur, Tupac’s Mother and friend, wanted to make sure that her sons’ legacy lives on through an arts center dedicated to the children and youth that live in the communities surrounding the Stone Mountain and Atlanta areas. This project took $10 Million of Tupac’s own money to create a foundation for our inner city youth to learn art and dance, through spotlighting their own cultural roots. The center includes a 500-seat auditorium, art gallery, museum chronicling Tupac's career, a recording studio, and film editing facilities. The Tupac Amaru Shakur Center hopes to revitalize the Memorial Dr. area for a long time. The 20,000-square foot structure formerly housed a five-screen movie theatre on a 3.2-acre site at 5616 Memorial Drive. Tupac Shakur was a rapper, singer, and actor who appeared in such movies as Juice and Poetic Justice. Tupac’s mother, Ms Afieni Shakur, a member of the 1960’s radical political group the Black Panthers, has lived in the area of the center for a decade. She established the Shakur Family Foundation in 1997 as a way to provide arts training to Atlanta area youth ages 12-18. On June 16, 2009, V103 Atlanta’s People Station and The Tupac Shakur Center For The Arts Sponsored a concert for Tupac Shakur’s Birthday held in the parking lot of the center. I was on hand to cover the concert and event, which included all kinds of music, artists, and celebrities were in the house. It turned out to be one of the greatest events to ever hit the Memorial Dr. Area in over a decade. Among the artists and celebrities were comedians Mike Epps, Lil Duval, and Nard Hoston. Also, Rap artists Bun B., Eight Ball & MJG, Titty Boi & Dollar of Players Circle. Also in the house, D.Woods of Danity Kane and many more. Furthermore, I also attended the after party at the Ambience Bar and Lounge next door to The Center, kicking it in the VIP with Mike Epps. He stated, “It was a great event. It’s good to see all the fans and artists, who loved and listen to Tupac, come out and celebrate and dedicate one of the greatest rappers of all times. It was a very positive event for the whole community and Tupac will never be forgotten. He will still be with us in our hearts for a long time to come.” Story And Photos By: P.I. |
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