Snoop Dogg paid a heartfelt tribute to Tupac Shakur as he inducted his late friend into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame on Friday (07.04.17).
The 45-year-old rapper gave a moving speech at the ceremony at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York in which he praised his friend – who died in 1996 at the age of 25 – as a "strong black man who stood up".
He said: "While we may be here to celebrate one of music’s most prolific and outspoken artists as he’s rightfully enshrined as one of the greatest musicians to ever do it, I’m here to make sure that Pac is remembered the way he would have wanted to be: a strong black man who stood up. Not somebody who acted like a rapper, but as a human.
"Through his music, he shared the love with all of us, and that’s ultimately why we’re here tonight. Pac’s a part of history for a reason – because he made history.
"You will always be the best. You will live on forever. Legends always do. They can’t take this away from you, homie. I love you, Tupac. Welcome to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame."
Snoop also acknowledged the late rapper’s talent, saying: "When I sat down to gather my thoughts about my late and great, my homie and my brother there’s one thought that kept coming back: Tupac was actually really good.
"While many remember him now as some kind of thugged-out superhero, Tupac really was only good, and he represented through his music like no one before. It’s the fact that he never shied away from it. He wore it like a badge of honour. With an unapologetic voice, Pac embraced those contradictions that proved we ain’t just a character out of someone else’s storybook.
"To me, Tupac was first and foremost a homeboy. We shared a whole lot in common. The way our journey started together. We were both born in the same [neighbourhood in] ’71. He saw me as an actor. He saw more potential in me than I saw in myself, and it’s funny because after he passed away, I started getting a lot of movie roles and all this stuff. Pac was looking out for us even after he was gone."
Snoop Dogg’s tribute to Tupac Shakur
