Afeni Shakur – Mother of Late Rapper Tupac – Has Died

Afeni Shakur — the mother of the late rapper Tupac — has died at the age of 69.

Marin County deputies responded to Afeni’s home in Sausalito, Calif., Monday night (May 2) after she suffered a possible cardiac arrest, the sheriff’s office said Tuesday morning. She was taken to a local hospital and died just before 10:30 p.m.

The former black panther was well-known for her philanthropic efforts launching the Tupac Amaru Shakur Foundation after her son’s death to found art programs for young people. Recently, she had greenlit the biopic All Eyez on Me, which just finished filming.

Born Alice Faye Williams, Afeni was known as a Black Panther, who acted as her own criminal defense attorney after being accused of taking part in bombings as a member of the activist group. In 2007, she gave the keynote address for Vanderbilt University’s Commemoration for Black History Month. She was in-demand as a lecturer, and also ran Amaru Entertainment, the holding company for her son’s unreleased material, and a fashion line, Makaveli Branded, whose entire proceeds went to the foundation in his name. After her son’s 1996 shooting death, Shakur took over the late rapper’s estate, which reportedly earns about $900,000 each year.