Chuck D has shared a letter that Tupac Shakur wrote to him detailing the respect he had for the Public Enemy emcee. Shakur begins the letter, written in September 1995, noting how highly he regarded the Public Enemy mouthpiece and how much Chuck’s letter of support meant to him. “Back in the dayz, on tour with u, I learned so much from what u did and how u did it,” Shakur wrote. “It may be hard 2 C but u have alwayz played a major role in what it is I do 2day.” At the time he wrote the letter, Shakur was serving time in a New York prison... He mentioned making bail, pending appeal, for his sentence and said he hoped to be free by the time Chuck was reading the letter. “I just got signed 2 Death Row, so I should be working on this album soon,” he wrote. “And 2 push my luck even more, I would be honored if u would appear on this track 4 my next album, Euthanasia,” he wrote. “The track is called ‘Da Struggle Continuez.’ It will also feature Sista Souljah, if God will. So let me know.” In closing, 2Pac says, “Thanks again, Chuck! I believe we can make a difference, and I have every intention of doing just that. Stay strong!” 2Pac changed the title of his fifth album from Euthanasia to All Eyez on Me, though neither Chuck D nor Sister Soujah appeared on the album. That same year, he released the Makaveli album The Don Killuminati: The 7 Day Theory, which he finished days before his death. It is unclear whether “Da Struggle Continuez” was ever recorded. Shakur was released from jail less than a month after writing the letter and was murdered just short of a year after writing it. - Rolling Stone (June 23, 2014). Original business card below.
