Kendrick Lamar’s affinity for Tupac Shakur is well documented. His admiration was perhaps best displayed on his most recent album, To Pimp A Butterfly, when he figuratively interviewed the late rapper during the track “Mortal Man” (the interview was pulled from a 1994 video back-and-forth).

Today (September 13), marks the 19th anniversary of Pac’s death and to commemorate it, the Compton native penned an open letter to his idol, which was featured on 2pac.com. The website has confirmed that it was indeed Kendrick Lamar who wrote the piece.

The title for To Pimp A Butterfly also drew its inspiration from Tupac. The album, which was originally supposed to be called, Tu Pimp a Caterpillar, would’ve had an abbreviation of Tu.P.A.C. This revelation coming from Lamar in an interview with MTV after the project was released.

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Read Kendrick Lamar’s full letter to Tupac below:

Kendrick Letter

“I was 8 yrs old when I first saw you. I couldn’t describe how I felt at that moment. So many different emotions. Full of excitement. Full of joy and eagerness. 20 yrs later I understand exactly what that feeling was. INSPIRED. The people that you touched on that small intersection changed lives forever. I told myself I wanted to be a voice for man one day. Whoever knew I was speaking out loud for u to listen. Thank you.”

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