Suge Knight is recounting a story involving Tupac Shakur's eventual cremation, which took place shortly after his passing in 1996. Suge told TMZ that Afeni Shakur was the one who requested that her son be cremated in the first place.
From there, Suge recalls finding someone who would do it as quickly as possible. In fact, he offered someone $1.2 million just to get it done quickly. From there, Afeni Shakur reportedly invited Suge and friends to a Las Vegas hotel room, where they smoked Tupac's ashes. Suge told TMZ that he abstained from the ritual, noting he was on probation at the time.
While Suge's story comes with some shock factor, there is actually a lot more to it. In 2020, E.D.I. Mean of The Outlawz sat down with Vlad TV, where he told the truth behind the story. If you remember, Tupac actually rapped about having his ashes smoked during his verse on the 1999 song, "Black Jesuz."
"We die clutchin' glasses, filled with liquor bombastic/ Cremated, last wishes n***as smoke my ashes," 2Pac raps on the song.
E.D.I. Mean Reveals The Truth Behind Tupac's Request
During the Vlad TV conversation, E.D.I. Mean revealed a talk he had with 2Pac, in which the artist spoke about the significance of the ritual. He had learned it from Native American friends back home, and wanted to have it done to him when he passed. His mom ultimately honored his wishes.
"The conversation was a real conversation. He was giving us history on where it came from, what he learned about it, you know what I mean? Why it was something he thought was interesting… [Tupac said] 'Wouldn't it be some shit if one of us died just so we always a part of each other?'… Shit you talk about when you young and you're high," E.D.I. Mean explained.
"It's something the Native Americans did," E.D.I Mean continued. "That's where it came from… Because he had Native American friends that he went to school with that told him about that. I don't know whether it was in the Bay or Baltimore but, yeah, you know, there was an actual lesson behind that."
Tupac's murder trial will continue this week in Nevada, as Duane "Keefe D" Davis faces life in prison.
