The legacy of Tupac lives in many ways but it's the members of the Outlawz who have some of the most distinctive memories of the late rapper. Over the years, they've shared insightful anecdotes with their time with him, especially in the time leading to his death. Vlad recently sat down with Outlawz member EDI Mean to explain the origins of 'Pac's request to the Outlawz to smoke his ashes if he passes.
EDI Mean initially revealed that they smoked 'Pac's ashes after his passing in 2011. Citing 'Pac's verse on "Black Jezuz" where he raps, "We die clutchin' glasses, filled with liquor bombastic/ Cremated, last wishes n***as smoke my ashes," EDI Mean explained that there was a conversation that happened prior to that verse being recorded that initially planted the seed for this particular ritual.
"That was a conversation that we had prior to even doing that song," EDI Mean explained. "The song was just a song and he had that line in there because that's what he chose to talk about in the song but it's not like we had that conversation and now we gon' go do a song about it."
"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," he continued.
"It's something the Native Americans did," he added. "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."
Much like how that line came about, EDI Mean explained that these conversations he'd have with Tupac would ultimately spawn other songs like "Killuminati."
Check out the interview below.
