OnSmash recently reported on an incredible and rare story from no other than Tupac Shakur. Through the book Reading Nas's Illmatic, which was released in 2009, it was revealed that Tupac listened to Illmatic during his 1994 trial. In fact, the book excerpt reveals Pac received a bootleg copy of the iconic body of work and frequently listened to it. Upon arriving in court, Tupac was blasting "Life's A Bitch" for the entirety of his ride and even continued while arriving inside the courtroom. So much that a bailiff told him to reduce the noise from his earphones.
The exact book excerpt recounts: "Pac was an instant convert. I dubbed the CD onto a cassette for him. He got his manager to upgrade his rental to a Lexus (he traded some midsize rental from the cavalier family). The next day he pulled into the courthouse parking lot, his interior cloudy. He pulled his dub from the whip, threw it in his headphones, and arrived in his assigned courtroom blasting Illmatic so loudly that the bailiff yelled at him to turn it off before the judge took his seat on the bench."
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Although not many media platforms have publicized the event at the time, it is interesting to know Illmatic was Shakur approved. And while the 1994 trial, which placed Tupac at the center of rape allegations, resulting in sentencing for the iconic rapper--we are happy to know Illmatic was to know Hip Hop still helped Pac through rough times.
