Oakland Honors Late Rapper Tupac Shakur: MacArthur Boulevard Section Renamed
In tribute to the late Tupac Shakur, the city that nurtured the famed emcee’s career has resolved to rename a segment of MacArthur Boulevard (spanning between Grand and Van Buren Avenues) after him. Oakland’s City Council made the unanimous decision on Tuesday, May 16, reports KTVU.
The chosen stretch will henceforth be known as Tupac Shakur Way, with commemorative plaques set to mark the significant renaming.
Tupac relocated to Oakland, California, in 1988 and joined the Digital Underground as a backup dancer and emcee in 1990. His time in Oakland holds a special place in hip-hop history, according to Queen Latifah, who shared memorable moments with Tupac during his stint as a dancer for Digital Underground.
In an appearance on Sway’s Universe, the iconic artist revealed that Tupac conceived one of the most distinctive dances in hip-hop culture, the Humpty Dance. He imagined it as a depiction of someone falling off a wall.
Latifah reminisced, “I watched him literally create the Humpty Dance. He visualized it as Humpty Hump falling off a wall, given that he’s an egg. Tupac mimicked the falling motion and transformed it into a dance. He was immensely talented and could dance remarkably well.”
