Mopreme Shakur on Tupac: The sensitive man behind the music

“I think Pac was actually traumatised by the poverty. You know, poverty can be very, very traumatic. Having no lights, having no food from time to time, having no clothes while you’re going to school, and bumming clothes. Them stories, it was real. That really happened to Pac. Pac was sensitive, so he felt things deeply.”

The BBC’s Shaimaa Khalil speaks to Mopreme Shakur, step-brother of iconic rapper Tupac Shakur.

Tupac was shot dead in Las Vegas in 1996, and now, almost 30 years later, Duane “Keffe D” Davis is on trial in connection with his murder. He has pleaded not guilty.

Through music exploring poverty, racism and injustice, Tupac became one of hip-hop’s most loved and influential figures, selling more than 75 million records worldwide.

Mopreme recalls growing up with Tupac and explains why he believes poverty and politics shaped his brother and the music he went on to make.

He talks about Tupac's mother having been the section leader of the Harlem chapter of the Black Panther Party, and links Tupac’s own experience of abandonment to his concern with how neglected children can become hardened adults.

The Interview brings you conversations with people shaping our world, from all over the world. The best interviews from the BBC, including episodes with Sundar Pichai and Julia Gillard.

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Presenter: Shaimaa Khalil

Producers: Osman Iqbal and Regan Morris

Editor: Damon Rose

(Image: Mopreme Shakur. Credit: Getty)