Subscribe
HipHopWired Featured Video
CLOSE

With the passing of Afeni Shakur this past Tuesday (May 3), many have begun to speculate on the status of her late son Tupac Shakur’s estate. A lawyer for Shakur asserts that all will continue to be well.

In an interview with Billboard, Shakur’s attorney Howard King says that Tupac’s estate will not be affected by his mother’s death and that it will continue to be overseen by Tom Whalley who had shared executive duties over the estate with Afeni since 2013. Whalley worked with 2 Pac when was signed to Interscope Records and is the former chairman and CEO of Warner Bros. Records. He is currently head of Loma Vista Recordings, recording home to Little Dragon and Marilyn Manson.

King tells Billboard:

“In a bad situation, everything is taken care of to assure that [Afeni’s] wishes with respect to her son’s intellectual property get honored and the business of managing that goes on really without interruption.”

King, who was also Prince’s attorney, says that Afeni’s sister, Gloria Cox was also heavily involved in preserving Tupac’s legacy and that she will continue to guide Whalley’s decision making when it comes to the estate.

Billboard also spoke with family friend and videographer Gobi M. Rahimi [he directed the “2 Of Amerikaz Most Wanted” and “Made N*ggaz videos] who feels confident that Whalley will do a good job.

“Tom is someone who actually cares about Tupac’s legacy,” he said. “Someone who actually had an authentic relationship with Tupac is in a position of power now. Things seem more hopeful and positive than they have in the last 20 years.”

After 2 Pac was killed in 1996, Afeni stepped up to control the tons of unreleased music and other materials that he left behind. In 1997 she founded Amaru Entertainment which released a handful of posthumous albums including R U Still Down?, Until The End of Time and Better Dayz. Amaru was also responsible for the Tupac: Resurrection documentary. The label would later inherit the rights to 2 Pac’s pre-Death Row Records albums.

Photo: WENN.com