Source: Steve Eichner / Getty
Not that Tupac Shakur, the OTHER one.
After rapper Tupac Shakur’s murder in 1996, rumors that he wasn’t actually dead have been floating around the internet for the past 20 years. But it turns out, someone named Tupac Shakur lives in Kentucky, but he isn’t the California rapper that rose to popularity in the 90s.
Due to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, more than 22 million Americans have lost their job, so the Kentucky resident applied for unemployment, but officials thought it was a joke gone wrong. Even the Governor thought it was just an elaborate a prank, but he’s since apologized.
“We had somebody apply for unemployment for Tupac Shakur here in Kentucky,” Governor Andy Beshear said at a press briefing Monday evening. “And that person may have thought they were being funny, they probably did. Except for the fact that because of them, we had to go through so many other claims.”
Tupac Malik Shakur is actually a Lexington, Kentucky resident who worked as a cook in a restaurant that unfortunately closed as a result of COVID-19. Shakur says that he applied for benefits back on March 13 and was saddened to receive his letter of monetary determination just four days later.
“I’m hurt, I’m really embarrassed and I’m shocked,” Shakur told the Lexington Herald-Leader on Monday. “He needs to apologize. That’s just my name.”
Shakur told the Leader that he legally changed his name in the 90s after the rapper of the same name was assassinated in Las Vegas. He says he chose the name because it means “thankful to God” in Arabic.
“I’ve been struggling for like the last month trying to figure out how to pay the bills,” Shakur said.
Beshear’s office is now working to resolve the claim. Beshear has since personally called Shakur to apologize for the confusion over the name and addressed it in a press conference.