Tupac Shakur’s stepfather, Mutulu Shakur, died on Thursday (July 6) after a long illness. The family made the announcement via Instagram the following day using an illustration of the 72-year-old. The caption read: “Our beloved Mutulu joined the ancestors this morning at home with family. Please bless him on his path and we will share more soon. Rest in power and love.”
Mutulu’s death comes just seven months after he was released from prison. The Black liberation elder served more than 36 years behind bars for his alleged involvement in a 1981 robbery that led to two fatalities. He was granted a compassionate release in November 2022 due to his bone marrow cancer diagnosis.
In May 2022, a Bureau of Prisons doctor revealed Mutulu had less than six months to live. It wasn’t until after a hearing last October that the federal parole commission admitted the dying man posed zero risk to society. He’d previously made the request for release at least 10 times, held a clean institutional record and was considered a mentor to many.
Mutulu Shakur was gravely ill with terminal cancer in April 2022, when the same parole commission denied his release. Medical reports pointed to his decline in physical function, confusion and hallucinations. It was only then he was granted release. He spent his remaining days in Southern California with his family.
Mutulu was convicted of racketeering conspiracy charges alongside several Black liberationists and leftist allies for his involvement in the 1981 robbery of a Brink’s armored truck. A guard and two police officers were killed during the melee. He took responsibility for his actions and expressed remorse for the lives lost.
Prior to his incarceration, Mutulu was a member of the Black nationalist organization Republic of New Afrika. He was a renowned acupuncturist and central figure in the movement to bring holistic health care and self-determination to Black residents in the Bronx during the ’70s. In 1975, he married 2Pac’s mother, Afeni Shakur. They had a daughter, Sekyiwa, but divorced in 1982.
AllHipHop sends its condolences to the Shakur family.