Today would have been the 40th birthday of Tupac Shakur, the late rapper who revolutionized the music industry with his talent and message before his untimely murder. Born on June 16, 1971 in Brooklyn, NY, Shakur’s sun was in Gemini, the sign of a quick-witted communicator. In addition, his moon was in Aries, giving him the pure drive and single-mindedness to push forward into his early success.

The Huffington Post reports:

June 16 is an emotional day for me. It was on a sunny June 16 in 1989 that my mother died in my arms while visiting relatives in Plainfield, N.J. Thus, every year around that time, my partner understands why I am a little more quiet and reserved. I pass by her picture in our living room and wonder what she would say about the choices I’ve made, what she and my daughters would do for fun, what advice she would give me for the daily challenges I wish I could call her about. Sometimes I really miss her voice.

There is another voice that I will miss on this upcoming June 16. Tupac Shakur would be — should be — turning 40 this upcoming Thursday.

Every now and then, it seems like someone from the great cloud of witnesses moves a little closer, making his or her presence known. Pac has been very present as of late. We all shook our heads when a hacked PBS website reported that he was alive in New Zealand. Almost on cue, as I was reading that story on my phone, a car drove by blaring the new song by Meek Mills and Rick Ross whose chorus declares that “Tupac’s Back! Tupac’s Back!”

And just this past Friday, I was sitting with my dear friend and mentor, James Spady, probably one of the greatest black journalists and writers of the last 30 years, winning an American Book Award and the National Newspaper Publishers Association’s Meritorious Award. Spady has interviewed nearly every major black figure since the 1970s, especially those involved in the arts. Many of these interviews are collected in his now classic volumes “Nation Conscious Rap: The Hip Hop Vision” (1991), “Twisted Tales in the Hip Hop Streets of Philly” (1995), “Street Conscious Rap” (1999) and “The Global Cipha.” Among Spady’s greatest “interlocutors,” as he likes to describe his interviewees, was Tupac.

During our session, Spady pulled out a recent piece he published on Pac in celebration of what would be his 40th birthday. As always, Spady “tells the truth slant” with his liberated prose. He asked me what I thought of the article. I loved it, but I found myself quieted as if I was listening, waiting for someone to say something or for a beat to drop. My ears were longing for that baritone to sing, “Come with me…”

What do you think—what would Tupac have become if he had lived?