Thug Life Army

Afeni Shakur, the mother of the late great hip-hop rap icon Tupac Shakur; is speaking out on the resolution of the most recent hip-hop feud, this one having resulted in an actual street fight between T.I. and H-Town's Lil'' Flip

Afeni Shakur is no stranger to the world of hip-hop violence and is elated that the riff between T.I. and Flip was reportedly settled behind closed doors in a peaceful sit-down session.

Afeni Shakur is grateful for the quiet end to the latest in what has been a string of rap-related violence.  "It's been nearly ten years since everything between Tupac and Biggie (The Notorious B.I.G.) and rappers today are paying a lot of lip service to the lessons they learned from that tragedy, but how many of them are actually showing it in their actions?  For T.I. and Lil'' Flip to actually sit down together and actually talk about their issues, rather than automatically resorting to violence, is a wonderful lesson for the rest of the rap community and the young audience that looks up to them."

Afeni Shakur has just launched her "Keep Kids Alive" campaign, designed to stop the unnecessary deaths that take the lives of one youth every 18 minutes in the United States, through car accidents, suicides and homicides.  "There are so many other ways to resolve conflicts than violence and the actions of these two young men are beautiful and mature responses to what could have escalated to something very tragic.  This is precisely the type of example the rap community needs to be reminded of today before we have any more misfortunes on our hands that will forever affect so many lives."

"I''m proud of the way T.I. and Lil'' Flip have settled their differences. If other rappers can follow in their footsteps and mend differences in the mature way these two have, it will be a better world for all of us -- especially the young people that idolize these artists.  It was the world my son strived for and it is wonderful to see it actually having taken place in this instance.  My hope is that others will see this, take it to heart and truly learn from it."

Ms. Shakur is preparing to open Phase 1 of the Tupac Amaru Shakur Center for the Arts in Stone Mountain, Georgia on June 11, 2005.  Phase 1 will include a Peace Garden dedicated to the memory of those who are no longer with us and will carry on the legacy of her late son and his message of peace and hope -- a message perfectly exemplified by this latest rap feud's passive and harmonious resolution.