On the birthday of hip-hop icon rap artist, poet, activist, actor and teacher Tupac Amaru Shakur, many tributes were done in honor to him.

One tribute was the hip-hop ‘Birthday Shout Outs of Luv and Remembrance’ that was put together by CRNLive.com and ThugLifeArmy.com.

Friends of Tupac (2Pac), hip-hop artists and rappers, and those in the hip-hop industry were asked to call in and give their thoughts and shout outs to the hip-hop icon on his birthday.

The radio edit version of the drops was sent out to radio markets and they were asked to run the tribute on June 16^th.

Close to 300 markets worldwide took advantage of the offering and ran the tribute to the slain hip-hop icon on his birthday.

The nearly 300 markets covered 65% of the U.S. and the tribute was also heard by radio listeners in Mexico, Japan, Canada, Puerto Rico, Cuba and the U.K.

Over 17 Million people worldwide heard the tribute to Tupac (2Pac) on radio alone. This number does not include the hip-hop, rap and fan web sites that also ran this tribute to Tupac (2Pac).

“The way we came up with this number was by the stations that gave us a courtesy email or call indicating that they were playing the tribute on their stations,” said Frank Miranda owner of CRNLive.com: the original Chicano Radio Network.

“We then asked what their market share was in their area, with that and the population it gives you and indication of how many people heard the drop. In cases where they committed to playing the tribute more than once, the numbers were reflected,” added Frank Miranda.

“The great thing about the commercial stations playing the tribute was that they encompassed all genres of music allowing people not exposed to Tupac's music, whereby creating an interest in a far greater demographic. In short, THIS PROJECT TURNED OUT TO BE BIGGER THAN EVEN WE IMAGINED....Viva Tupac!” Frank Miranda said.

Covering all genres such as Pop, Rock, Urban, Adult Contemporary, and various types of oldie stations, along with hip-hop, rap and R&B stations this was a global tribute that did exactly what it was intended to do – to show luv and respect worldwide for an icon of hip-hop culture that is loved and respected worldwide; and hopefully to expose and spark interterest in those who are not familar with Tupac (2Pac) to investigate the man and his life.

The radio edit version can be heard HERE. Editing was necessary to shorten the time of the drop; the radio edit version is 5 min. long.

Since many left more detailed expressions of luv and remembrance for Tupac, the unedited version of the drops will be made available soon on ThugLifeArmy.com.

CRNLive.com and ThugLifeArmy.com would like to thank all those who participated in this tribute. Those who took time to do drops and to all those radio stations and web sites that ran the tribute your participation helped make June 16^th 2006, the 35^th birthday of one of hip-hop cultures most beloved figures truly a great one.

*Original BD Shout out post can be seen HERE.