Tim O'Brien 'Tupac At 40'

On September 7, 1996, Tupac Shakur was shot four times and six days later the world lost one of the most important, controversial and naturally talented MCs to ever live. Having reached borderline-iconic status, complete with conspiracy theories about his death, movies based on his life, and college classes teaching his poetry, to say that Tupac is missed by his fans would be an understatement. To help celebrate what would be his upcoming 40th birthday, XXL magazine chose to ease the bitter reminder of Pac’s untimely demise by commissioning Tim O’Brien, the artist who previously designed the Osama bin Laden TIME Magazine cover, to paint a portrait of the artist at 40. Assuming that “time had been good” to Mr. Shakur, O’Brien chose to present him as an only slightly older-looking, gentler Tupac. Still dressed in his requisite hoodie and T-shirt, Pac looks happy here and, fantasy or not, there’s something reassuring about that.

Source: Arrested Motion