I remember very well what I was doing when Tupac was killed. I was working in a convenience store and one of my co-workers, who I didn't like anyway, was a big Tupac fan. This crazy bitch used to brag on how she only likes real men and how she loves a thug but then she would come to work crying because her boyfriend beat her up and I would tell her that I didn't want to hear it because she wanted a thug and that's what thugs do, they're trash and they're violent. Anyway, for months before Tupac was killed, any time I would say anything she didn't like about Tupac, she would say things like..."well, he's a lot better than Prince and at least Tupac is a real man" to which I would reply "Tupac is thug trash that can't play one musical instrument and his shit is as slow as fucking classical music, he ain't even worthy to wipe Prince's ass".

Anyway, the night Tupac was killed, we were working and we heard the news on the radio. I immediately said..."oh well, that trash lived by the sword and he died by it". Normally I show respect for the recently departed but not in the case of a thug. That bitch went beserk and I just simply told her..."Bitch don't get mad at me, he just died in the very fashion that he immitated and looked up to". Then she got mad and wanted to say something about Prince so I just simply said to her...."Unless Prince gets a deadly allergic reaction to a makeup brush or accidently stabs himself with one of his high heels, his ass will be around for a long time".

About two weeks later, I was working in the store by myself and two guys dressed in typical thug shit hop clothing came in and robbed me. "California Love" was playing on the radio underneath the counter and it just felt so appropriate.

Funny, I was in the car with my mom when I heard both that Elvis died, and that Kurt Cobain died.

I didn't understand how upset she was about Elvis, and she didn't understand how upset I was about Kurt.

NDRU said:

Of all the celebrities listed, Kurt's was the one that I felt the most sad about. I had his albums and I was in the center of that "generation X" demographic that was his audience. No tears or anything, but listening to "Come As You Are" (for the line: and I swear that I don't have a gun) and "All Apologies" afterward I remember being particularly difficult.

Though I have to say long-term, John Lennon's death has made a big impact on me. I was only 8 at the time, but I am such a fan it is something that I have thought about over the years probably even more than Kurt.