Although it’s been over 25 years since the tragic passing of Tupac Shakur, his name remains alive, and through the power of Artificial Intelligence, his voice apparently continues to echo. If you’ve been hiding under a rock this week, Drake unleashed his second diss track directed toward Kendrick Lamar, “Taylor Made Freestyle.” The follow-up to “Push Ups,” released exclusively on his Instagram and X (formerly Twitter), found Drake treading the muddy waters of AI as he emulated West Coast legends Snoop Dogg and the late Tupac Shakur in an attempt to troll Kendrick Lamar.
“Taylor Made Freestyle” – much like the majority of Drake’s recent releases – divided the internet. Some believed it was a brilliant chess move while others felt as though it opened the floodgates for AI and set a terrible precedent for the future of the music industry. Snoop Dogg ultimately shrugged it off humorously on 4/20 yet the estate of Tupac Shakur wasn’t as forgiving. Attorney Howard King, mitigator for Tupac’s Estate, reportedly sent a cease-and-desist demanding Drake remove the song online before facing further legal matters. Ultimately, this raised the question: who runs Tupac Shakur’s estate in 2024?
Read More: Drake “Taylor Made” Freestyle: Did He Cross A Line With AI Tupac & Snoop Dogg?
Tom Whalley: The Executor Of Tupac’s Estate
Tom Whalley is currently the executor of Tupac Shakur’s estate with King as the litigator. Whalley took on the role of executor following the death of Tupac’s mother, Afeni Shakur, in 2016. Whalley, who previously served as the CEO of Warner Records, worked at Interscope Records and helped ‘Pac land a record deal with the label.
Who Is Tom Whalley?
Whalley’s experience in the music industry dates back nearly four decades. As mentioned, he served as the CEO of Warner Music Records and also helped co-found Interscope Records where he eventually signed Tupac. Moreover, he formed Loma Vista Records after his stint with Warner Bros. Loma Vista boasts talents such as Action Bronson, Meechy Darko, Killer Mike, Denzel Curry and more.
Whalley Faces Accusations Of Mishandling Tupac’s Estate
Though King suggests that Whalley is a close confidant of the Shakur family, a lawsuit filed by Tupac’s sister, Sekyiwa Shakur, suggests otherwise. Per Billboard, Shakur accused Whalley of ”blatant violations” as the executor of her brother’s estate in a lawsuit filed to a Los Angeles court in January 2022. She alleged that Whalley put himself in a key management role of Afeni’s estate after her passing. While Afeni was the beneficiary of Tupac’s estate, Whalley became the executor of her estate after her passing.
“He has effectively embezzled millions of dollars for his own benefit,” Sekyiwa wrote. “Whalley has unreasonably enriched himself at the expense of the beneficiaries and in bad faith by taking excessive compensation in a position from which he should properly be barred based on the inherent conflict of interest… Whalley has already received more than $5.5 million that he has paid himself in the last five years through Amaru [Entertainment].”
In response, Howard King stated Whalley was a “friend and confidant” of Tupac and his mother. “These legal claims are disappointing and detrimental to all beneficiaries of the trust,” King said. “We are confident the court will promptly conclude that Tom has always acted in the best interests of Amaru, the trust, and all beneficiaries.”
Tupac Estate Net Worth
Though certain sources, such as Celebrity Net Worth, indicate that Tupac passed away with $200K to his name, others, like The Richest, suggest that his estate’s net worth is somewhere around $40M. Though these figures are ballpark estimations, and not definitive, the release of his posthumous albums and his catalog as a whole, along with licensing, merch, and other ventures, has undoubtedly contributed to the impressive figure.
The Connection To Kendrick Lamar
Kendrick Lamar’s love for Tupac has been well-documented over the years, specifically on his 2015 opus, To Pimp A Butterfly. The album’s final song, “Mortal Man,” contains a posthumous conversation between Kendrick and Tupac, deriving from a 20-plus-year-old audio interview with the late rapper. Of course, this likely wouldn’t have been possible without the blessing of Tupac’s Estate which, at the time, was managed by Afeni Shakur alongside Whalley.
“I thought it was a brilliant idea, and they sent me portions of what he was thinking of doing creatively around it, and I supported it. I knew Kendrick was a fan and influenced by Tupac, and I always do what I think Tupac would do,” Whalley said at the time, per Billboard.
Read More: Drake Taunts Kendrick Lamar On “Taylor Made Freestyle”: Breaking Down The Bars
What Did Tupac’s Estate Tell Drake
With that in mind, it doesn’t come as much of a shock that Tupac’s estate intervened once Drake dropped “Taylor Made Freestyle.” Following the online discourse surrounding the use of AI to replicate the West Coast legend’s voice – a clear attempt to troll Kendrick – King, on behalf of Tupac’s estate, demanded that Drake remove the AI track from his social accounts immediately.
“The Estate is deeply dismayed and disappointed by your unauthorized use of Tupac’s voice and personality,” Howard King wrote in a letter obtained by Billboard. “Not only is the record a flagrant violation of Tupac’s publicity and the estate’s legal rights, it is also a blatant abuse of the legacy of one of the greatest hip-hop artists of all time. The Estate would never have given its approval for this use.”
He added, “The unauthorized, equally dismaying use of Tupac’s voice against Kendrick Lamar, a good friend to the Estate who has given nothing but respect to Tupac and his legacy publicly and privately, compounds the insult.”
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