It’s with a heavy heart that I report that Frank Alexander has passed away. Tupac fans will know Frank as ‘Pac’s bodyguard and friend, who was on duty that fateful night in 1996.
I’ve spoken to Frank a number of times over the years back when I was working on HitEmUp.com. He produced fan favorite documentaries Tupac: Before I Wake (2001) and Tupac: Assassination (2009), as well as writing Got Your Back (1998), about his time’s with ‘Pac. Through spending so much time with Tupac as his only bodyguard, he often became a voice in regards to speculation surrounding Tupac’s plans just before his death and was sought out by fans and media to clarify things and recount Tupac’s murder. When I spoke with him as a kid he was always happy to share stories and memories, and as a fan, that was always appreciated. No matter how silly in retrospect the question may have been, Frank, knowing what it meant to a young fan, would do his best to answer it. I think it was Frank who told me ‘Pac’s favorite drink was Orange Soda. Before the world of social media and knowing everything about everyone, that kind of information to a little kid was just mind blowing.
Prior to becoming a bodygaurd, Frank served in the US Marines for 11 years, and was a champion amateur Bodybuilder. In recent years he had retired to his ranch and was raising horses, and sadly, we lost contact.
While he was not responsible for Tupac’s death, as his bodygaurd, it is not something he ever got over.
From what I’ve been told, and it isn’t confirmed, he died from a single self inflicted gun shot wound to the head. If that’s true, I’m deeply saddened. Frank never struck me as depressed, although, I would say he was always heavy, there was a weight behind the things he said, and you could tell there was a sense of responsibility behind everything. I think that is why Frank Alexander did his best to give back as much as he could to the Tupac fans, and for that, I am sure every single one of them is thankful.
We’ll miss you.
REST IN PEACE BIG FRANK.
We reported earlier that Tuesday and earlier tonight Lil Wayne had suffered multiple seizures. Conflicting reports by TMZ had people in shambles. Mack Maine and Birdman both took to Twitter to bash TMZ for false reports. Well, look who just tweeted:
I’m good everybody. Thx for the prayers and love.
— Lil Wayne WEEZY F (@LilTunechi) March 16, 2013
Get better, Weezy!
Last year, Lil Wayne suffered multiple seizures while en route from Louisiana to Texas which forced his private jet to make an emergency landing.
Well, it happened again. Tunechi suffered multiple seizures Tuesday night following a video shoot in L.A.. TMZ stated that he had been taken to Cedars-Sinai hospital and was released hours later.
UPDATE: Weezy suffered another round of seizures today and was rushed to Cedars-Sinai again. TMZ reported that he was violently shaking and was placed on ventilation and was in an induced coma. Further reading, I found this by Mack Maine on Twitter:
Wayne is alive and well! We watching the Syracuse game…thanks for the prayers and concern..he will update you all soon. #love
— Mack Maine (@mackmaine) March 16, 2013
We will be releasing an official statement shortly but dont believe the nonsense about comas and tubes to breathe…that’s false!!
— Mack Maine (@mackmaine) March 16, 2013
Birdman:
My son is in good spirit..feelin much betta…be home soon.YMCMB
— BIRDMAN (@BIRDMAN5STAR) March 16, 2013
Jay-Z, Kendrick Lamar and J. Cole will be headling the Yahoo! On The Road Tour. With 14 stops in the U.S. and 7 in Europe.
Despite beating murder charges and serving an eight year bid on drug charges, Lil Boosie still managed to earn his GED behind prison walls from the Angola State Prison.
On May 21st, 1972 Christopher George Latore Wallace was born in Brooklyn, New York. In 1994, he became known as the Notorious B.I.G. or Biggie Smalls to some and released his debut album Ready To Die. On March 9th, 1997 was Biggie Ready To Die? He was gunned down in his SUV and killed. He died at the age of 25. The question still remains…WAS he ready to die? Is it coincidental that his debut album was telling the world he wasn’t afraid to die? Or did he know his death was imminent? 16 days after he was murdered, his posthumous album Life After Death was released and hit #1 on the Billboard 200 charts.
Personally, I believe he had a premonition of death. Perhaps he wasn’t aware it’d be sooner than later.
R.I.P. Biggie!
It appears Prodigy and Havoc put their recent differences aside and are hitting the road for their 20th Anniversary celebration. I’m hitting up the June 7th show in Cambridge, Mass. Holla at us, M-O-B-B!
Young Vito was acquitted today on the murder of Slim Dunkin. Vito had allegedly gunned down Slim in an Atlanta recording studio in December of 2011. However, Vito was sentenced to 25 years for aggravated assault and possession of a firearm by a felon.
Looks like Mr. 305 took offense to Lil Wayne‘s comments that he in fact retracted other than the Chris Bosh comment. lol
The subject of Tupac‘s “Dear Mama” has told Billboard that she plans to release Pac’s “entire body of work,” although no release date is given.
She mentions that there are a lot of incomplete songs left, which the Tupac Shakur Estate intends to treat like “blueprints” and complete on his behalf.
I believe it is our responsibility to make sure that Tupac’s entire body of work is made available for his fans. My son left many incomplete pieces and even more unfinished ideas. Using the blueprints he gave us, I am committed to fulfilling this duty.
Personally, I am all for more Tupac music, if the tracks are left as ‘Pac actually intended, a la R U Still Down, or even Still I Rise and Better Dayz, which while remixed, retained a certain vibe. But if by “using the blueprints” she means cannibalizing the tracks with totally unrelated features, odd production choices, and sped up vocals to fit the beat (rather than producing a beat to fit the vocals) like the last album, Loyal To The Game, then I say just leave it alone and let the man retain some artistic integrity instead of further watering down what is left, and in the process, his memory and the image the younger generation has of him based on these posthumous choices.
What do you guys think?
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