Tupac Shakur's close friend Jada Pinkett Smith has paid tribute to his mother Afeni Shakur following her death earlier this week.
The actress, 44, was close friends with the rapper and his family for years after they were classmates at Baltimore School for the Arts, and she took to Facebook to share her memories of Afeni and Tupac's family after hearing about the death.
"My first thought was of Sekyiwa (Tupac's half-sister) and the entire clan that loved Afeni," she wrote.
"Then I remembered that I was in NY to attend a Mother's Day event named after a song written about Afeni, Dear Mama. My heart tightened and then all kinds of memories flooded in. I quickly remembered how calm Afeni was especially during any crisis. She always had a way of making me believe all would be well."
She recalls her best memory of Afeni was when they had an intimate chat following Tupac's death in 1996, aged 25, and Smith could see where her friend had got his "passion" and "depth of thinking".
"Afeni was a giant in her own right. Today she is reunited with her son and Sekyiwa has two majestic angels to look after her. One for each shoulder. Rest in peace Afeni, and give Pac a hug and a kiss from me.
