Kendrick Lamar has made his respect and love for Tupac Shakur very clear. At the end of his brilliant 2015 release, To Pimp a Butterfly, the rapper creates a posthumous interview with Pac in which they talk about legacy, success and the current state of hip hop, using sound clips from a 1994 interview with the late icon to create a cohesive dialogue.

Yesterday (September 13), to commemorate the 19th anniversary of Tupac's passing, Kendrick penned and published a letter on 2pac.com:

"I was 8 yrs old when I first saw you. I couldn't describe how I felt at that moment. So many different emotions. Full of excitement. Full of joy and eagerness,” Lamar writes. “20 yrs later I understand exactly what that feeling was. INSPIRED. The people that you touched on that small intersection changed lives forever. I told myself I wanted to be a voice for man one day. Whoever knew I was speaking out loud for u to listen. Thank you.”

The young Compton-based rapper also admitted to MTV around the time of his latest album's release that he almost called the record Tu Pimp a Caterpillar, which spells out Tu.P.A.C.

RIP Pac.