Demetrius Shipp

“The one thing that I'm always gonna promote is, 'Don't look at a fellow black man as an enemy.' And it's hard. It's really hard, though, when you're coming up. It's something that you have to teach yourself and learn.”

“This is more in regards to celebrities. What we've got to understand is that we are the influencers of the hip-hop culture, the black culture. We are the way out, you feel what I'm sayin'? As far as who we look to and where we get stuff from - hip-hop culture is influencing the world, really, but especially the black communities.”

“Being on television is a little constraining. You spend six to eight months filming, and you get stuck in that gear. I feel like doing movies is a lot more my style.”

“I went to school in Long Beach, and all the seniors I used to kick it with called me Pac.”

“Tupac was a person who was all about love. I feel like that's me, too; that's who I've always been.”

“This is really honest: I have to remind myself not to look another black man as a threat.”

“I vowed to never be on camera down-talking another black man.”

“Music is my passion. I've always been musically driven and musically inclined. I play the keyboard a little bit. I love listening to music and discovering music. That's my love, but I'm not a rapper at all.”

“There aren't many people in the world that are as respected and loved when it comes to entertainment and as big as Pac. But the greatness that I adore the most is him as a man.”

“He's a layered person, so you have to tackle all the aspects of Tupac individually.”

“I want to inspire people to do whatever they desire in life.”

“When I go places, I'm very much spotted, but I'm definitely ready for it and the opportunities it's going to bring.”

“I want to impact some lives down the road, one by one, and I want people to look at my story and my life as an inspiration.”

“My fondest memory of Tupac is my father producing 'Toss It Up' for him when I was 7 years old and hearing that.”

“I want to be a part of bringing people together and sharing that love.”

“Whatever I do, I just want it to be good.”

“Growing up, you hear Tupac's music, it's kind of like... it goes without saying that everyone likes Tupac.”

“I'm a strong believer in the things that I want to do.”

“I don't have a huge acting background at all.”

“Acting opened me up.”