Happy 43rd Birthday, Tupac Shakur!

Fans took to Twitter on June 16 to celebrate what would have been the 43rd birthday of Tupac Shakur, who was shot and killed in Las Vegas in 1996.
To this day, his murder remains unsolved - for good reason, according to Suge Knight and others who claim Tupac is alive - but his legacy lives on.

Tupac's music and life continue to inspire the masses and he has become something of a legend in spite of - or perhaps because of - his premature death.

Born June 16, 1971, in East Harlem, 2Pac was also a poet and an actor, a man of surprising depth and talent who transcended popular culture.

He's gone but not forgotten ... save for the occasional Tupac hologram performing at Coachella or Broadway show (Holler If Ya Hear Me) based on him.

A biopic by filmmaker John Singleton is also in the works, which should be awesome for the West Coast hip hop pioneer (of East Coast origins).

Music lovers are paying tribute to Tupac on Twitter today with the hashtag #HappyBirthdayTupac. We wish his family and friends the very best.

Here's a look at other rappers who rank among the smartest in the game:
 Drake was 2013's most Tweeted about rapper. He definitely knows a thing or two about social media, and the personal stories behind his songs have made him immensely popular.